ACCA Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA) Practice Exam

What are "sampling units" in an audit?

1. They are the total number of audits performed

2. They are individual items in a population

3. They represent client financial statements

4. They refer to groups of similar characteristics

The correct answer is: They are individual items in a population

Sampling units are defined as the individual items within a population that an auditor examines during a sampling process. In an audit, the population includes the entirety of items that could potentially be selected for the audit procedures, and the sampling units are the distinct items within that population. When auditors perform sampling, they typically aim to gather evidence about the reliability of financial statements or specific transactions. By selecting individual items as sampling units, auditors can evaluate characteristics like accuracy, completeness, and compliance with applicable standards or regulations. This approach helps auditors make informed assessments about the larger population based on the analysis of these selected units. The other choices do not provide a proper definition of sampling units. The total number of audits performed doesn't relate directly to the individual data points being evaluated. Similarly, while the client financial statements encompass a broad range of data, they themselves are not sampling units. Lastly, although groups of similar characteristics may be considered in some sampling methodologies, they do not define the individual items that constitute the sampling units necessary for conducting a thorough audit.