CA Ananya has been appointed as the statutory auditor of RST TechBuild Ltd. for the financial year 2024–25. The company operates in two business…

As per SA 320, determining materiality involves the exercise of professional judgment. A percentage is often applied to a chosen benchmark as a starting point in determining materiality for the financial statements as a whole. Factors that may affect the identification of an appropriate benchmark include the following: The elements of the financial statements (for example, assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, expenses);Whether there are items on which the attention of the users of the particular entity's financial statements tends to be focused (for example, for the purpose of evaluating financial performance users may tend to focus on profit, revenue or net assets);The nature of the entity, where the entity is at in its life cycle, and the industry and economic environment in which the entity operates;The entity's ownership structure and the way it is financed (for example, if an entity is financed solely by debt rather than equity, users may put more emphasis on assets, and claims on them, than on the entity's earnings); andThe relative volatility of the benchmark. Determining a percentage to be applied to a chosen benchmark involves the exercise of professional judgment. There is a relationship between the percentage and the chosen benchmark, such that a percentage applied to profit before tax from continuing operations will normally be higher than a percentage applied to total revenue. In the case of RST TechBuild Ltd.: (i) Home Appliances Division: Since Hone Appliances division generates consistent and regular profits, CA Ananya may consider using profit before tax (PBT) or earnings as the benchmark. (ii) Infrastructure Division (Loss-making): The Infrastructure Division has reported losses due to external factors (delays, overruns). In such cases, profit-related benchmarks may not be appropriate. Instead revenue or gross profit may be used as benchmarks. Alternatively, considering its public utility nature, benchmarks like total cost or net cost (expenses less revenues) may be suitable. Where significant assets are involved, total assets may also be relevant.