Bank Audit Requests

As part of this, there are three auditing standards that support auditors in obtaining external confirmations:

• ISA (UK) 330 – The Auditor’s Responses to Assessed Risks (Revised July 2017, updated May 2022)
• ISA (UK) 505 – External Confirmations (Revised October 2023)
• ISA (UK) 240 - The auditor’s responsibilities relating to fraud in an audit of financial statements (Revised May 2021, updated May 2022)

The key guidance in ISA (UK) 330 and ISA (UK) 505 read:

• When using external confirmation procedures, the auditor shall maintain control over external confirmation requests.
• Responses to confirmation requests provide more relevant and reliable audit evidence when confirmation requests are sent to a confirming party the auditor believes is knowledgeable about the information to be confirmed.
• Determining that requests are properly addressed includes testing the validity of some or all of the addresses on confirmation requests before they are sent out.
• Responses received electronically, for example by facsimile or electronic mail, involve risks as to reliability because proof of origin and authority of the respondent may be difficult to establish, and alterations may be difficult to detect.
• If a confirming party uses a third party to coordinate and provide responses to confirmation requests, the auditor may perform procedures to address the risks that:
  • (a) The response may not be from the proper source;
  • (b) A respondent may not be authorised to respond; and
  • (c) The integrity of the transmission may have been compromised.
• An external confirmation is defined as audit evidence obtained as a direct written response to the auditor 'from a third party (the confirming party), in paper form, or by electronic or other medium' which ‘could include auditors directly accessing information held by third parties through web portals, software interfaces or other digital means’.

In addition to the ISA (UK) 330 and ISA (UK) 505, in May 2021, the FRC revised its guidance on the auditor’s responsibilities relating to fraud in an audit of financial statements. The updated guidance reads:

• An auditor conducting an audit in accordance with ISAs (UK) is responsible for obtaining reasonable assurance that the financial statements taken as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error.
• The auditor is responsible for maintaining professional scepticism throughout the audit, considering the potential for management override of controls and recognizing the fact that audit procedures that are effective for detecting error may not be effective in detecting fraud.
• The auditor shall evaluate whether the information obtained from the other risk assessment procedures and related activities performed indicates that one or more fraud risk factors are present.

UK Finance commercial partners

UK Finance has sourced, from select organisations, certain products and services that may offer solutions to some of the challenges our members face, or which may be of interest more generally to members, all of which can be viewed on our Digital Marketplace.

Below you will find specific partners who support auditors in obtaining electronic confirmations. 

The information outlined in the above PDF documents is provided by our partners. UK Finance makes no representation or warranty in relation to accuracy of the information and accepts no responsibility or liability for the information and/or any related material. Accordingly, Members accept that UK Finance shall not be responsible or liable for any loss, damages or costs arising from the information.

Disclaimer

The products and services offered on the UK Finance Digital Market Place platform (“DMP Products”) are for Members’ use and Members acknowledge and accept that before availing themselves of a DMP Product, they should ensure that a DMP Product is suitable for their use (and that appropriate due diligence has been conducted, including in relation to compliance with relevant laws). The availability of a DMP Product on the UK Finance Digital Market Place platform should not be construed as an endorsement by UK Finance of such DMP Product. UK Finance accepts no responsibility or liability for a DMP Product and/or any related material or content and makes no representation or warranty (including in relation to suitability) about any DMP Product or provider appearing on the UK Finance Digital Market Place platform. Further, UK Finance accepts no responsibility or liability for any unavailability of a DMP Product, including in relation to a provider or connected websites. Accordingly, Members accept that UK Finance shall not be responsible or liable for any loss, damages or costs arising from the use by a Member of a DMP Product. UK Finance may earn a fee for making a DMP Product available on the UK Finance Digital Market Place platform.