THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG

School of Accountancy
AUDITING [ACCT 4131 A&B]
(1st Semester, 2014-2015)
INSTRUCTOR
Prof. Cao Ying ()
Office:
Room 1012, 10th Floor of Cheng Yu Tung Building (CYT)
Phone/Email:
3943-7645 / yingcao@cuhk.edu.hk
Office Hour:
Tuesday 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm; Wednesday, 4:30 pm 6:00 pm; or by appointment
You are welcome to stop by my office or send me emails if you have any questions.
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Li Yuk Ping (Delicia)
Office/Phone:
Room 1049, CCS 10/F
Phone/ E-mail:
3943-7644 / yurama@cuhk.edu.hk
Office Hour:
Tuesday and Friday 2:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m.
COURSE CONTENT
This course is an introduction of auditing and other assurance services to undergraduate students with an
intermediate level of accounting knowledge and with a career interest in accounting. The course provides a
comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of auditing principles, concepts and its underlying theories and
integrates them in a logic manner to assist students in understanding audit decision making and evidence
accumulation. The course also provides students with real-world examples with an emphasis on professional
ethics.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED OUTCOMES
After completing this course, you should be able to:
1. Understand fundamental auditing concepts and principles
2. Apply basic auditing techniques in performing an audit
3. Understand the role of accountants in ensuring the integrity of financial and other information
4. Be able to identify and explain ethical issues faced by accountants.
5. Apply the working knowledge of accounting concepts and theories in a business context
6. Develop professional judgment in todays complex auditing environment
7. Develop problem-solving skills and ability that you will need to succeed as a business professional
8. Learn the technology that allows you access to numerous online materials relating the real world of
accounting, auditing and business
9. Learn to work in teams and develop interpersonal and communication skills
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
Lecture (including in-class
discussion / presentation) (hr)
in / out class
3
0

Lab / tutorial
(hr)
in / out class
0
0

Project / Case
discussion (hr)
in / out class
0
0.5

Expected out-of-class
activities (hrs)
in / out class
0
6

COURSE ASSESSMENT
Final Exam
Mid-term Exam
Class Participation
Homework (individual)
Term Project (group assignment)
Total

50%
30%
5%
5%
10%
100%

EXAMINATIONS
Mid-term exam: closed-book, Oct.16 (Thursday), 2014. 7:00 - 8:20 pm, YIA LT 3 (to be confirmed)
Final exam: a closed-book, comprehensive final exam will be given to all ACCT 4131 students.
No individual make-up exam will be given unless approved by the University (a valid doctors letter is
required if you miss the mid-term or final exam for health reason).

CLASS PARTICIPATION
You will obtain marks in participation by asking questions or by responding to questions during class.
Equally important, please do not constantly talk in class. You will lose participation marks by constantly
talking in class or missing a significant portion of the class.
HOMEWORK
You are required to complete the homework assignment by yourself, and submit the homework using the drop
box located on the 2nd floor of the CYT building. The homework is due one week from the assignment date.
No late homework will be accepted. Each homework assignment accounts for 1% of your total grade.
GROUP ASSIGNMENT
The objective of this project is to help you pull together various auditing concepts and techniques learned in
this course and apply them to real-world auditing situations. You will form your own team of four to six
people. Details of the project will be provided after the mid-term exam.
SELF STUDY
Self-study is as important as attending the lectures. The minimum required study time outside the classroom is
six hours each week. Please focus on lecture notes and read the textbook to make sure you fully understand the
class material.

COURSE SCHEDULE
Topic
Introduction
Professional ethics; Audit responsibilities and
objectives
Audit evidence; Audit planning
Materiality and risk; Internal control
Fraud auditing; Audit plan and audit program
Sales and collection cycle 1;
Audit sampling for tests of controls and
substantive tests of transactions
Sales and collection cycle 2;
Audit sampling for tests of details of balances
Acquisition and payment cycle 1, 2,
Inventory, Cash balances
Audit Report, Completing the audit

Chapter
1,2
5,6

Week
1
2

7,8
9,10
11,13
14,15

3
4
5
6,7

16,17

8,9

18,19,20,23,3

9,10

3,24

11

Homework Assignments
HW1 (available at Elearn)
HW2 (available at Elearn)

HW3 8-28 (p257), 9-35 (p301)

HW4
14-29, (p490)
15-30, a,b,c and d (p531)

HW5 (available at Elearn)

2

3-28 part c only

REQUIRED LEARNING RESOURCES

Arens, Elder, and Beasley, Auditing and Assurance Services an Integrated Approach 15th Edition, 2013,
Global Edition, Pearson
PowerPoint slides will be posted on Blackboard before each class. Please bring a printout of the slides to class.
http://elearn.cuhk.edu.hk
USEFUL WEBSITE
A few useful internet addresses:
1. The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants: http://www.hkicpa.org.hk
2. The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited: www.hkex.com.hk
3. The Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants: www.cicpa.org.cn
4. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (U.S.): http://www.pcaobus.org
ACADEMIC HONESTY AND PLAGIARISM
The Chinese University of Hong Kong places very high importance on honesty in academic work submitted by
students, and adopts a policy of zero tolerance on cheating and plagiarism. Any related offence will lead to
disciplinary action including termination of studies at the University. Attention is drawn to University policy
and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to
breaches of such policy and regulations. See http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/ for details.