In auditing accounts payable, an auditor's procedures most likely will focus primarily on management's assertion of

• A. Existence or occurrence
• B. Completeness
• C. Presentation and disclosure
• D. Valuation or allocation

Answer: (B)

Completeness. When auditing accounts payable, the main risk is that some obligations at the balance sheet date are not recorded. If liabilities are omitted, the liabilities and expenses appear lower than they really are, and disclosures may be incomplete. To address this, auditors perform procedures aimed at uncovering any unrecorded payables—examining vendor invoices and statements around year-end, testing cutoff to ensure liabilities are recognized in the correct period, and reviewing subsequent disbursements to detect obligations that existed but weren’t recorded. These steps directly address whether all existing liabilities have been included in accounts payable. While existence, presentation and disclosure, and valuation are also important, the strongest emphasis for preventing understatement is on completeness.