Given the meaning and audit procedures for missing vouchers.

While checking the entries in books of account with relevant documentary evidence, it may happen that vouchers against certain recorded transactions may not be available in the vouchers’ files to the auditor. The auditor should make a note of all such transactions in audit note book which are recorded in the books but against which vouchers are missing. He should prepare a list of such missing vouchers and try to trace them.

Audit Procedures to be adopted to trace missing vouchers:

Appropriate audit procedures for the purpose of tracing missing vouchers would depend upon the type of such vouchers.

Some examples are given below:

It is quite possible that important vouchers like share certificates, fixed deposit receipts or registered’ transfer deed for land and building may be missing from vouchers’ files. They may be either in the safe custody of some important official or with a bank or a financial institution as a security against a loan obtained by the client. In such cases, the auditor can check  these vouchers either with the officers concerned or confirm the custody by corresponding with the concerned bank or financial institution.

If the business has entered in a contract for the purchase of land and building with a third party, it may not be possessing title deed for such land and building at the time of audit. If registration of property is pending, the auditor can examine the contract between the client and the seller and in cases where registration has been done but the transfer deed has not been delivered to the client, the auditor can go to the office of the Registrar to verify the accuracy of the recorded transaction.

In some cases by corresponding with the debtors and creditors the, auditor can obtain information about the receipts or payments.

In cases of regular payments or receipts, he may apply common sense to vouch transactions. For example, if rent receipts are available for the month of April and June and missing for May, it may be inferred that rent has been received for the month of may also.