Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00107:front:0:p106
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2025L00107
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 339268–342487

of procedures include enquiries, inspection, observation, confirmation, recalculation, reperformance and analytical procedures.

Designing and Performing Procedures in a Manner that Is Not Biased (Ref: Para. 89(a))

 1.       Unconscious or conscious biases may affect the engagement team's professional judgements in designing and performing procedures, which may impede the exercise of professional scepticism. An awareness of such biases when designing and performing procedures may help to mitigate impediments to the practitioner's exercise of professional scepticism in critically assessing evidence and determining whether sufficient appropriate evidence has been obtained. Such awareness may also enable the practitioner to design and perform procedures that seek to avoid:

           * Placing more weight on evidence that corroborates disclosures than evidence that contradicts or casts doubt on such disclosures (confirmation bias).

           * Using an initial piece of information or evidence as an anchor against which subsequent information or evidence is assessed (anchoring bias).

           * Placing more weight on information that immediately comes to mind or uses information from sources that are more readily available or accessible (availability bias).

           * Placing weight or undue reliance on output from automated systems or information in digital format, or assuming it is relevant and reliable, without performing appropriate procedures (automation bias).

           * Placing undue reliance on information prepared by an expert or another practitioner, or assuming the information is relevant and reliable, without performing appropriate procedures (authority bias).

 1.       Obtaining evidence in an unbiased manner may involve obtaining information from multiple sources (see also paragraphs A255–A257).

Procedures that Are Appropriate in the Circumstances (Ref: Para. 89(b))

 1.       Procedures are appropriate in the circumstances when the nature, timing and extent of such procedures are designed, performed and executed in a manner that achieves the intended purpose of the procedures. The purpose of performing a procedure may be related to risk assessment procedures, further procedures or another procedure to comply with this ASSA. For example, the purpose may be to obtain evidence about whether an event has occurred or whether the disclosures are complete.

 2.       In designing and performing procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances to provide evidence to meet the intended purpose of those procedures, the practitioner's considerations may include whether information intended to be used as evidence:

           * Is expected to be available in digital, written or oral form, related to a point in time or for a period, and is to be obtained from internal or external sources.

           * Is needed across multiple disclosures and how that affects the nature, timing and extent of evidence needed. For example, the nature and availability of appropriate evidence may vary based on whether the disclosures relate to an entity's processes, governance, controls or key performance indicators, and the characteristics of the disclosures, such