TYPES OF SAMPLING.

The auditing standards regarding the execution of work establish the obligation of the
auditor to obtain, through their audit procedures, corroborative evidence and
sufficient and competent to provide an objective for your opinion.

To obtain sufficient evidence, the auditor is not required to examine all and
each of the company's transactions, since through a sample
representative, you can obtain the evidence you require.

Representative sampling methods:

Statistician
No Statistical

In both, it is required that all items in the universe have the same opportunity.
if selected, which results in obtaining a representative sample of the
same.

Statistical sampling has the advantage of allowing us to quantify with precision the
security that we obtain.

Audit sampling, both statistical and non-statistical, is a process that

consists of selecting a group of elements (called a sample) from a larger group
large (called population or field) and in using the characteristics of the sample to
extract inferences about the exact inferences related to the entire population. It
The sample is expected to allow auditors to make accurate inferences regarding the
population.

In the international auditing standard (ISA 530), it is defined as follows:

sampling in auditing:

Sampling in the audit (sampling) involves the application of procedures of

audit of less than 100% of the items that make up the balance of an account or class of
transactions in such a way that all sampling units have an opportunity
selection. This will allow the auditor to obtain and evaluate audit evidence on
some characteristic of the selected matches to form or help in the training
from a conclusion concerning the universe from which the sample is taken. Sampling
In the audit, you can use a statistical or non-statistical approach.
An essential part of this is sampling risk, that is, the risk that the conclusion
based on the sample does not match the conclusion that would have been reached in the event of
having examined all the elements of the population.

This risk is mitigated by increasing the sample size. At the extreme, one does not run
no risk when examining the entire population, but it would be very costly to audit large
samples or the entire population. A key element of efficient sampling is
balance the sampling risks with the largest sample cap.

When applying audit sampling, it is fundamentally important to take into account the
following aspects:

1. Objective of the test

2. Definition of the population subject to sampling
3. Sampling unit
4. Sample selection
5. Selection and statistical measurement
6. Statistical selection
7. Errors and deviations
8. Sampling risks (accuracy and reliability)
9. Appreciation of results and evaluation of the sample

In ISA 530, it specifies the following regarding risk in sampling.

The 'sampling risk' arises from the possibility that the auditor's conclusion, based on
in a sample may be different from the conclusion reached if the whole universe
it would undergo the same audit procedure. There are two types of risk in sampling.

Comparison between statistical and non-statistical sampling

The auditor can obtain a sample either based on personal judgment or through
statistical sampling techniques. Sampling based on personal judgment is the
traditional technique known as non-random or non-statistical sampling; in this case the
selection and its breadth are made on a subjective basis, at times
arbitrary. In the second case, the selection is random or by chance, with which the results
obtained allow for greater confidence, as they are considered as if they referred to
all the elements that constitute the universe or population to be investigated.

The sample is non-statistical (or evaluative) when auditors estimate the risk.
sample by resorting to professional judgment and not to statistical techniques. They do not mean
that it is a selected sample, without due diligence. Indeed, the samples
statistics such as these or statistics must be chosen in a way that allows the auditor
extract valid inferences about the population.

In statistical sampling, there is no way to quantify sampling risk, thus,

the auditor may end up taking larger and more expensive samples but that
they need or unknowingly accept a higher level of sample risk than necessary.

The use of statistical sampling is permitted by auditing standards.

generally accepted.
 These regulations have recognized for some time the acceptance and effectiveness of the tests.
selective. Under these conditions, statistical sampling simply provides a
selection method of items for some audit tests and when the auditor
consider desirable the information to mathematically discover some of the
results of the selective test. In other words, statistical sampling provides
assistance in selective verification, both in the selection of items and in the
evaluation of the test results

As long as statistical sampling techniques are allowed by the regulations of

generally accepted auditing standards, the selection of methods for selective verification
it leaves to the auditor's judgment. When implementing this selection, the auditor needs
study statistical sampling sufficiently so that I can recognize the
areas in which that technique will improve their auditing procedures and achieve
economy of time, economic and human resources conserved, however, the
usual level of security.

According to ISA 530 on statistical sampling, it means any approach to sampling.

that has the following characteristics:

a. Random selection of a sample; and

b. Use of probability theory to evaluate sample results, including

sampling risk measurement.

c. A sampling approach that does not have characteristics (a) and (b) is considered a
non-statistical sampling.

Statistical sampling does not eliminate professional judgment in the sampling process, but it does
allows auditors to measure and control this type of risk. Through techniques of
statistical sampling, they can specify in advance the risk they will want in the
sample results and then they will calculate a size that controls the desired level.

Since the technique of statistical sampling is based on the laws of probabilities, they will be
in a position to control the level of sampling risk when using the results
show them.

Statistical sampling helps auditors to:

- Design an efficient sample

- Measure the efficiency of the evidence obtained, and
- Objectively evaluate the results.

A common mistake in statistical sampling is to confuse it with the

random sampling. Random sampling is a method that consists of selecting
elements to include them in a sample, and it can be used together with sampling
statistical or non-statistical.

The concept of random sampling requires that the selector does not influence or bias the selection.
consciously or unconsciously. An impartial process of some kind is required to
obtain a truly random sample.
Sampling unit

It is the element of the population whose characteristics are to be measured or counted.

object and predict about them for the population to which the element belongs.
In a test, the sampling unit can be any element, such that the
the value of all elements corresponds to the total value of the sample that will be audited.
For example, if the auditor wishes to verify through total balance confirmations of the
accounts receivable, you can choose any of the following as the sampling unit:

a.). The branch or office: Situation in which the offices or branches must be verified.
selected.

b). The total balances of the clients: Using the required method when making
it's about confirmations.

c.). The outstanding invoices: Procedure to choose when for any

Under circumstances, the confirmation of the client cannot be obtained.

d). Individual items in outstanding invoices: A situation that can be

appropriate in the case of overly complex billing procedures.

Sampling methods

The batches included in the sample must be selected randomly from

in a way that can be expected to be representative of the population. That is,
One should not expect that the characteristics of such a sample differ from those of the population.
except for the effect of sampling risks. The methods of
more representative sampling, which can be systematically ordered from the
next form:

1). Criterion sampling, subjective or non-random

2). Random sampling.

Random sampling or sampling at random is classified in the following way:

a). Simple random sampling

b). Sampling in phases
c). Stage sampling
d). Stratified random sampling
e). Cluster sampling.
 SELECTION TECHNIQUES.

Sampling selection techniques:

Statistical sampling:

It is one in which the determination of the sample size, the selection of the batches
that are included and the evaluation of the results is done by mathematical methods
based on probability calculations.

Types of statistical sampling:

Attribute sampling
Sampling of variables

The selection technique for sampling in the audit is based on the selection of
random or chance which ensures that all matches within the universe or within
each of the strata have the same chance of being selected, for
example, through the use of random number tables.

Sampling selection techniques:

Random selection modalities:

Systematic selection: It consists of the selection of batches using a

constant interval between one selection and another. The interval can be based on
a certain number of batches (for example, every twenty voucher numbers) or
in total monetary amounts (for example, every $1,000.00 in the accumulated value of
universe)

Casual selection: It could be an alternative, as long as the auditor tries to

obtain a representative sample of the total universe without any intention of
include or exclude specific units (biased selection).