IMPORTANCE OF REASONABLENESS TESTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ITS APPLICATIONS

Abstract

Objective- Analytical procedures have higher potential compared to test of details in terms of analysing the account relationships, detecting significant risk of misstatement, reducing audit fieldwork and testing management assertions. In order to get benefit of those procedures, auditors should access more entity specific resources and invest more time in planning the audit program. In this study, reasonableness tests that are generally used in substantive analytical procedures are analysed through industry examples and their role in reducing the audit risk is demonstrated. Methodology- In this study, case study method is used as a research methodology. The reason of selecting this methodology is due to its relevance in accordance with the objective of the study as well as providing an opportunity to auditors that would like to implement reasonableness tests. Findings - This study reveals, through examples that can be used in practice, that the management claims can be tested more soundly through rationality tests when more time is given to the stages of understanding the enterprise and planning the audit. Conclusion- Among the analytical review techniques, reasonableness test is highly effective technique for testing the relationship between non-financial information and financial information. In order to use the reasonableness tests more frequently in the evidence collection, understanding the enterprise, more senior and industry specific team construction and accessing the non-financial information by inquiring also the performance indicators used by the enterprise are important. Agreements for longer than a year between the auditor and the company will reinforce the auditor's accumulated knowledge on the enterprise that will increase number of reasonableness tests.