(a) You are the manager responsible for the audit of Yew Co, a company which designs and develops aircraft engines. The audit for the year ended 31 July 2011 is nearing completion and the audit senior has left the following file note for your attention:
‘I have just returned from a meeting with the management of Yew Co, and there is a matter I want to bring to your attention. Yew Co’s statement of financial position recognises an intangible asset of $12·5 million in respect of capitalised research and development costs relating to new aircraft engine designs. However, market research conducted by Yew Co in relation to these new designs indicated that there would be little demand in the near future for such designs. Management has provided written representation that they agree with the results of the market research.
Currently, Yew Co has a cash balance of only $125,000 and members of the management team have expressed concerns that the company is finding it difficult to raise additional finance.
The new aircraft designs have been discussed in the chairman’s statement which is to be published with the financial statements. The discussion states that ‘developments of new engine designs are underway, and we believe that these new designs will become a significant source of income for Yew Co in the next 12 months.’
Yew Co’s draft financial statements include profit before tax of $23 million, and total assets of $210 million.
Yew Co is due to publish its annual report next week, so we need to consider the impact of this matter urgently.’
Required:
Discuss the implications of the audit senior’s file note on the completion of the audit and on the auditor’s report, recommending any further actions that should be taken by the auditor. (12 marks)
(b) You are responsible for answering technical queries from other managers and partners of your firm. An audit partner left the following note on your desk this morning:
(i) ‘I am about to draft the audit report for my client, Sycamore Co. I am going on holiday tomorrow and want to have the audit report signed and dated before I leave. The only thing outstanding is the written representation from management – I have verbally confirmed the contents with the finance director who agreed to send the representations to the audit manager within the next few days. I presume this is acceptable？’ (3 marks)
(ii) ‘We are auditing Sycamore Co for the first time. The prior period financial statements were audited by another firm. We are aware that the auditor’s report on the prior period was qualified due to a material misstatement of trade receivables. We have obtained sufficient appropriate evidence that the matter giving rise to the misstatement has been resolved and I am happy to issue an unmodified opinion. But should I refer to the prior year modification in this year’s auditor’s report？’ (3 marks)
Required:
Respond to the audit partner’s comments.
Note: the split of the mark allocation is shown within the question. (18 marks)