The audit risk can be defined as the risk that the auditor will not discern errors or intentional miscalculations during the process of reviewing the financial statements of a company or an individual.
Audit Risk is the risk that the auditor expresses an inappropriate audit opinion when the financial statements are materially misstated.
Audit risk is the risk that an auditor issues an incorrect opinion on the financial statements. Examples of inappropriate audit opinions include the following:
1. Issuing an unqualified audit report where a qualification is reasonably justified;
Audit risk may be considered as the product of the various risks which may be encountered in the performance of the audit.
To keep the overall audit risk of engagements below an acceptable limit, the auditor must assess the level of risk of each component of audit risk.
Explanation of the 3 elements of audit risk is as follows;
Inherent risk is the risk of a material misstatement in the financial statements arising due to error or omission as a result of factors other than the failure of controls (factors that may cause a misstatement due to absence or lapse of controls are considered separately in the assessment of control risk).
Inherent risk is generally considered to be higher where a high degree of judgment and estimation is involved or where transactions of the entity are highly complex.
For example, the inherent risk in the audit of a newly formed financial institution that has significant trade and exposure in complex derivative instruments may be considered to be significantly higher as compared to the audit of a well-established manufacturing concern operating in a relatively stable competitive environment.
Control Risk is the risk of a material misstatement in the financial statements arising due to absence or failure in the operation of relevant controls of the entity.
Organizations must have adequate internal controls in place to prevent and detect instances of fraud and error.
Control risk is considered to be high where the audited entity does not have adequate internal controls to prevent and detect instances of fraud and error in the financial statements.
Assessment of control risk may be higher, for example, in the case of a small-sized entity in which segregation of duties is not well defined, and the financial statements are prepared by individuals who do not have the necessary technical knowledge of accounting and finance.
Detection Risk is the risk that the auditors fail to detect a material misstatement in the financial statements. An auditor must apply audit procedures to detect material misstatements in the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error.
Misapplication or omission of critical audit procedures may result in a material misstatement remaining undetected by the auditor.
Some detection risk is always present due to the inherent limitations of the audit, such as the use of sampling for the selection of transactions.