Evidence and assertions
The Evidence Hierarchy
The best evidence is external, direct, and auditor-obtained, and quantity cannot fix poor quality.
How the exam words it
- -The stem lists sources of evidence and asks which is most or least reliable.
- -It distinguishes sufficiency (quantity) from appropriateness (quality and relevance).
- -It asks about reperformance, inspection, or who controlled the evidence.
- -It asks about the documentation assembly period or adding a workpaper later.
The playbook
- 1Rank reliability: auditor-obtained and external beats internal, original beats a photocopy, written beats verbal.
- 2Sufficiency is quantity, appropriateness is quality, and more weak evidence never substitutes for strong evidence.
- 3The file is assembled within 60 days of the report release date, and later additions are documented with who, when, and why.
The trap
Thinking more low-quality evidence compensates for missing high-quality evidence. It does not, and auditor control over the evidence matters.
How the exam varies it
The same pattern, re-skinned along these axes:
Rank reliability versus define sufficiencySource of the evidence: external, internal, or auditor-obtainedEvidence quality versus documentation mechanics
Drill this pattern
8 questions of The Evidence Hierarchy from across the AUD topics. Clear it by getting 5 right with a streak of 3.