Judgmental Sampling

Judgmental sampling (non-statistical) relies on the auditor's professional judgment to select items for testing. While it does not provide statistical confidence levels, it is appropriate for many audit situations.

When to Use Judgmental Sampling

Situation	Recommendation
Small populations	✅ Judgmental
High-risk targeted items	✅ Judgmental
Regulatory requires statistical	❌ Use Statistical
Need measurable confidence	❌ Use Statistical
Exploratory testing	✅ Judgmental
Specific transaction testing	✅ Judgmental

Selection Approaches

Risk-Based Selection

Select items with the highest inherent risk:

• Large-value transactions
• Transactions near period end
• Unusual or complex transactions
• Items from high-risk business units

Targeted Selection

Focus on specific criteria:

• Transactions above a threshold amount
• Items from a specific vendor or customer
• Transactions processed by a specific user
• Items with specific characteristics

Haphazard Selection

Select without a specific pattern — not truly random but avoids systematic bias.

Creating a Judgmental Sample

1. Navigate to Sampling → + New Sample
2. Select Judgmental as the method
3. Define your selection rationale
4. Enter the items manually or import from a list
5. Document the basis for selection

Documentation Requirements

For judgmental samples, document:

• Why this method was chosen over statistical
• What selection criteria were used
• How items were identified
• Rationale for sample size
• Limitations — acknowledge inability to project results to population

Permissions

Same as statistical sampling — Auditor, Manager, CAE can create and execute.