Poll to know several colectives' opinion about tax auditing
   
   
  Dear Lady or Gentleman: 

This questionnaire consists only of 16 questions about some aspects related to Tax Auditing. I want you to devote some minutes to the reading of this file. 

My name is Pablo Arenas del Buey Torres. I am a teacher at the University of Jaén (Spain); at the moment I am carrying out an investigation about the state of the Tax Auditing all over the world. The results of this study will be integrated to the work of investigation called "Tax Auditing. Expert System for the detection and evaluation of tax contingencies", directed by the teacher Dr. Enrique Corona Romero. We thank your collaboration, making known that the received answers will be treated confidentially and with investigating aims.

INSTRUCTIONS: You must answer the questionnaire without considering the actual rules of the auditory reigning in the world of auditory, but simply your point of view and professional experience in this field. You can leave your answer blank in those questions you have not a well-defined opinion. You can access to the results of the investigation if you write a direction of e-mail at the end of the poll.

Once completed the questionnaire, click the button "Send Questionnaire " placed at the bottom. 
   
 
POLLED'S PROFESSION AND COUNTRY OF JOB
   
  Mark your profession or dedication (you may mark more than one answer):
   
 
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Chartered Accountant (CA) working for somebody (Clerk)
 
CPA/CA self employed
 
Working CPA/CA, partner of an audit firm
 
Not working CPA/CA
 
Tax assistant, fiscal adviser or fiscal consultant, lawyer or economist (working for somebody or self-employed)
 
Lecturer or Professor
 
Tax inspector or subinspector
 
Other kind of government employee
 
Student of financial audit
   
  Please, if you didn't mark anyone of the previous items, I request you do not continue with the rest. Thank you for your attention
   
  Please, select the country where you work 
  Age
 
   
 
REACH OF THE AUDIT WORK
   
 
QUESTION 1
   
  Suppose it is the first audit you carry out to a Company, in the first year of contract of a complete audit of financial statements. In relation with the function of the audit for the society and to satisfy the expectations of the auditing report’s users, you think that would be suitable:
  Answer Yes or No (Y/N) (Y = Agreement; N = Disagreement)
 
Y S
N
  
 
To effect a complete revision of all the fiscal years not prescribed, since the opinion of audit includes a judgement on the possible fiscal risks with origin in the audited exercise or in previous exercises.
 
To limit the review of the fiscal area to the contracted exercise, since the previous exercises must not enter the scope of the contracted work.
 
Not to establish before a predetermined scope but to accord this one with the client in the contract, providing that there is reflected the scope contracted in the report.
 
Not to establish before a predetermined scope but to accord this one with the client in the contract, not being necessary to be reflected the reach contracted in the report.
   
 
TOOLS AND HELP SYSTEMS
   
 
QUESTION 2
   
  Choose one of the following instruments, those which are more useful in audit to get suitable evidence (necessary and enough), on the fiscal situation of an entity.
  Click those which you think more useful, up to 5
   
 
Computer programs (Expert systems) to detect possible fiscal irregularities
 
Analysis techniques of materiality deviations of ratios in relation with similar entities of the sector in which the taxpaying works.
 
Verbal or written confirmations of those people related with the taxpayer (mainly external advisers, customers and suppliers)
 
Analysis techniques of deviations among tax forms presented by the contributor and the information contained in the official financial statements (Technique of global reconciliations)
 
Dynamic analysis techniques of ratios (comparison along different fiscal years) of the main ratios of the taxpayer, in order to find erractics deviations in these.
 
Technical of static analysis of ratios (referred to an exercise) of the own taxpayer's main ratios, with the purpose of detecting erratic deviations in these.
 
Getting movements of every bank account to discover secret taxable bases.
 
Making a study of the contributor's patrimony at the beginning and at the end of each fiscal year to determine its net growth and, for comparison with the declared revenues, to determine the existence of possible secret revenues.
 
  Others
 
 

   
 
INFORMATION TO PROVIDE IN THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND QUANTIFICACION OF CONTINGENCIES
   
  In the following hypothetical situations, click which action indicated should follow an auditor in his professional practice, according to his criterion and without considering if these actions are adapted to the Generally Accepted Audit Procedures.
   
 
QUESTION 3
   
  We are in the moment to recommend the adjustments and reclassifications for its financial states to an enterprise. The entity is nowadays immersed in a public tax audit, which will stern, with a high probability, a passive material contingent that can not estimate reasonably, so the performances tax inspectors still have not ended. The company neither has endowed any provision nor knows if to inform or not in the annual report. Supposing that the company accepts all the recommendations, if you were the auditor (click the option with you agree):
   
 
You will recommend informing of this fact in the annual report, which would avoid inserting an intermediate paragraph of exception due to uncertainty in the audit report.
 
You will recommend informing of this fact in the annual report, and would also include an intermediate paragraph of exception due to uncertainty in the audit report.
 
You will recommend informing of this fact in the annual report, and would also insert a paragraph of emphasis in the report of audit.
 
You will not recommend to report of such a fact in the annual report, but you would include, nevertheless, an intermediate paragraph of exception due to uncertainty in the audit report.
   
 
QUESTION 4
   
  Supposing the passive contingent of the previous question was susceptible of objective quantification, and it was quantified by the entity in 10 millions dollars (highly material), being you auditor, who coincide in this estimation, and supposing the entity requests your advice about the best alternative they should follow to avoid intermediate paragraphs in the report (click the option with you agree):
   
 
You willl recommend to inform of this fact in the annual report and to endow a risk provision that covered the amount of the passive contingent. If the entity accepts it, it would avoid any kind of information in the audit report. 
 
You will only recommend to endow a risk provision that covered the amount of the passive contingent, with no necessity of offering information itself in the annual report. If the entity accepts it, it would avoid any kind of information in the audit report.
   
 
QUESTION 5
   
  The auditor is responsible of the quantification of a probable contingent fact if the entity-client cannot reasonably quantify it.
   
 
Generally, agreement
 
Generally, disagreement
   
 
QUESTION 6
   
  In the quantification or estimation of a contingent fact with origin in tax, to recommend the enter in books of account of a provision, the auditor is thought to keep in mind:
   
 
The absolute amount of the tax contingency, which include the whole tributary debt not entered in the legal term, more the sanctions according to normative effective in each fiscal year, and the delay interests calculated up to the audit report date.
 
Similar to the previous point but multiplied by a quantity "a" (between 0 and 1) basically identified with the probability of materialization of the contingent fact in the future
   
 
QUESTION 7
   
  Distribute 100 points among the variables that you think the defined quantity "a" depends, considering it as the probability of happening and materialization of this fact in the future:
   
 
Consistency of the data declared to the tributary administration
 
Percentage of public checking of tax declarations presented by taxpayers in connection with all the declarations presented.
 
Ratio number of taxpayers/number of civil servants dedicated to inspection tasks.
 
Percentage of fraud detected by the inspection [((quota or base established by the inspection/quota or base declared by the taxpayer) - 1)*100]
 
Percentage of success gotten in the Court of Justice.
 
Others (relate in detail)
 
 

   
 
QUESTION 8
   
  Supose now the entity does not accept any of your information recommendations and the fact is quantified and catalogue as highly significant and there are not other circumstances with effect in the auditor's opinion:

(Mark 1 the first if you agree with the first, 2 if you agree with second...)
   
 
You will include a paragraph of exception in the audit report due to nonfulfilment of GAAP, giving a negative opinion in the report
 
You will include a paragraph of exception due to uncertainty in the audit report denying or refusing the opinion in the report.
 
You will include a paragraph of exception due to nonfulfilment of GAAP, giving your opinion with exceptions in the report.
 
You will include a paragraph of exception due to uncertainty in the audit report due to uncertainty, giving your opinion with exceptions in the report.
   
 
QUESTION 9
   
  Additionally, in this same supposition of non-acceptance of recommendations (click the option you choose)
   
 
You will describe this fact clearly and in detail in an intermediate paragraph, even if it could mean a future damage for the entity.
 
You won't write about this fact trying not to cause a prejudice for the entity.
 
You will describe it, but not detailedly, to solve the professional responsibility and also trying to safeguard the company's interests.
   
 
HOW THE AUDITOR MUST INFORM ABOUT THE FISCAL FRAUD (OR ABOUT NONFULFILMENTS OF FISCAL KIND) 
   
 
QUESTION 10
   
  Which of the following documents you believe more suitable for the auditor to inform about a hypothetical company's fiscal situation like the one described in the previous section .(The options you agree mark 1 if it is the first, 2 if it is the second ...)
   
Audit report
 
Recommendations letter (directed to the administrators or to the audit committee)
 
Private information letter to the stockholders/partners
 
Letter of information sent to the fiscal authorities
 
Others (relate in detail)
 
 

   
 
QUESTION 11
   
  In reference to the letter of recommendations or about significant debilities of the internal control emitted by the auditor, you think the external auditor should

(Click the answer(s) you agree with)
   
 
To put it at the disposal of the stockholders'/partners' disposition in any case 
 
To put it at the disposal of the stockholders'/partners' disposition in some cases
 
To only put it at the disposal of the administrators' disposition
 
To put it at the disposal of the authorities in some cases
 
To put it at the disposal of the authorities in any case
   
 
QUESTION 12
   
  In case of having marked the second or the fourth answer in the previous question, click in which of the following cases you should understand justified this performance in the financial auditor’s work: 
   
 
In presence of significants frauds (with origin in tax or of any other kind)
 
In presence of mistakes or irregularities (tax non compliance or of any other kind)
 
In presence of material debilities of internal control
 
n presence of significant breach or infringe of any kind of regulation
 
Others (relate in detail)
 
 

   
 
SELECTION OF TAXPAYERS TO PUBLIC INSPECTION
   
 
QUESTION 13
   
  Imagine you are exercising as public employee in charge of the selection of taxpayers who must be submitted to a fiscal inspection; for this purpose, you believe that it would be more convenient (click the options you agree with, maximum three):
   
 
To use the information obtained from the tax returns presented or declared by taxpayers, in order to select, preferably, those whose declarations show differences, that is to say, those whose tax returns are not consistent to each other.
 
Getting audit's report information. With this criterion those taxpayers' whose audit reports include indicative paragraphs showing possible fiscal nonfulfilments, such as, exceptions due to uncertainties of fiscal origin.
 
Studying the taxpayers that presented significant deviations of ratios in reference to similar companies from the sector in which they operate.
 
Choosing taxpayers that presented wandering or inconsistent ratios in a study of static analysis.
 
To Choose taxpayers that presented wandering or inconsistent ratios in a study of dynamic analysis, that is to say, comparative along a determined number of fiscal years.
   
 
INCOMPATIBLE TASKS WITH TAX AUDITING
   
 
QUESTION 14
   
  Click those activities you think they should be incompatible with private tax auditing, in connection with the same company:
   
 
Accounting material execution 
 
Tasks for fiscal advice and/or taxes preparation.
 
Tasks of legal advice
 
Consulting tasks
 
None of the previously mentioned 
   
 
PUBLIC UTILIZATION OF THE LABOUR OF THE PRIVATE AUDITOR
   
 
QUESTION 15
   
  Answer Y or N (Y=generally, agreement; N=generally, disagreement) to the following statements in relation with the use by the public sector of the private auditor's work:
 
S Y
N
  
 
Those companies whose financial statements are accompanied of an audit report with no qualification, should being able to get fiscal authorities' conformity of the taxable bases declared by the different taxes automatically .
 
Those companies whose financial statements are accompanied of an audit report with no qualification, should have more possibilities than those that do not enjoy that situation when getting fiscal authorities' conformity of the taxable bases declared by the different taxes.
 
Those companies whose financial statements are accompanied of an audit report with no qualification, should not get, in any case, of the fiscal authorities automatic or more probable conformity of the  taxable bases declared by the different taxes.
 
Those companies whose financial statements are accompanied of an audit report with exceptions, should be more verified by fiscal authorities when getting conformity of the taxable bases declared by the different taxes.
   
 
OTHER QUESTIONS
   
 
QUESTION 16
   
  Answer Y or N  (Y = generally, agreement; N = generally, disagreement) to the following statements:
 
Y
N
  
 
The auditor is responsible of the commission from the significant fiscal concealment, if he did not inform about it in any way.
 
The usage of the information contained in the audit report with fiscal aims by the public sector will damage in some ways the confidence that the company deposits in the private auditor.
 
The tax administration should have access to the auditor's papers of work to inspect with a better efficiency.
 
It should be instrumented some measurement with the purpose that the companies could regularize voluntarily with a low fiscal cost those irregular situations discovered by an auditor.
   
   
 
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Your mail-address is:

   
   
 
POLLSTER PERSONAL DATA
   
 
Pablo Arenas del Buey Torres

Universidad de Jaén, Paraje de las Lagunillas s/n

Área de Economía Financiera y Contabilidad

Despacho 7138

23071 Jaén - España

TELÉFONO: (+07) 953 01 22 26; FAX: (+07) 953 01 22 22

Correo-e: pabloa@ujaen.es // encupabloa@ujaen.es
   
 
     You can also fill this poll in the following sites:
 
www.ujaen.es/dep/admemp/parenas/Encuesta.htm
 
www.ciberconta.unizar.es/docencia/auditoria/EncuestaAudiFis.htm