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Governance, Risk, Audit & Privacy · Intermediate

Variable Sampling

Statistical sampling method used in substantive testing to estimate a monetary or numeric value.

Definition

Variable sampling estimates quantities such as total dollar value of an account or average error amount. Techniques include stratified mean per unit, unstratified mean per unit, and difference estimation.

Example

An auditor estimates total overstated invoice value in an accounts payable population.

Exam tip

Variable sampling estimates 'how much'; attribute sampling estimates 'how many'.

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