The Collapse of Hih – Solvency and Audit Risk

Audit Risk Assessment can be done by this Audit Risk Model. This model consists of 3 types of risks i.e., inherent risk, control risk and detection risk. Eventually, audit risk is a product of these 3 types of risks (Griffiths, 2012).

Knowledge about risks related to the company evaluated as part of the auditor 's client acceptance and retention evaluation; and the relative complexity of the company 's operations. ( Auditing Standard No. 9 //. (n.d.).

Audit risk is the risk that the auditor gives the wrong opinion – this can either be stating errors when there are none or when there are errors stating that there are none. This risk cannot be eliminated as auditors can only provide a reasonable assurance and not absolute, but instead this can only be managed and reduced to a minimum.

CAS 300 requires auditors to their audit using a risk based model where the nature, timing and extent of audit procedures are based on the assessed risk of material misstatement. Pickett (2006) argues that for audits to be effective and efficient, much of the audit effort should be focused on areas that are considered to pose the highest audit risk. Additional audit procedures should be linked to individual audit assertions whereas other audit procedures need to be performed as and when needed. Thus, for an audit plan to be put in place, it is necessary for an auditor to come up with a risk profile of the client comprising an understanding of the business operating by the audit client, assess business risk and also perform its preliminary analytical review.

#3. Inherent Risk Factors; audit planning decisions. Businesses that face extreme competition are susceptible to many inherent risk factors – the measurement of the auditor’s assessment of the likelihood that there are material misstatements in an account balance before considering the effectiveness of internal control. Complex valuation issues and related party transactions are two such factors that would affect audit planning decisions. Valuation issues may lead the audit team to request more evidence, if they choose to accept the audit at all. Risks such as inventory turnover leading to potential misstatements of inventory, costs of goods sold, or obsolescence of inventory may influence the audit firm’s decision to hire outside specialists to assist in the audit. Another inherent risk factor, client business risk (competitive

Effective February 7, 2013, SeaBright Insurance Company (“Seabright”), a Seattle-based insurance company specializing in workers compensation, entered into run-off. In 2012, Enstar Group Limited (“Enstar”), a run-off specialist, purchased SeaBright. SeaBright continues to manage existing claims but no longer writes new or renewal business, which means that premium activity has slowed down. In 2015, a major change occurred when all of SeaBright’s net liabilities (i.e. loss reserves associated with its prior workers comp business) were shifted to an Enstar affiliate, Clarendon National Insurance Company, through a reinsurance agreement. Circumstances that led the company to run-off: SeaBright was placed into run-off driven by weakened underwriting performance associated with reserve strengthening actions for accident years 2007 through 2009, primarily related to increasing medical cost trends. Additionally, SeaBright was facing marketplace challenges associated with its geographic and coverage lines expansion. Seabright has had to deal with significant pressure from its workers comp book developing adversely year-over-year and having to liquidate investments to satisfy claims and expenses. The reinsurance contract with Clarendon did provide major relief but SeaBright still remains a going concern and without premiums coming in and asset base rapidly shrinking, its solvency status as an insurance company remains questionable. The key now is to track the level of credit risk

At the end all the risk are finance related, because the liability’s cost money and this will have an effect in the company’s earnings, so what is important is not only to try to avoid such events but also to be prepare in case they happen and have a plan, is like the saying “Hope for the best but be prepare for the worst”.

Also another risk factor that will increase the company’s inherent audit risk is the situation of its cash flow. If a retail company has a negative cash flow which means it not generating enough cash to maintain its operations, the risk of misstatement will accordingly increase. As stated in Q1, auditors should spend more efforts on examine the cash accounts if the cash flow of the company shows some abnormal signals.

The auditor must obtain an understanding of the entity and its environment, including internal controls, so that they can identify and assess the risks of material misstatement on financial statements due to fraud or error and design and perform further audit procedures.

This frequently puts the auditor in the position, in effect, of deciding whether a company is able to obtain the funds it needs to continue operating. Thus, the auditor’s qualification tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The auditor’s expression of uncertainty about the company’s ability to continue may contribute to making it a certainty.

Regarding expansion of HQLA, according to Gomes and Wilkins (2013), pool of eligible HQLA was expanded to incorporate a broader range of assets, which results in lower centralization on banks’ balance sheets and decreasing probability of reselling assets. The new requirement reveals that a new category of Level 2B assets has been introduced. Level 2 assets may not in aggregate account for more than 40% of a banks stock of HQLA and Level 2B assets may not account for more than 15% of a banks stock of HQLA (“Basel III: Relaxations to the Liquidity Coverage Ratio”, 2013).

In 2014, 37% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) reported having cash flow problems and 66% of these stated that late payment was the reason for this. Not only will time be spent attempting to recover their losses but it may leave a business unable to invest and have repercussions for supplies, customers, employees and their families. Upon breach of a warranty by the assured, the insurer is discharged from all liability as from the date of the breach regardless of whether the assured acted fraudulently, negligently or innocently, and regardless of whether or not the breach was subsequently remedied. Both obligations of the insurer that have been analysed represent the need for change in insurance contract laws, as the current laws provide disadvantages for the position of both parties.

The company adopted an aggressive acquisition strategy, a growth-at-all-cost attitude and a culture of never to give “bad news”. This resulted in conflicts between profit maximization and sound corporate governance procedures. The cause of the collapse may also be due to the lack of independent directors to the point where the directors were also the former partners of their company’s auditors, Arthur Andersen. On a whole, it was more of a lack of company monitoring, poor system and gross mismanagement which lead to the Australia’s biggest failure.(LongDog &

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the role of external auditing in promoting good corporate governance. The role of auditors has been emphasized after the pass of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act as a response to the accounting scandal of Enron. Even though auditors are hired and paid by the company, their role is not to represent or act in favor of the company, but to watch and investigate the company’s financials to protect the public from any material misstatements that can affect their decisions. As part of this role, the auditors assess the level of the company’s adherence to its own code of ethics.

The lack of independence for external auditors will lead to the neglect of auditing risks (William R.K., 2003), which are the main reasons for the failure of certified accountants and professional accounting organizations. The consequence of the external auditors deprived of independence would be very serious. And there are many cases, which aroused by the failure of external auditors and most are related to the lack of independence. One famous example is the bankruptcy of Enron and the role played by its external auditor, Arthur Andersen (Todd, S., 2003). Arthur Andersen was once one of the biggest accounting companies in the world, and was canceled for the involvement in the Enron bankruptcy scandal.