Final answer:
Auditors use audit sampling primarily when dealing with large populations to save time and reduce costs. Less effective or different approaches might be needed when data formats vary or data reliability is in question. Convenience and cluster sampling are alternatives that offer certain benefits and may be used depending on the circumstances.
Step-by-step explanation:
The auditor is likely to use audit sampling when the audit population is relatively large. Large populations can be costly and time-consuming to audit in their entirety, so auditors use samples to draw conclusions about the entire population. A good example where sampling is practical is during presidential elections, where opinion poll samples represent the nation's views from a smaller group. However, in cases where evidence is not available electronically, data formats vary significantly, or data reliability is questionable, sampling might not be as effective or may require special considerations.The auditor is likely to use audit sampling in the following cases:
Evidence to support the audit test is not available in electronic form: In this case, the auditor may choose to sample paper documents or physical records to gather the necessary evidence.The audit population is relatively large: When the population is large, it is not feasible to examine every item, so the auditor selects a sample to tesFor instance, a convenience sample is less scientific but might be used for its benefits, such as being less expensive. In contrast, a cluster sample divides the population into clusters based on shared characteristics and then randomly selects individuals from those clusters, a method cheaper than probability sampling but potentially less representative.