You are a newly-hired associate auditor for Praxo & Hanks, CPAs, a professional services firm that provides financial audits, integrated audits, and tax work for a variety of private and public company clients in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Your first week with the firm was spent in a new associates training program for audit staff, which was led by two of the firm’s audit managers. The first day of the training program focused on understanding the responsibilities of auditors and the nature and objectives of the services provided to audit clients.

Required:
a. Distinguish between the assertions made by management in presenting financial statements and reporting on ICFR, and the statements made within an auditor’s report
b. How do management’s assertions relate to auditor’s evidence?