Planning failures tend to cause what outcome in audits?

• A. Most audit failures
• B. Complete success
• C. No impact
• D. Reduced efficiency but not failures

Answer: (A)

Planning establishes the foundation of an audit engagement by defining objectives, scope, risks, methods, and resource needs. When this step is weak or incomplete, the audit is likely to drift off course, miss high‑risk areas, and gather insufficient or inappropriate evidence. Without a clear plan, procedures may address the wrong issues, the work may be poorly timed, and the conclusions may lack support, leading to an overall failure to achieve reliable results. That’s why planning failures tend to result in audit failures more often than any other outcome.