Differences In Planning-Phase Analytical Procedures Between Municipal and Commercial Clients: Initial Evidence

Abstract

Differences between municipalities and businesses suggest possible differences in the application of analytical procedures in audits of each entity type. Data obtained from one-hundred sixty-sis practicing auditors supported the expectations that (1) ratio analysis is significantly less likely to be applied and (2) budget-actual comparisons are significantly more likely to be applied in planning municipal audits vis-vis commercial audits. Other differences in analytical procedures likely to be applied in the planning phase were noted between public- and private-sector audits.