CPFM Module II
Public Sector Audit and Assurance flashcards
Read the question, say the answer to yourself, then turn the card to check. The first 10 of 50 cards are free; the rest come with the subject.
Card 1 of 50
Jump to a card
Complete Flashcard Reference
Review every card in this deck. Open any card to reveal its answer. The first 10 are free; the other 40 come with the subject.
What is an audit, and how does it relate to assurance?
An audit is an independent examination of financial or operational information to express an opinion on it. Assurance is the confidence a user can place in a conclusion reached by an independent practitioner. An audit is the highest level of assurance.
Which law governs the Auditor-General's external audit, and which governs internal audit?
External audit: the Public Audit Act, 2015, which operationalises the Auditor-General's mandate under the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. Internal audit: the Public Finance Management Act, 2012, supplemented by National Treasury circulars and guidelines. Do not conflate the two functions' legal basis.
What is internal audit's dual reporting line, and why does it matter?
Functionally to the audit committee, which approves the charter, the plan and the budget and receives the results. Administratively to the accounting officer, for day to day support. A function reporting only to the accounting officer whose controls it examines cannot report adversely on them without risk.
How does a forensic audit differ from a statutory audit?
Statutory audit: periodic and broad in scope, giving reasonable assurance on the financial statements as a whole. It is not designed specifically to detect fraud. Forensic audit: triggered by a specific suspicion, narrow and deep in scope, aimed at establishing facts usable as evidence.
How is Kenya's Auditor-General appointed, and for how long?
Under Article 229 of the Constitution: appointed by the President with the approval of the National Assembly, after competitive selection. A single term of eight years. Involving more than one branch of government protects the holder's independence.
Public Accounts Committee or Public Investments Committee: which scrutinises what?
Public Accounts Committee (PAC): the Auditor-General's reports on national government expenditure. Public Investments Committee (PIC): the Auditor-General's reports on state corporations and public investments.
On what basis should audit committee members be appointed?
For relevant expertise: financial, audit, risk or legal. Predominantly from outside the entity's own management, to preserve genuine independence. A committee dominated by senior management means the people being overseen are overseeing themselves.
What does a performance audit examine?
Whether public resources were used economically, efficiently and effectively in achieving intended outcomes. It goes beyond financial compliance to ask whether value for money was actually achieved: financial audit asks 'are the figures right', performance audit asks 'was the money well spent'.
What is the difference between auditing around and auditing through the system?
Around: tests inputs and outputs without examining the internal processing logic, treating the system as a black box. Through: directly tests the system's internal processing, controls and logic. Through is needed where the system is so complex that input and output testing alone cannot give sufficient assurance.
Distinguish materiality from audit risk.
Materiality: the threshold at which a misstatement or omission could reasonably influence the decisions of users relying on the information. Audit risk: the risk that the auditor expresses an inappropriate opinion when the information is materially misstated. Materiality defines what counts as significant; audit risk is the risk of getting the conclusion wrong.
Name the five classifications of audit and assurance, with what each examines.
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What is the role of auditors in public sector entities?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
Trace the accountability chain that public sector audit supports.
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What is audit evidence?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What does the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 provide for public audit?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What does the Public Finance Management Act, 2012 require on internal audit?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What does the Public Audit Act, 2015 do?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What do gazetted audit committee guidelines and Treasury circulars add to the PFM Act?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What is the scope of the internal audit function in a public entity?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
State the objectives and functions of the internal audit function.
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What are internal controls for?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What are the five domains of the IIA's Global Internal Audit Standards?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What does the IIA's International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) comprise from 2025?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What role does the Public Sector Accounting Standards Board play in internal audit?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
Who sets the Global Internal Audit Standards?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
Distinguish assurance work from consulting work, and say what happens when internal audit audits a control it designed.
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What is forensic auditing?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
Which institutions work alongside forensic audit against public sector fraud in Kenya?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
Set out the procedure for a forensic audit, in order.
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What do forensic auditors do in the public sector?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What challenges affect forensic audits in the public sector?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What are the functions of the Office of the Auditor-General?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
A county's financial year ends on 30 June 2026. By when must the Auditor-General audit it and report to Parliament?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
How does internal audit relate to the Auditor-General's audit?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What makes the Office of the Auditor-General independent?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
How does Parliament exercise oversight over public finance?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What does the Budget and Appropriations Committee do?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What is the National Treasury's role once an oversight committee has issued findings?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What challenges affect Parliament as an oversight body?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
Why are audit committees established in public sector institutions?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What falls within the scope of an audit committee's operation?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
Why is the audit committee called the governance link?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What do the Auditor-General's recommendations typically address?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What is a special audit?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What are citizen accountability audit reports for?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
Name three computerised audit procedures and techniques.
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What is TeamMate used for?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
A system holds 240,000 payments, 9 of them with the same requisitioner and approver. How many would a sample of 60 be expected to contain, and what follows?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
Exception tests return 412 over-limit payments and 9 where requisitioner and approver are the same. Which is more serious, and why?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
What challenges affect computerised auditing systems?
This answer comes with Public Sector Audit and Assurance. Buy the subject
How to revise with these cards
- Answer out loud or on paper before you turn the card: recalling is what fixes it.
- Go through the deck in short sessions of ten to fifteen minutes, every day.
- Shuffle once you know the order, so you are not answering from memory of the sequence.
- When a card catches you out, read the chapter it links to, then try the topic in a past paper.