TASK PART A: AUDITING AND ASSURANCE

You are the audit manager of Ernst & Young, Chartered Accountants, Wellington for the past 5 years. Your engagement partner asked you to carry out a risk analysis and audit plan of Xero Limited for the year ending 31 March 2020. The engagement partner called you in his office on 1 June 2019 and asked you to complete the following preliminary planning tasks and report to him on 30 June 2019:

You are therefore required to prepare a written report

(i) Explaining four key facts about the company that highlight company’s business and audit risks for financial report audit of the year ending 31 March 2020

(ii) critically reviewing company’s history on four main aspects of performance and financial position for financial report audit of the year ending 31 March 2020 and

(iii) discussing four main matters that are required to be addressed for planning the for financial report audit of the year ending 31 March 2020

TASK PART B: AUDIT REGULATION

Regulation of company audit has attracted many media headlines for wrong reasons. The auditors and regulators have drawn significant challenges and criticisms in recent years around the world, especially for audit services provided to large listed public interest entities. Some auditing scholars believe that there is hardly a future for financial report auditing unless auditing, auditing profession and its regulation and quality is significantly overhauled.

You are therefore required to prepare a written research essay

(i) discussing four key regulatory failures in the audit of large corporations listed on stock exchange and

(ii) discussing four recommendations of regulatory reform to ensure proper conduct of large public interest entities and its management and governance.