Select a Sample of Accounts.
In a moderate- to large-sized organization, the Accounts Receivable file may contain thousands of records. Rather than confirming all of these accounts, the auditor will probably choose to select a sample of records. To assist the auditor in this task, ACL’s Sample feature offers two basic sampling methods: random (record) sampling and monetary unit sampling (MUS). The choice of methods will depend on the auditor’s strategy and the composition of the Accounts Receivable file. If the account balances are fairly evenly distributed, the auditor may want an unbiased sample and will thus choose the random sample approach. Under this method, each record, regardless of the size of the accounts receivable balance, has an equal chance of being included in the sample. If, on the other hand, the file is heavily skewed with large customer account balances, the auditor may select MUS, which will produce a sample biased toward the larger dollar amounts.