Sampling and Analytical Procedures

At 30-40% of the exam, Section 3 is the one to master, and sampling shows up on nearly every exam form. The point most often missed is the primary sampling risk for each test. For tests of controls it is assessing control risk too low (effectiveness), and for substantive tests it is incorrect acceptance (accepting a misstated balance). Under AU-C 530, both statistical and nonstatistical sampling require a representative sample, and picking one over the other does not affect audit quality, it only changes whether you can put a number on the sampling risk. Candidates also miss that AU-C 520 requires analytical procedures at two mandatory stages, planning and overall review near the end of the audit, while using them as substantive procedures during fieldwork is optional.