Concepts for an accounting top down risk assessment can be well defined, but execution of a true top-down risk accounting risk assessment is still a challenge. The requirement of Auditing Standard 5 (AS5) to consider multiple risk factors complicates the process. Organizations will often struggle with the best method to properly evaluate their accounts to determine those which present the potential for a material misstatement.

This course focuses on the methodology steps reviewed in Segment One of developing a top-down risk assessment. We delve further into understanding how to examine entity-level controls and their importance on determining account significance. We review the steps outlined in Segment One and apply those steps towards two separate scenarios. This allows the participant to think through the process and application and to examine how a scoring methodology may be beneficial within their individual process.