International Standards on Auditing ISA Application Training Course

Course overview

Audit teams are expected to demonstrate not only that they reached an appropriate opinion, but also that their work was planned, performed, reviewed and documented in line with the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Inconsistent risk assessments, weak documentation, poorly linked audit procedures and insufficient consideration of fraud or going concern can expose firms and finance functions to inspection findings, delayed audits and reduced stakeholder confidence. This course addresses the practical challenge of turning ISA requirements into a repeatable audit-file methodology.

Participants work through the ISA-based audit process from engagement acceptance to reporting. They learn to apply ISA 200 professional judgement and scepticism; plan an audit under ISA 300; identify and assess risks using ISA 315 (Revised 2019); design responses under ISA 330; evaluate misstatements; document evidence under ISA 230; and form conclusions for the auditor's report. The programme also covers materiality, internal controls, audit sampling, fraud risks, related parties, going concern, subsequent events and modifications to audit opinions.

Teaching combines instructor-led explanation with audit-file workshops, financial statement extracts, risk-and-control matrices and realistic client scenarios. Participants practise converting business information into assertions, risks, audit procedures and documented conclusions. By the end of the week, each participant completes an ISA-aligned audit planning and completion pack containing a planning memorandum, materiality schedule, risk assessment, audit programme, selected working papers, misstatement evaluation and reporting conclusion.

The course is suited to professionals moving into external audit, internal audit staff who need to align work with financial statement audit expectations, and finance personnel who support statutory audit engagements. It is equally relevant for audit managers seeking a more consistent approach across engagement teams.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Apply ISA 200 principles of professional judgement, professional scepticism and ethical audit conduct to engagement decisions
• Prepare an ISA 300 audit planning memorandum with engagement objectives, timetable, team responsibilities and planned procedures
• Assess risks of material misstatement using the ISA 315 (Revised 2019) risk assessment process and assertion-level analysis
• Set and document overall materiality, performance materiality and clearly trivial thresholds using financial statement benchmarks
• Design ISA 330 responsive audit procedures that link identified risks, assertions, controls and substantive testing
• Construct audit working papers that meet ISA 230 requirements for evidence, review trail, conclusions and cross-referencing
• Evaluate identified misstatements, going concern evidence and subsequent events to support completion-stage conclusions
• Draft an ISA-aligned auditor reporting conclusion, including the basis for an unmodified or modified opinion

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Audit Associates and Trainees — who need a structured method for performing and documenting ISA-compliant audit work
• Senior Auditors — who supervise fieldwork and must link team testing to assessed risks and audit conclusions
• Audit Managers — who review engagement files and need consistent planning, evidence and reporting quality across teams
• Internal Auditors — who want to understand external audit evidence expectations and financial reporting risk assessment
• Finance Managers and Controllers — who coordinate statutory audit requests and need to prepare reliable audit support
• Risk and Compliance Officers — who assess control environments and need to understand how auditors evaluate control risk

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic financial statements, including the statement of financial position, profit or loss, cash flows and common account balances such as revenue, receivables, inventory and payables. Some exposure to accounting, bookkeeping, finance or audit work is helpful, but prior external audit experience is not essential. Participants should be comfortable reading a trial balance and discussing business processes and internal controls. No audit software, professional accounting qualification or prior detailed knowledge of the ISAs is required. Complete beginners should expect a demanding but accessible introduction to audit terminology, evidence and working-paper discipline.

Training methodology

The instructor uses short ISA-focused briefings to establish the requirements, then moves participants into structured audit-file work. Teams analyse a simulated client, map processes and controls, calculate materiality, assess risks by assertion and build responsive audit programmes. Case discussions cover fraud indicators, management bias, going concern and report modifications. Participants review sample working papers against ISA 230 criteria and receive facilitator feedback on their own documentation. The final session converts the week's work into a practical engagement pack and individual application plan for use on the next audit assignment.

Course outline

Day 1: ISA framework and audit engagement foundations

• Purpose, authority and structure of the International Standards on Auditing
• ISA 200 objectives, professional judgement and professional scepticism
• Ethical requirements, independence and threats to auditor objectivity
• Engagement acceptance and continuance considerations under ISA 220
• Audit engagement terms and engagement letters under ISA 210
• Audit strategy and planning requirements under ISA 300
• ISA 230 documentation principles, indexing and review evidence

Workshop: Participants review a prospective client scenario and produce an engagement acceptance checklist, draft planning timetable and working-paper index.

Day 2: Risk assessment, materiality and internal control

• Understanding the entity, its environment and its business model
• Financial statement assertions and their use in audit design
• ISA 315 (Revised 2019) identification of risks of material misstatement
• Inherent risk factors, significant risks and the spectrum of inherent risk
• Documenting processes through narratives, walkthroughs and flowcharts
• Control design and implementation assessment
• Overall materiality, performance materiality and clearly trivial misstatements

Workshop: Using a revenue-to-cash case, participants create a process walkthrough, risk-and-control matrix and materiality schedule.

Day 3: Responding to risk and gathering audit evidence

• ISA 330 responses at financial statement and assertion levels
• Tests of controls versus substantive procedures
• Designing substantive analytical procedures under ISA 520
• Tests of details for transactions, balances and disclosures
• Audit sampling methods under ISA 530
• External confirmations under ISA 505
• Audit evidence reliability, sufficiency and appropriateness under ISA 500

Workshop: Participants turn assessed receivables, inventory and revenue risks into a costed audit programme with procedures, samples and evidence sources.

Day 4: Complex audit areas and completion evidence

• Fraud risk assessment and management override procedures under ISA 240
• Accounting estimates and management bias under ISA 540
• Related party identification and testing under ISA 550
• Going concern evaluation under ISA 570
• Subsequent events procedures under ISA 560
• Evaluation of misstatements under ISA 450
• Written representations and final management communications under ISA 580

Workshop: Participants complete a fraud, going concern and uncorrected-misstatements evaluation for a client facing liquidity pressure.

Day 5: Audit completion, reporting and application planning

• Completion review and assembly of the final audit file
• Evaluating whether sufficient appropriate audit evidence has been obtained
• Forming an opinion on financial statements under ISA 700
• Modified opinions under ISA 705
• Emphasis of Matter and Other Matter paragraphs under ISA 706
• Communicating significant deficiencies under ISA 265
• Engagement quality review considerations and post-audit improvement actions

Workshop: Participants finalise an ISA-aligned audit completion pack and present their proposed opinion, key audit issues and action plan to a review panel.

Tools & standards covered

ISA 200 Overall Objectives of the Independent Auditor, ISA 230 Audit Documentation, ISA 315 (Revised 2019) Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement, ISA 330 The Auditor's Responses to Assessed Risks

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions