1. Scope of application
01. Vietnamese auditing standards are applicable to group audits. Auditing Standard 600 specifies and provides guidance on issues that auditors and audit firms (hereinafter referred to as “auditors”) need to consider when auditing groups, especially group audits involving auditors from member entities.
02. Auditors may apply the provisions and guidance of this Standard when working with other auditors in an audit of financial statements other than group financial statements, for example, when an auditor may need the participation of another auditor to observe an inventory count or inspect fixed assets at a remote location.
03. As required by law or for other reasons, the auditor of a subsidiary entity may be required to express an audit opinion on the subsidiary entity's financial statements. The group audit team may decide to use the audit evidence that formed the basis of the audit opinion on the subsidiary entity's financial statements as audit evidence for the group audit, but must still apply the provisions of this Standard.See guidance in section A1 of Auditing Standard 600.).
04. As stipulated in paragraphs 14-15 of Vietnamese Auditing Standard 220, the Board of Directors member responsible for the overall group audit must ensure that all individuals participating in the group audit, including subsidiary auditors, possess the appropriate professional competence and capabilities. The Board of Directors member responsible for the overall group audit is also responsible for guiding, supervising, and carrying out the audit work of the group audit team.
05. The member of the Board of Directors responsible for the overall audit of the group must apply the provisions of Vietnamese Auditing Standard No. 220 whether the group audit team or a subsidiary auditor performs the audit or review of the financial information or financial statements of a subsidiary. This Standard helps the member of the Board of Directors responsible for the overall audit of the group to meet the provisions of Vietnamese Auditing Standard No. 220 when subsidiary auditors perform the audit or review of the financial information or financial statements of subsidiary entities.
06. Audit risk is the consequence of the risk of material misstatements in the financial statements and the risk that the auditor will not detect these misstatements.Section A32 of Vietnamese Auditing Standard No. 200). In a corporate audit, this risk also includes:
(a) the risk that the auditor of the subsidiary entity may fail to detect an error in the financial information or financial statements of the subsidiary entity that could result in a material error in the group's financial statements, and
(b) the risk that the group audit team may not detect this misstatement. This standard specifies and guides the matters that the group audit team should consider when determining the content, timing, and scope of its involvement in risk assessment procedures and subsequent audit procedures performed by subsidiary auditors on the financial information or financial statements of subsidiary entities. The purpose of this involvement is to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to form an audit opinion on the group's financial statements.
07. Auditors and audit firms must comply with the provisions and guidance of this Standard in the performance of audits of group financial statements.
The audited entity (the group, its subsidiaries), and any entities or individuals involved in the audit of the group's financial statements, who utilize the work of the subsidiary's auditors, must possess the necessary understanding of the provisions and guidance of this Standard to coordinate their work with the audit firm and the group's auditors during the audit process.
2. Objectives
08. The objectives of auditors and audit firms are:
(a) Decision on whether or not to accept an audit of the group's financial statements;
(b) Upon accepting the performance of the group's financial statements:
- Communicate clearly with the auditors of the member entity regarding the scope and schedule for conducting an audit or review of the member entity's financial information or financial statements and their findings;
- Gather sufficient appropriate audit evidence relating to the financial information or financial statements of the member entities and the consolidation process to express an opinion on whether the group's financial statements are prepared and presented fairly and reasonably, in all material respects, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework.
View full text Auditing Standard 600