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Description

Financial Audit: Planning the Work, Testing the Accounts and Concluding

Build a risk-based audit programme and document conclusions that withstand review

  • 3 days — 21 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Intermediate
  • Up to 6 participants

An audit that piles up controls without prioritisation is expensive and misses what matters. Teams must connect the risks of material misstatement to the tests actually performed, size their samples, assess accounting estimates and justify every conclusion in the file.

Three days focused on auditing the accounts: understanding the entity and identifying risks, building the audit programme cycle by cycle, performing substantive procedures and completing the engagement. The approach aims at reliable financial statements and is distinct from internal audit, which examines processes.

Learning objectives

  • Identify the risks of material misstatement by accounting cycle
  • Build an audit programme proportionate to the risks identified
  • Perform tests of controls and substantive procedures
  • Assess accounting estimates and management judgements
  • Document the work performed and formulate a conclusion for each cycle

What makes this programme different

The audit programme is built cycle by cycle on a single running case file
The working papers produced are subject to a peer review exercise
Sampling techniques are applied to real data extractions

Programme

1Understanding the Entity and Assessing Risk

Target before you test

  • Understanding the entity and its environment
  • Identifying risks of material misstatement
  • The concept of materiality and how it is applied
  • Formalising the audit plan

2Internal Control and Tests of Controls

Measure what you can rely on

  • Describing processes and identifying key controls
  • Walkthrough tests and tests of operating effectiveness
  • Consequences of a control failure for the audit programme
  • Communicating the weaknesses identified

3Substantive Procedures by Cycle

Go and obtain the evidence

  • Revenue and receivables cycles and purchases and payables cycles
  • Inventory, fixed assets and cash
  • Sampling techniques and determining sample sizes
  • Substantive analytical procedures

4Estimates and Areas of Judgement

Handling what cannot be measured directly

  • Impairment and provisions
  • Off-balance-sheet commitments and related parties
  • Going concern and indicators of financial difficulty
  • Challenging the assumptions adopted by management

5Completion and Conclusions

Document and conclude

  • Review of events after the reporting period
  • Summary of misstatements identified and adjustments proposed
  • File structure and documentation requirements
  • Preparing the communication to those charged with governance

Who is it for

Auditors and staff of accounting and financial practices responsible for consolidation, and accounting managers involved in year-end review work.

Prerequisites

A sound command of accounting mechanisms and the ability to read financial statements.

Dates & locations

24 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.