Additional Fieldwork and Reporting Responsibilities Specifically Related to Internal Control, Compliance, Fraud, and Abuse

For financial audits, Government Auditing Standards includes general standards, as well as fieldwork and reporting standards that are in addition to those required by generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS). There are a number of additional Government Auditing Standards fieldwork and reporting responsibilities specifically related to internal control, compliance with laws, regulations, and provisions of contracts or grant agreements, fraud, and abuse. Other additional fieldwork and reporting standards include, among others, those related to audit documentation requirements, audit follow-up, obtaining and reporting the views of responsible officials about findings and planned corrective actions, and report distribution.

You should refer to the 2003 Government Auditing Standards for a full description and understanding of its fieldwork and reporting standards, however, the additional Government Auditing Standards fieldwork and reporting responsibilities specifically related to internal control, compliance with laws, regulations, and provisions of contracts or grant agreements, fraud, and abuse is summarized in the table below.

Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Additional Fieldwork Responsibilities	The auditor should communicate information regarding the nature, timing, and extent of planned testing and reporting and the level of assurance for internal control over financial reporting to certain parties during the planning stages of an audit.   The auditor also should develop additional documentation of the auditor’s consideration that the planned audit procedures are designed to achieve audit objectives when evidential matter obtained is highly dependent on computerized information systems and is material to the objective of the audit but the auditor is not relying on the effectiveness of internal control over those computerized systems that produced the information.
Additional Reporting Responsibilities	The auditor should issue a written report describing the scope of the auditor's testing of internal control over financial reporting and presenting the results of those tests. (An opinion on internal control is not required, but is permitted if sufficient work was performed.)   The auditor's written report should identify deficiencies in internal control considered to be reportable conditions and those reportable conditions that are individually or in the aggregate material weaknesses. The auditor should report other deficiencies in internal control, except those that are clearly inconsequential, in a management letter.
Compliance
Additional Fieldwork Responsibilities	The auditor should communicate information regarding the nature, timing, and extent of planned testing and reporting and the level of assurance on compliance with laws, regulations, and provisions of contracts or grant agreements to certain parties during the planning stages of an audit.   Government Auditing Standards also specifically states that the auditor should design the audit to provide reasonable assurance of detecting material misstatements resulting from noncompliance with provisions of contracts or grant agreements that have a direct and material effect on the determination of financial statement amounts or other financial data significant to the audit objectives.
Additional Reporting Responsibilities	The auditor should issue a written report describing the scope of the auditor's testing of compliance with laws, regulations, and provisions of contracts or grant agreements and presenting the results of those tests. (An opinion on compliance is not required, but is permitted if sufficient work was performed.)   The auditor's written report should identify all illegal acts unless they are clearly inconsequential1 and material violations of provisions of contracts or grant agreements. The auditor should report violations of provisions of contracts or grant agreements that are less than material but more than clearly inconsequential in a management letter.
Fraud
Additional Fieldwork Responsibilities	None.
Additional Reporting Responsibilities	The auditor's written report should identify all illegal acts unless they are clearly inconsequential1 and material violations of provisions of contracts or grant agreements. The auditor should report violations of provisions of contracts or grant agreements that are less than material but more than clearly inconsequential in a management letter.
Abuse
Additional Fieldwork Responsibilities	The auditor has no responsibility to design the audit to detect abuse. However, the auditor should be alert to situations or transactions that could be indicative of abuse. If the auditor becomes aware of indications of abuse that could materially affect the financial statement amounts or other financial data significant to the audit objectives, the auditor should apply audit procedures specifically directed to ascertain whether abuse has occurred and the effect on the financial statement amounts or other financial data significant to the audit objectives.
Additional Reporting Responsibilities	The auditor's written report should identify all material abuse. The auditor should report abuse that is less than material but more than clearly inconsequential in a management letter.