Population statistics
19 easy to perform tests
Often, the starting point for an audit test will be a simple determination of what the population is, both counts and amounts. Sometimes the auditor is also concerned with whether or not there are negative or zero amounts.
The auditor can easily perform basic data classification in order to tie a population of transactions to the general ledger or trial balance. In some cases, the auditor may identify unexpected values. For example, an audit of fixed assets may identify certain assets with a negative (credit) value.
An example chart is shown below.
In the chart above, debit transactions predominate as to amount, but not as to count. Also, there are a small number of zero amount transactions.