SIZE command
Concept Information
Calculates a statistically valid sample size, and sample interval, for record sampling or monetary unit sampling.
Syntax
SIZE RECORD CONFIDENCE confidence_level POPULATION population_size PRECISION tolerable_rate <ERRORLIMIT expected_rate> <TO {SCREEN|filename}>
Parameters
Note
Do not include thousands separators, or percentage signs, when you specify values.
Name | Description |
---|---|
RECORD |
Calculate sample size for a record sample. ATTRIBUTE is a deprecated parameter that does the same thing as RECORD. |
CONFIDENCE confidence_level |
The desired confidence level that the resulting sample is representative of the entire population. For example, specifying 95 means that you want to be confident that 95% of the time the sample will in fact be representative. Confidence is the complement of "sampling risk". A 95% confidence level is the same as a 5% sampling risk. |
POPULATION population_size |
The number of records in the table you are sampling. |
PRECISION tolerable_rate |
The tolerable deviation rate, which is the maximum rate of deviation from a prescribed control that can occur and you still consider the control effective. For example, specifying 5 means that the deviation rate must be greater than 5% for you to consider the control not effective. |
ERRORLIMIT expected_rate optional |
The expected population deviation rate. This is the rate of deviation from a prescribed control that you expect to find. For example, specifying 1 means that you expect the deviation rate to be 1%. If you omit this parameter, an expected population deviation rate of 0% is used. |
TO SCREEN | filename |
The location to send the results of the command to:
|
Analytics output variables
Name | Contains |
---|---|
SAMPINTn |
The required sample interval calculated by the command. |
SAMPSIZEn | The required sample size calculated by the command. |
Examples
Calculate the required size and interval for a record sample
You have decided to use record sampling to estimate the rate of deviation from a prescribed control in an account containing invoices.
Before drawing the sample, you must first calculate the statistically valid sample size and sample interval.
You want to be confident that 95% of the time the sample drawn by Analytics will be representative of the population as a whole.
Using your specified confidence level, the example below calculates a sample size of 95, and a sample interval value of 8.12, to use when drawing a record sample:
SIZE RECORD CONFIDENCE 95 POPULATION 772 PRECISION 5 ERRORLIMIT 1 TO SCREEN
Remarks
For more information about how this command works, see Calculating sample size for a record sample.
Syntax
SIZE MONETARY CONFIDENCE confidence_level POPULATION population_size MATERIALITY tolerable_misstatement <ERRORLIMIT expected_misstatement> <TO {SCREEN|filename}>
Parameters
Note
Do not include thousands separators, or percentage signs, when you specify values.
Name | Description |
---|---|
MONETARY | Calculate sample size for a monetary unit sample. |
CONFIDENCE confidence_level |
The desired confidence level that the resulting sample is representative of the entire population. For example, specifying 95 means that you want to be confident that 95% of the time the sample will in fact be representative. Confidence is the complement of "sampling risk". A 95% confidence level is the same as a 5% sampling risk. |
POPULATION population_size |
The total absolute value of the numeric sample field. |
MATERIALITY tolerable_misstatement |
The tolerable misstatement, which is the maximum total amount of misstatement that can occur in the sample field without being considered a material misstatement. For example, specifying 29000 means that the total amount of misstatement must be greater than $29,000 to be considered a material misstatement. |
ERRORLIMIT expected_misstatement optional |
The expected misstatement. This is the total amount of misstatement that you expect the sample field to contain. For example, specifying 5800 means that you expect the total amount of misstatement to be $5,800. If you omit this parameter, an expected misstatement of $0.00 is used. |
TO SCREEN | filename |
The location to send the results of the command to:
|
Analytics output variables
Name | Contains |
---|---|
SAMPINTn |
The required sample interval calculated by the command. |
SAMPSIZEn | The required sample size calculated by the command. |
Examples
Calculate the required size and interval for a monetary unit sample
You have decided to use monetary unit sampling to estimate the total amount of monetary misstatement in an account containing invoices.
Before drawing the sample, you must first calculate the statistically valid sample size and sample interval.
You want to be confident that 95% of the time the sample drawn by Analytics will be representative of the population as a whole.
Using your specified confidence level, the example below calculates a sample size of 93, and a sample interval value of 6,283.33, to use when drawing a monetary unit sample:
SIZE MONETARY CONFIDENCE 95 POPULATION 585674.41 MATERIALITY 29000 ERRORLIMIT 5800 TO SCREEN
Remarks
For more information about how this command works, see Calculating sample size for a monetary unit sample.