College of Our Lady of Mercy of Pulilan Foundation, Inc.

Business Management Department

SY 2021 - 2022
PrC-ACE: Auditing in CIS Environment

NAME ROCHELLE ANNE R. CLEMENTE SECTION 4TH YEAR, BSA

Tutorial No. : 4 Activity No.: 1

Topic : Computer-Aided Audit Tools – ACL 9
Table Name : INVENTORY, AR, and AP TRANS

ACL
Tutorial 5

COMMANDS:
CONTROL TOTALS: TOTAL
ANALYZE -> COUNT
ANALYZE -> TOTAL
DATA -> EXTRACT
DATA -> EXPORT
DATA -> SORT
DATA -> INDEX

These tutorials are supplemental exercises that relate to ACL 9 topics covered in:
1. Module 3: Auditing the Revenue Cycle
2. Module 4: Data Structures and CAATTs for Data Extraction
3. Module 5: Auditing the Expenditure Cycle
4. Module 6: Business Ethics, Fraud, and Fraud Detection

The tutorials presume that the student has installed ACL from the CD accompanying the text
and has worked through the ACLStart.pdf document in the ACL Manual folder. The tutorials are
not a substitute for this basic ACL knowledge.

These tutorials use data tables stored in the Sample Project.acl that is automatically installed
with ACL. Open the sample project and click on the appropriate table to perform the tutorial.
The name of the table is indicated in bold type prior to each section in the tutorial (e.g. AP
TRANS).
INVENTORY
Audit OBJECTIVE: Reconcile inventory amounts with physical inventory counts.

Create a filter to select specific records with a location value 05. Prepare control totals by using
the TOTAL command. Extract these records into a new input file called Inventory _ 05.
Recalculate the control totals on the new input file and compare them to the original control
totals.
Paste screenshot below:

Requirement 1: What types of control totals would be useful in this situation?

The useful control totals would be the unit total, market value totals, quantity on hand, the
total value. I did select all totals for this exercise but if I were an auditor for this specific
location I would do totals on hand, the per order totals and unit/sale cost for this location 05.

Requirement 2: What are your control totals values?

Requirement 3: Use EXTRACT to export the specific records to a new input file Inventory_05
and print the command log for this operation.

Requirement 4: Confirm Control Totals in the new file. Why perform this step?

To make sure no error is present and the extraction is completed correctly. In most systems,
this occurs in real events that’s why converting this data into ACL is necessary. Usually, the
client personnel do this because auditors are not allowed to touch “live” systems. The second
step is for the auditor to take these flat files and convert them to ACL files.
AR
Audit OBJECTIVE: Confirm accounts receivable amounts with customers.

EXTRACT transactions in the AR file that have a due date prior to January 2, 2000. Create a
new input file called AR_02. Note: ACL uses integral date type of form YYMMDD. ACL integral
dates are enclosed with the back quote [`], which is usually the lowercase tilde [~] key.
Paste screenshot below:

Requirement 5: How many records meet the criterion?

7 of 772 records met the criterion.

Requirement 6: How does the EXPORT function differ from EXTRACT?

Extract helps isolate certain records and fields in a table and save the information in a new
table or records from a file and store in a new file. ACL allows extracting specific records from
a file in order to isolate unusual items for separate analysis and to work on these selected
records in a smaller file. This differs with extract where we create a new file. We could
accomplish the same by saving, with a new file name, the filtered view. Also, we can extract
entire records or selected fields. The extract command creates a new file and leaves the
existing file unchanged.

Requirement 7: For what purpose might an auditor use the EXPORT function?

Whenever the auditor believes certain tasks can be performed on a table more conveniently
in an alternative file format or when the data in the table is to be used by client personnel and
they prefer the information in an alternative file format.
Requirement 8: Use the EXPORT command to create an Excel spreadsheet called AR_02 and
print the command log for this operation. Include all the fields from the ACL source file.

AP TRANS
Sorting is a helpful tool in reviewing and analyzing files. Load the AP Trans file.
Paste screenshot below:

Requirement 9: For what reason might you NOT use the SORT command?

We can use ACL to sort a file into an ascending or descending order based on specified
fields. The sort command creates a new file that has been reordered. The existing file
remains unchanged. Auditor will not use the sort command when he doesn’t need data to
change.

Requirement 10: Sort the file by Vendor Number and name the sorted file SORTVEND. How
many records are there in the sorted file?

102 records are there in the sorted file.

Requirement 11: How can you verify that the sorted file contains all of the records from the
original file? What function(s) could you perform to increase the reliability of the data in the
sorted file?

We can use total function for both fields to verify accuracy.

Requirement 12: SORT the original AP Trans now to produce a report listing all vendors by
Vendor Number and by Invoice Amount in descending order. The new file will
thus show the largest amount for each vendor displayed first. Name the sorted
file SORTVIP. Move the Invoice Amount column to the right of Vendor Number.

AP TRANS
Use the INDEX command to perform tasks similar to those in part 3 above.

Requirement 13: When might you use the INDEX command instead of the SORT command?

Index is similar to sorting in organizing records in a specified order. Regarding speed of

operation and computer resource consumption, the two techniques differ.

SORT vs. INDEX

ITEM SORT INDEX

Execution speed Slower Faster

Required disk space More Less

Subsequent processing the Much faster Much slower

entire file

Subsequent searching for one Much slower Much faster

or a few records
Requirement 14: INDEX AP Trans to produce a report listing all vendors by Vendor Number,
Invoice Number, and Product Number in that order. Name the indexed file INDVIP.

Requirement 14: Use the SEARCH feature, SEEK EXPRESSION option to locate Vendor
Number “12701”.

Requirement 15: Create a Conditional Index for vendor number “12433”. Name the Index
VEN12433.