Reference no: EM132849987

Question - You are the audit manager on the current year audit of Black & White Inc. (B&W). The audit staff's field work for the B&W was completed on February 26, 2020. You are reviewing the working paper files on February 28, 2020. You notice an interesting comment on a payroll audit working paper prepared by the junior, Paige, a co-op student who has since returned to university for her accounting studies. In testing a sample of 50 payroll transactions, Paige found that one payroll cheque for $2,500 was paid to a person who was not listed as an employee in the company's personnel files. Following up on this payment, Paige enquired of the assistant controller and noted her reply as follows: "The assistant controller explained that there were many possible reasons the person would not be listed in the personnel files, but since the payment is only $2,500 and our audit materiality is $100,000, it is not significant to the audit and would be inefficient to investigate the payment further." You remember Paige saying something during the audit that she had a funny feeling about the assistant controller and the payroll.

Required -

a) What is materiality? Please define.

b) Discuss the role of materiality in the above situation. Include in your response whether or not the $2,500 discussed above is material to the audit of B&W.

c) As the audit manager in this situation, what action would you take after reviewing the working paper files?