Lesson: The Combined Approach to Auditing

This lesson covers the concept of the combined approach in auditing, which involves combining substantive procedures with analytical procedures. The lesson explains that substantive procedures are used to obtain evidence about specific assertions, while analytical procedures are used to obtain evidence about overall relationships between account balances. The combined approach is used when the auditor has a moderate level of assessed risk, and its use reduces the risk of reaching an incorrect conclusion, provides better assurance, and enables auditors to tell a more complete story. The lesson also discusses the effect of a combined approach on substantive procedures, the impact of control risk on detection risk, and the inverse relationship between detection risk and assurance required from substantive tests. Additionally, the lesson highlights considerations of costs and liability for auditors when choosing the appropriate level of testing.