Current Materiality Guidance for Auditors

Auditors have to make materiality judgments on every audit. This is a difficult process, as both quantitative and qualitative factors have to be evaluated. Additionally, there is no formal guidance for how to implement the materiality concepts discussed in the auditing standards. Although they are sometimes difficult to make, good materiality judgments are crucial for the conduct of a successful audit as poor judgments can result in an audit that is ineffective and/or inefficient. This report explains the materiality concept and the relationship between materiality and audit risk, discusses factors affecting the materiality decision, and provides application examples of approaches of determining materiality at overall and account level.