1 Through inquiry with the accountant, obtained an understanding of how the electronic data (listing of manual journal entries) is downloaded from the accounting system.
2 Obtained and reviewed the extraction criteria used by the client and obtained the general ledger source codes to distinguish between manual and automated journal entries.
3 Inquired if the accountant who performed the download had been asked to make any unsupported changes to the database of journal entries.
4 Reconcile the document list to Trial Balance to check completeness of the list.
5 Observed the electronic data being downloaded from the accounting system, inspecting the extraction criteria used to ensure it was consistent with that reviewed in step 2. Also inspected a printout of the IT query, reflecting the parameters used, and agreed this to the extraction criteria reviewed in step 2. The system and general IT controls have been assessed as effective - see section 2.13.