ACF Internships 2018

For those of you assigned work in the consultancy arm of the firm please read the text in green
at the end of each section to help you adapt your report accordingly
Expectations

 We expect all students to exhibit Professionalism in terms of appearance, attitude, ethics

& confidentiality. Please note that any information that you obtain during the
internship is strictly confidential and may not be shared with anyone else. You
may not include working papers in your report.
 Application of theoretical knowledge obtained during CFR and auditing including
professional skepticism

Section 1: Note on Audit Firm

 History: summarised history of the local firm
 Services Provided: locally
 International Affiliations: Summarised history of international firm
 Major Clients (local)
 Specializations (local)

The primary source for this section will be the firm’s website, however, please do not do a direct
copy paste. When assessing this section, I will be looking for your ability to pick out relevant
information and putting it in your own words. You will need to ensure information on the website
is current and you will also need to supplement this section by obtaining updated information
from the firm.
Please do not forget to cite your sources and web based sources must include the link and the date
the site was accessed. The majority of this part of the report can probably be done even before you
start your internship but know which firm you have been assigned to.
This section will be the same in terms of required content coverage even for consultancy related
work.
Section 2: Note on the Client
The purpose of this section is to help you understand the business and its environment which is a
necessary step in the planning process. The basic aim being to identify risks the client faces and
will set the stage for the audit and how to address those risks.
 History of the client: again, your ability to pick and choose relevant information will be
assessed here
 Lines of business; Products and services (Major): please do not list every item under the
sun here
 Ownership structure: Make sure you understand the difference between ownership and
management. The BOD are not owners!
 Organization Chart: This will need to be obtained during the internship-you will probably
not be able to access it afterwards
 Industry Analysis: please attempt to do some independent research here, do not rely
entirely on the company’s annual report. Please also ensure you are basing it on updated
information relevant to the period under review. This section is about the entire industry
in which the business operates NOT the specific business
 Associated Concerns (Related Parties): the aim of identifying related parties is to target
related party transactions which are high risk as they may not be at an arm’s length
 Major Revenues & Expenses : please consider materiality here, the purpose is to identify
items which contribute significantly and are therefore subject to closer scrutiny. Please do
not list every item in the income statement or insert a picture of the income statement.
 Market Position & Future Prospects: This is client specific and again needs to be relevant
to the period under review

All of this information is likely to be available in the planning file to which you may or may not be
given access to. Irrespective it needs to be supplemented with your own efforts and if you are not
given access you can ask senior team members to assist you or review what you have written-I am
fairly sure if you ask nicely you will get the help you require (a little humility goes a long way!)
Understanding a business and its operations is equally valid for a consultancy assignment but
may not require points like identification of related parties. Consultancy assignments also require
planning so if you can get hold of that you will get a good indication of how to do the background
on the client and which aspects are important.
Section 3: The Audit
This section starts with a generic description of the audit methodology and use of IT and
progresses to specific information relating to the assignment you were deputed to.
 Audit Methodology: generic description of methodology adopted by the firm
 Application of IT in Audit: Most firms make extensive use of excel and audit software.
Describe briefly.
 Note on Areas Assigned:(e.g. BOD minutes, vouching, legal & professional expenses, cash
& Bank, cash counts & stock checks)
 Audit Plan: This should be an overview of how the firm intends to conduct the audit
including tests of controls and degree of substantive testing which is linked to the risk
assessment and from which specific audit procedures are derived
 Steps performed by me individually: Each step is to be documented and linked to the audit
assertion it satisfies. You may present this section in tabular form if you wish. Most firms
have documented audit programs for each financial statement line item and each step is
linked to assertions to ensure sufficient appropriate evidence is obtained. This should help
you do this section. Please note that this is the main part of the report and needs to
demonstrate your understanding of what you did and why you did it. I would suggest
documenting this on an ongoing basis to facilitate your understanding of the work being
done
 Problems observed & Solutions
 Sampling Technique
So, in short you should cover risk assessment, analytical procedures & detailed testing
Please start this section with a description of the consultancy assignment and then cover each
point above suitably adapted so in effect it should progress in the manner shown below

 Consulting Methodology: generic description of methodology adopted by the firm

 Application of IT in the assignment: Describe briefly.
 Consulting assignment Plan: This should be an overview of how the firm intends to
conduct the assignment and how that connects to developing specific work programs for
individual team members
 Steps performed by me individually: Each step is to be documented and linked to the
reason it is being performed. You may present this section in tabular form if you wish.
Please note that this is the main part of the report and needs to demonstrate your
understanding of what you did and why you did it. I would suggest documenting this on
an ongoing basis to facilitate your understanding of the work being done
 Problems observed & Solutions
 Sampling Technique, if applicable
Section 4: A note summarizing your experience with the firm highlighting lessons learned in the
field of
Management skills
Interpersonal skills
Presentation skills
Organizational Behavior
Time management skills
Other relevant and interesting learning opportunities that came across during the internship.
This section will have the same content coverage for consultancy work as well
Please note that submitted work will be run through turnitin so please write in your own words!
I reiterate that no resubmissions will be entertained this year so please make an effort to
produce professional quality work in the first go