Audit, Assurance and Related Services -CFAP (Exam Guidance)

This is the trickiest subject in CFAP but easiest if you crack it rightly. Tricky because there a lot of tiny details that you need to deal with diligently. More of my understanding about this exam comes from guiding people, who were struggling to pass this exam, and in helping them figure out their mistakes. I’ll try to cover them in the ‘question attempting techniques’ section. But first let’s look at how you should study the subject:

Studying/Going through the Syllabus

• Reading the ISAs is a must, it helps you thoroughly understand Audit itself. All of the main paragraphs and all the *application paragraphs at least once, I suggest. It adds immensely to your existing knowledge and definitely helps you excel in your work. It helps you build jargon for expressing yourself in the exam. You must remember, CFAP level is the final level of a professional qualification and the examiner expects you to be professional in the way you express yourself. Hence, certainly use audit terminology, the right words for the right situation.

(*Some application paragraphs are completely irrelevant or unnecessarily detailed from an exam perspective. You’ll be able to identify them on your own and can skip them of course).

• Learn to navigate the standard through its index, you can do this easily as you go through the standards. This will equip you with a skill to look in the right place when finding something, and will save time in the exam if there comes a situation where you need to consult the standards.
• For the standards which require decision making, e.g. the 700 or 800 series, 570, 560 etc. I suggest consulting the summaries (available from various teachers). Learn them. You must know how to reach a conclusion on your own, without having the need to open the standards.
• Practice is very crucial. You must attempt as many past papers as you can. And at least 1/3rd of your practice you must do by writing complete answers, especially the ones with 'Drafting' requirement. Then compare them with suggesting solutions and keep a track of the mistakes you make
• Study the suggested solutions very carefully, try to note down key tips from the repeating patterns.
• ?About using the standards in the exam, personally I opened it only once i.e. for a five mark question that was straight out of a standard and we were supposed to reproduce. My understanding is that you write the answers based upon your understanding of audit/ ISAs rather than reproducing the contents in the book. Never forget its role. It is only there to assist you though. Never depend on it entirely.

Question Attempting Techniques

• You must always approach the question as if you’re dealing with a practical situation. As though its your own audit engagement for which you’re supposed to take decisions using ISAs as your guiding tool. Especially for the question asked in relation to the execution phase, consider it as the ‘Work done’ that you write in your working papers. Easy-peasy.
• Remember, the examiner does not want you bombarding him with the knowledge that you possess, he just wants an answer to his question. So remain focused and answer to the point. I always believed in 1 mark per point rule, and literally followed so in the exam as well. Points should be valid and relevant.
• Prepare a list of verbs to help enhance your vocabulary and hence the quality of your answers. Avoid repetition of words.
• While answering to an open-ended question such as ‘Explain the audit impact/ What implication this situation would have on current year audit’, you must sync your answer to the auditing phases i.e. planning, execution and then completion. This is fundamental to structuring good answers.
• Identifying the phase of audit in the question is another key area. Your answer changes depending your decision-making point.
• Be smart with the marking scheme e.g. with the Risk assessment question (which is quite lengthy), the risks and the procedures usually carry equal marks. So I always suggest writing all of the risks first and then adjusting your procedures (the length and the number) according to the time you have.
• It is also crucial to try and understand different kinds of requirements and how those have been addressed in the past papers. Practice enough past papers and you’ll start recognizing it.
• You can always remain in the grey area i.e. look at and respond to a situation from multiple perspectives if there’s not enough information available. For example, if you have been told in the question that you have come to know certain information and there’s no explanation as to how, you must always question the source of information in your answer. You must always consider the possibility that it might not be reliable/accurate.
• In audit, one thing mostly triggers another (and you must cover this in your answers as well), especially the unexpected or unprecedented events or transactions have a broader impact and might even lead you to reassessing your audit risk. For example the identification of a previously unidentified related party.

I can really go on and on with points similar to the ones I have listed above, but all of these I have learnt primarily through?practicing and studying the suggested solutions earnestly. And if you try, you’ll start noting such things yourself as well. So, I leave the rest for you to discover. I hope you ace it, best wishes!