Working Paper
Definition
The documented record of an audit procedure: what was tested, how items were selected, the evidence obtained, any exceptions found, and the auditor's conclusion. Working papers are the primary evidence that an audit was conducted as described and form the basis for the audit opinion.
- Context
- Audit engagement
- Contents
- Procedure tested, sample selection, evidence, exceptions, conclusion
- Role
- Primary evidence the audit was conducted as described
Common questions
Why are working papers considered the primary evidence of an audit rather than the final report?+
The audit report only states the auditor's overall opinion, while the working papers document the underlying testing, sample selection, and evidence that support that opinion, so they are what regulators, courts, or peer reviewers examine to verify the audit was actually performed with sufficient rigor.
What happens if working papers are incomplete or missing for a procedure the report claims was performed?+
Without supporting documentation, a claimed procedure cannot be verified as having been carried out, which undermines the audit opinion's credibility and can expose the auditor to liability or regulatory sanction if the audit is later reviewed or challenged.
Related terms
- Attribute Sampling
- A statistical sampling method that tests whether each selected item either has or lacks a specified attribute, for example whether a change...
- Confidence Level
- An explicit label attached to an attribution assessment indicating how strongly the available evidence supports the conclusion. Standard tiers are low, medium,...
- Judgement Sampling
- Selection of audit items based on the auditor's professional assessment of where errors or weaknesses are most likely to exist. Results cannot...
- Tolerable Deviation Rate
- The maximum error rate the auditor is willing to accept in the population without modifying the audit conclusion. If the projected error...
- Upper Error Limit (UEL)
- The maximum error rate that could exist in the population at the chosen confidence level, given the number of exceptions found in...