As noted earlier, the management of the company is responsible for preparing the finan; LEARNING OBJECTIVEcial statements, thus they contain management's assertions about economic actions and 3. Describe and define theevents. As you study this section, keep in mind his scheme of things. The purpose of the five principal manage-audit is to obtain and evaluate evidence about these five asertions management makes ment assertions embodiedin financtal statements,in financial statements (SAS 31, AU 326):and why auditors usethem as a focal point of1. Existence or occurrence.the audit.2. Completeness.3. Rights and obligations.4. Valuation or allocations.5. Presentation and disclosure.Exhibit 1--4 illustrates the five principal assertions in some detail with relation to theinventory in the statement of financial position. The sections that follow describe anddefine the assertions more fully.Existence or OccurrenceThe audit objective related to existence or occurrence is to establish with evidence thatassets, liabilities, and equities actually exist and that revenue and expense transactionsactually occurred. Thus, auditors count cash and inventory, confirm receivables andinsurance policies, and perform other procedures to obtain evidence related to their