Principles

• at the planning phase, reports prepared by others can provide information that warns the auditor of potential weaknesses in systems of control or of a history of serious errors that have arisen in the audit field. The auditor should consider the independence, objectivity and competence of such parties; whether their objectives and methods coincide with those of the audit; and whether their conclusions were based upon sufficient appropriate evidence;
• during the examination phase, the work of others can be used to provide a part of the audit evidence deemed necessary to achieve the audit objectives, thus reducing the amount of work undertaken by ECA. The overriding principle is that, if intending to rely on the work of others, the auditor should ensure that such work provides sufficient, appropriate and cost-effective evidence for the purposes of the audit;
• the reports of others can also help to corroborate the auditor's findings or conclusions, or to cast doubt upon them. In the latter case, the auditor should investigate the discrepancy; satisfy him/herself of the audit evidence which (s)he has obtained; reconsider whether his/her analysis and interpretation of the audit evidence was reasonable, and clearly document such discrepancies that remain.

Definitions

Other auditors

• Certifying bodies in a member state
• Internal audit units of paying agencies in a member state
• Audit authorities in a member state
• Commission ex-post control units
• Ex-post control units of agencies
• Ex-post control units of third countries or of international organisations
• External auditors performing ex-post controls
• Evaluators performing
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  of EU activities for the Commission
• Some supreme audit institutions (SAIs) when carrying out audits as part of the internal control system, e.g. as certifying bodies.

• the Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) which, according to
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  , operate in the member states in liaison with the ECA.
• the national authorities' audit departments (the internal audit departments of the authorities which disburse funds and the audit departments of the various Ministries of Finance); and
• private-sector auditors working under a legal mandate (statutory auditors) or on a contractual basis (auditors).

Instructions

Use of other auditor's work

• consider the independence and objectivity of the other auditor;
• take account of the other auditor's professional competence for the specific audit;
• consider the scope of the other auditor's work;
• determine the cost-effectiveness of using such work;
• perform procedures to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence that the work of the other auditor is adequate for ECA's purposes in the context of the specific audit (which may require access to the other auditor's working papers); and
• consider the significant findings of the other auditor when analysing and interpreting the results of that work. Where these findings are significant to the opinion, ECA's auditor should discuss these findings with the other auditor and consider whether it is necessary to carry out additional audit testing him/herself.

Considerations

Audits within the scope of the internal control systems

• the entity's strategy documents and annual audit programmes;
• the selection procedure, terms of reference, presentation of the audit report and follow-up by the entity regarding the other auditors;
• the quality of audits performed. This assessment will be supported by a review of a sample of audit reports, randomly selected to be as representative as possible.

Audits outside the scope of the internal control systems

Evaluations

Internal audit function

• the objectivity and technical competence of internal audit staff;
• whether internal audit work is carried out with due professional care;
• the effect of any constraints placed on internal audit by management.

• the skills and expertise of those performing the work;
• whether there is supervision, review and documentation of the work;
• if sufficient, relevant and reliable audit evidence is obtained;
• whether conclusions reached are appropriate and reports are consistent with the work done;
• whether exceptions and unusual matters identified by internal audit are properly resolved.

Internal Audit Service

• obtain and examine the Commission's
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  (IAS) work plan for the year in order to evaluate whether the results of some of their audits could be taken into consideration, thus avoiding overlapping;
• review reports drawn up by the IAS on certain aspects of the accounts, where appropriate, and examine the extent to which the auditee has taken the necessary measures in order to follow up recommendations;
• explore whether the IAS has planned resources in order to cooperate with ECA in the execution of audit work for the annual accounts. Should this be the case, the auditor will supervise the IAS's work in order to ensure compatibility with his/her own work, and will validate the audit results.

Documenting

Reporting