SPIRALING UPWARD: Auditing Methods As Described By Montgomery And His Successors

Audit emphasis this century has swung away from chasing entries through the books to values being "fairly presented" and then back again. Now, however, what was "chasing entries through the books" has become "verifying internal controls." This verification is primary evidence that statement values are fair, and comparison of values to "things themselves" is corroborative evidence. Thus, auditors have not gone around in a circle, but in a radically changing environment they have spiraled upward. These conclusions are drawn from a review of the nine editions of Montgomery's Auditing published through 1975 and from the two editions which Montgomery prepared of the Authorized American Edition of Dicksee's Auditing.