Expenses Audit Working Paper
(Following draft may be used as an example)
Background:
The expenses of {{client_name}} include cost of materials consumed, purchase of stock-in-trade, changes in inventories, employee benefits expense (covered separately), finance costs (covered separately), depreciation & amortisation (covered separately) and Other Expenses comprising power & fuel, rent, repairs, insurance, rates & taxes, professional fees, travelling, advertising, communication, miscellaneous expenses and CSR expenditure.
Purpose:
To document the audit work on the completeness, accuracy, classification and cut-off of expenses recognised in the statement of profit and loss of {{client_name}} for the year ended {{period_end}}, with focus on Other Expenses and material P&L line items not covered by dedicated working papers.
Work Done:
1. Lead Schedule and Reconciliation
- Obtained the expense ledgers grouped by Schedule III heads.
- Reconciled the grouped total to the trial balance and to the P&L.
- Reviewed mapping of each ledger to the correct Schedule III line item; flagged misclassifications.
2. Cost of Materials Consumed / Purchases / Changes in Inventory
- Independently computed: Opening Inventory + Purchases − Closing Inventory = Cost of Materials Consumed.
- Tied opening and closing inventory to the Inventory working paper (3.22).
- Verified a sample of purchase invoices for cost, GST, freight, supplier name and posting period.
- Reviewed GST input availed against purchases and reconciled with GSTR-2A / 2B.
3. Other Expenses — Sample Testing
- Selected expenses on the basis of materiality, unusual fluctuations and randomness.
- For each sample, vouched to supplier invoice / contract, board approval (if applicable), GST claim, TDS deduction and bank payment.
- Verified that expense pertains to the audit period (cut-off).
- Tested that no personal / non-business expenses have been booked.
4. Statutory and Compliance Checks
- Verified compliance with Section 40A(3) — cash payments exceeding ₹10,000 (₹35,000 for transporters) are flagged and disallowed where applicable.
- Reviewed Section 43B items (statutory dues, leave encashment, interest on borrowing from bank/FI) for disallowance if unpaid as at the due date of return.
- Verified TDS deducted at correct rates and deposited on time; un-deducted / under-deducted TDS may invite Section 40(a)(ia) disallowance.
- For CSR expenditure, verified compliance with Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 (2% spend, unspent CSR transfer to specified fund, etc.).
5. Rates, Taxes and Power & Fuel
- Cross-checked municipal taxes / property taxes / professional tax against challans.
- For power & fuel, agreed quantum and rate to electricity board invoices and fuel vendor bills.
6. Rent, Repairs, Insurance
- For lease rent: verified accounting under Ind AS 116 lease working paper (3.14) — short-term and low-value rents charged to P&L; long-term leases recognised as RoU asset + lease liability.
- Insurance: verified pro-rated charge to P&L based on policy period; prepaid insurance balance on closing date is verified.
7. Professional Fees, Travelling, Advertising, Communication
- Vouched a representative sample of each.
- For travelling / hospitality / advertising — tested business purpose and reasonableness; flagged any related-party payments.
- Verified GST and TDS where applicable.
8. Cut-off
- For last 7 days before and first 7 days after year-end, selected entries from purchase, expense and provision registers; verified period of accrual.
- Reviewed list of provisions outstanding at year-end (e.g. audit fee, electricity, legal fees) for reasonableness of accrual basis.
9. Analytical Procedures
- Computed each major expense as a percentage of revenue from operations; compared with prior year; investigated variances above the planning threshold.
- Compared expense head-wise trend over last 3 years for unusual patterns.
Variance Analysis
| Expense Head | Previous Year (₹) | Current Year (₹) | % of Revenue (CY) | Variance (%) | Remarks |
|---|
| Cost of materials consumed | | | | | |
| Purchase of stock-in-trade | | | | | |
| Changes in inventories | | | | | |
| Power & fuel | | | | | |
| Rent | | | | | |
| Repairs & maintenance | | | | | |
| Insurance | | | | | |
| Rates & taxes | | | | | |
| Travelling & conveyance | | | | | |
| Legal & professional | | | | | |
| Communication | | | | | |
| Advertising & promotion | | | | | |
| CSR expenditure | | | | | |
| Miscellaneous | | | | | |
Conclusion:
Based on the procedures performed, the expenses recognised by {{client_name}} for the year ended {{period_end}} are complete, accurate, recognised in the correct period and classified appropriately under Schedule III. Statutory compliance (Sections 40A(3), 43B, 40(a)(ia), 135) has been tested for material amounts and disallowances, if any, have been highlighted in the management letter.