Relating audit and internal control objectives: A missing step in specifying compliance tests

Students often have difficulty in conceptualizing the relationship between reliance on a particular control and the attainment of a specific audit objective. In this article, the authors discuss an approach which demonstrates to students one way in which relevant internal controls can be identified and linked to specific audit objectives. The authors explain how a set of relevant internal controls can be selected for testing by relating these controls to specific audit objectives. The approach requires students to associate control objectives with audit objectives in a systematic manner.