Theoretical and methodological aspects of organizing a sample study in audit. Subject of study. Methods and procedures for organizing and applying audit sampling in the audit process.

Theoretical substantiation and systematization of methodological approaches to organizing sampling in audit, assessing the risk of the sampling method, and increasing the effectiveness of the application of sampling procedures in accordance with the requirements of International Auditing Standards. Research methods. The methodological basis of the study is a set of methods of scientific knowledge, namely logical, system-structural and others. Results of work. The article is devoted to the study of theoretical and methodological aspects of the organization of a sample study in an audit in the conditions of the development of a market economy and the growth of the volume of financial and accounting information of business entities. The relevance of the topic is due to the impossibility of applying a continuous inspection when performing most audit tasks due to the significant laboriousness of the audit, limited time and the need to optimize the costs of conducting audit procedures. In such conditions, a sample study is one of the key tools for obtaining sufficient and appropriate audit evidence. The place of sampling procedures at various stages of the audit is revealed, in particular during testing of the internal control system and conducting substantive inspections. Considerable attention is paid to the issues of determining the purpose of the sampling study, forming the general population, establishing criteria for deviations, the level of materiality, permissible and expected errors. The article systematizes the main stages of organizing a sample study in audit, starting with planning and choosing a selection method and ending with evaluating the results and extrapolating the obtained data to the general population. The features of the application of statistical and non-statistical methods of audit sampling are analyzed, the conditions of their feasibility and limitations are determined. The importance of stratification of the general population as a tool for reducing the risk of the sampling method and optimizing the sample size is substantiated. Special attention is paid to the problem of audit risk, in particular the risk of the sampling method, which arises as a result of transferring the results of a sample study to the entire data set. The relationship of sampling risk with other components of audit risk is considered and the directions of its minimization are outlined in accordance with the requirements of the International Auditing Standard 530. It is concluded that a scientifically sound organization of a sample study contributes to increasing the efficiency of the audit, the reliability of audit conclusions and the quality of the auditor's professional judgment.