SCHEDULE OF KEY CHANGES

ACCA P7 Advanced Audit & Assurance

Complete & Essential Text June 2014-15 version
Summary of changes from 2013 version
General points:

New syllabus changes updated wherever relevant.

Updates to reflect changes in ISAs and other standards.
Other changes made to respond to stakeholder feedback.
Illustrations updated to reflect changes to syllabus/ISAs .
Removed any references to the examiners name.

Specific points:
Chapt
er
Prelims

Changes made
New syllabus included.

Regulation in a
global economy

No significant changes.
Some streamlining to remove unnecessary
detail.

Code of ethics and

conduct

More exam focus added to highlight what

students need to do to address this type of
question in the exam.
Conflicts with fundamental principles added.
Informed management explanation added.
Explanation of public interest entities added.
Circumstances in which disclosure of
confidential information is permitted or
required updated.
Expandable text: Compulsory tendering
added to the emerging ethical issues section.
Exam style TYU added for UK syllabus only.

Professional
appointments

Diagram of matters to consider before

accepting included (previously covered in the
tendering chapter).

Quality control

Exam focus added to the start of the chapter.

Diagrams updated/amended to make them
more useful/relevant.

Advertising,
publicity, obtaining
professional work
and fees

Material content has been streamlined to

remove repetition. In particular fees section.

Tendering

Diagram updated on reasons for changing

auditor. Expandable text removed as now

covered in the diagram.
Material reorganized to flow better.
Chapter summary diagram updated.
7

Money laundering

Streamlined section headings to tie into the

syllabus objectives more easily.

Professional
responsibilities and
liabilities

Some streamlining of content and

expandable text (ET) to remove unnecessary
ET boxes.
Addition of procedures to be performed when
fraud is suspected or discovered.
Added withdrawal from the engagement if
fraud is committed by management.
Amended the section on expectations gap.

Planning, materiality
and assessing the
risk of misstatement

10

Group and
transnational audits

Audit strategy diagram added to reflect

current ISA requirements.
Streamlining to remove repetition.
Impact of ISAs and IFRSs now in ET.
Additional information to help plan the audit
added. This is often part of the risk question
requirement.
Going concern ET moved to the completion
chapter where going concern is covered in
more detail.
Removed some unnecessary paragraphs on
materiality.
Added in ET section on approach to use in
the exam to the risk questions. Deals with
both analytical procedures and narrative
requirements.
Social and environmental issues moved to
the newly created chapter for this syllabus
area.
Past exam question Yates added as a TYU.
Requires the use of analytical procedures to
identify and explain audit risks.
TYU Ivor financial information has been
summarized to make it more in line with the
level of detail that would be provided in the
exam.
Presentation of the answer of TYU 4 has been
changed to clearly show the business risks
and audit risks in a table format.
Acceptance as component auditor added in
line with syllabus objectives.
More detail of ISA 600 requirements and
audit procedures on the consolidation
schedule added in following ACCA feedback.

11

Evidence

Introductory section added to introduce exam

context.
Removed some of the section explaining the
importance of financial reporting standards
to the exam as this has been covered in Ch
9. Some explanation has been left in ET
Exam Focus.
More streamlining of the chapter to remove
unnecessary detail.
Further explanation of the difference
between substantive procedures and tests of
controls in ET with examples as this is an
area students still struggle with.
ET on written representations expanded to
state which ISAs require written
representations to be obtained.
Added in section on reference to the work of
experts in the audit report in response to
ACCA feedback.
ISA 610 update on using the IA to provide
direct assistance added into the text.
Related party transactions sections
reorganized to flow better.
TYU1 requirements reworded to be more in
line with exam wording.

12

Completion

Addition of auditor actions when evaluating

misstatements.
Example added of evaluating the aggregate
effects of misstatements.
ET on final analytical procedures added.
Reference to ISA 560 in the subsequent
events section.
ET on going concern procedures split into
procedures to assess management
evaluation and procedures to perform where
there is doubt over going concern in
response to ACCA feedback.
Foreseeable future section moved into ET.
Going concern recent developments
examinable documents included.
Audit reporting implications moved into a
table to make it easier to see the different
options.
ET Exam approach to completion (Matters &
evidence) questions added.

13

Auditors reports

Change of order of chapter to help it flow

better.
Unmodified report unmodified opinion
modified opinion to help students understand
that EOM/OM paragraphs are used for
matters where the opinion is not modified.

 Added section on actions to be taken if the

report is to be modified in response to ACCA
feedback.
ET on exam approach added.
Explanation of Senior Statutory Auditor
added to UK syllabus focus section.
14

Reports to
management

No change.

15

Other services

Added procedures required for ISRE 2410 in

response to ACCA feedback.
Removed social and environmental reporting
to its own chapter
Removed IT systems as no longer in the
syllabus
Move risk assessment engagements to ET
Added exam approach for due diligence
questions

16

Prospective financial
information

No significant changes.
Answer to TYU has been made more structured
so it is easier to follow.

17

Social,
environmental and
integrated reporting

18

Forensic audits

19

Outsourcing and
internal audit

20

UK syllabus only:
auditing aspects of
insolvency

21

INT syllabus only:

audit of performance
information in the
public sector

20

Financial reporting
revision

Content moved from chapter 15

Chapter links in more with the syllabus
objectives
Exam standard TYU added Shire Oil
2 real life fraud examples included
New section headings to make the
chapter easier to follow
More detailed requirements of ISA 402
included in response to ACCA feedback.
TYU 1a amended to say outsourcing of
internal audit rather than accounting
services to make it consistent.
Included calculation of the prescribed part
in the section of allocation of company
assets.
Advantages of administration over
liquidation added in response to ACCA
feedback.
Real exam question added as a TYU
New syllabus area added.

Updated to include IAS 41

IFRS 2 example added in response to ACCA

feedback
21

Additional practice
questions

No significant changes.