The main difference between audit plans and audit programs is the scope of the document, as described in the following terminology list:•
Audit plan
—A high-level description of the audit work to be performed in a certain period of time by the auditor or a team of auditors. This document should contain details about the engagement, including the stakeholders, subject, objective, scope and deliverables of the engagement. Other critical details that should be documented in the audit plan include the budget, resource allocation, schedule dates, type of report and its intended audience, and the methodology that will be used to assess controls in scope.•
Audit program
—A more granular description of the work to be performed to meet the engagement objectives. The audit program should be used to document step by step the set of audit procedures and instructions needed to test controls, evaluate results, obtain suitable evidence to form an opinion and report the findings to the stakeholders. Other details that should be included in the audit program include the areas to be audited, high-level objectives, and the tools and techniques that will be used to test controls.•
Work program
—A list of procedures and tasks that should be performed to meet audit objectives•
Internal controls questionnaire
—A document that auditors can use to inquire about the existence of internal controls before performing the audit. The questionnaire is useful to determine the areas on which the audit should focus.•
Checklist
—A list of items that is used to verify the completeness of a task or goal•
Test scripts
—A list of specific instructions that need to be followed to test a particular subject and document the results•
Work papers
—The set of documents used to record all of the work performed during the entire audit engagement and demonstrate compliance with audit standards