Introduction
The audit plan is prepared after collecting basic information of the client. The information will then be used for identifying the risk level and developing audit strategies (Pickett 43). The basic information of Sun Life Financial is provided in the following.
Products
Sun Life Financial is a leading financial services company that offers investment and wealth management products and services (“Sun Life Financial – Annual Report 2015” 11).
Raw Materials
The company is not a manufacturing company, and it does not use any raw materials. The company generates its revenue from investment management and wealth management services.
Size of Firm
The company’s total revenue was $19,274 million in 2015 (“Sun Life Financial – Annual Report 2015” 91). Its total assets were $246,853 million in 2015 (“Sun Life Financial – Annual Report 2015” 93). The number of employees was 30,000 in 2015. Moreover, the company acquired services from 89,000 advisers.
Location
The company’s registered office is located at 150 King Street West, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Life Cycle
It could be noted that the company’s revenue decreased in the last year. However, the company expanded its capabilities to serve customers and fulfill their diverse needs and requirements. It could be stated that the company is at Business Optimization Level (Maturity) of its life cycle.
Association
The associated persons include the following.
- Real Raymond who is the Chairman of Heroux-Devtek.
- Sarah Grootwassink Lewis who is the CEO of Lewis Corporate Advisors LLC.
The company has more than 100 subsidiaries and six associate companies in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines (“Sun Life Financial – Annual Report 2015” 172-174).
Corporate Image
The management of the company is of the view that the business is customer-oriented. The focus of the company is to develop products and services that could help its clients with their financial decision-making. The company is highly professional, and it serves millions of customers worldwide. The business strategy is based on four pillars of corporate governance that ensure that customers can trust its products and services.
Economic Factors
The prices of energy are increasing due to the unstable economic conditions of Canada. The interest rate is low due to the country’s slow economic growth (“Sun Life Financial – Annual Report 2015” 5).
Key Factors
The industry focuses more on consumer protection especially in Asia. The governments also support this prevailing trend that helps the global financial industry to grow. Sun Life Financial takes advantage of such policies, and it is expanding its operations in Asian markets to increase its revenue (“Sun Life Financial – Annual Report 2015” 14).
Accounting Consideration
The accounting policies and rules related to this industry are aimed at assessing the quality of financial reporting by external auditors and independent advisors periodically (“Sun Life Financial – Annual Report 2015” 80).
Regulatory Consideration
The regulatory matters of the company are controlled and managed by the Stock Exchange Commission (SEC) that also ensures whether the company follows ethical practices or not (“Sun Life Financial – Annual Report 2015” 10).
Social and Environmental Concerns
Sun Life Financial operates in the competitive, volatile environment. Therefore, it assesses various risks to mitigate them through its strategy. The Risk Review Committee also assesses social risks such as cyber-security risks that may affect the business in the long run (“Sun Life Financial – Annual Report 2015” 10).
Works Cited
Pickett, K. H. Spencer. Audit Planning: A Risk-Based Approach. John Wiley & Sons, 2006.
“Sun Life Financial – Annual Report 2015.” Sun Life Financial, 2016, Web.