CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULATION

Characteristics of Population

1. Appropriateness : The auditor will need to determine that the population from which the sample is drawn is appropriate for the specific audit objective.
The individual items that make up the population are known as sampling units. The population can be divided into sampling units in a variety of ways.
It is important for the auditor to ensure that the population is appropriate to the objective of the audit procedure, which will include consideration of the direction of testing.

2. Completeness : The population also needs to be complete, which means that if the auditor intends to use the sample to draw conclusions about whether a control activity operated effectively during the financial reporting period, the population needs to include all relevant items from throughout the entire period.

3. Reliable : When performing the audit sampling, the auditor performs audit procedures to ensure that the information upon which the audit sampling is performed is sufficiently complete and accurate.