Essence, meaning and objectives of audit. Essence, purpose and significance of the audit Scope and stages of the audit

ABSTRACT

in the discipline "Fundamentals of Auditing"

on the topic of:

“GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE AUDIT. TYPES OF AUDIT"

INTRODUCTION

In market conditions, enterprises, credit institutions, and other economic entities of the country enter into contractual relations for the use of property, Money, conducting commercial transactions and investments. The trust of this relationship must be reinforced by the ability for all parties to the transactions to obtain and use financial information. An audit provides this opportunity.

Independent confirmation of information about the performance of enterprises and their compliance with the law is necessary for the state to make decisions in the field of economics and taxation, judges, prosecutors and investigators to confirm the reliability of the financial statements of interest to them. In this capacity, audit serves the interests not only of owners, but also of the state.

Correct data is needed not only by direct investors or shareholders, but also by lenders to assess the reliability of loan repayments and interest payments. Suppliers are interested in information about the company’s ability to repay accounts payable on time; employees of the enterprise - the stability and profitability of its activities to assess their employment prospects, receive financial and other benefits and payments.

The audit ensures the implementation of a practical social need - confirmation of the reliability of financial information about the nature and results of the activities of business entities interested in working in a civilized and efficient manner for the sake of profit.

This determines the relevance of the topic of the course work.

The purpose of the course work is to explore the content of the audit and its components.

In accordance with this, the objectives of the course work can be formulated as follows:

consider the essence and purpose of the audit:

study its goals and objectives;

explore types of audit.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE AUDIT

Modern audit is a special organizational form of control. It has proven itself well in the conditions of a developed market economy, even a conditional market economy, a transitional type, which has now developed in Russia, i.e. its distinctive feature is its belonging to the market infrastructure.

An audit is a process by which a competent independent person obtains and evaluates evidence of quantifiable information relating to a specific business system in order to determine and express in its opinion the extent to which that information meets established criteria.

Main goal audit activities is to establish the reliability of the accounting (financial) statements of economic entities and the compliance of their financial and business transactions with the regulations in force in Russian Federation. The need for auditor services arose due to the following circumstances:

The possibility of biased information from the administration in cases of conflict between it and the users of this information (owners, investors, creditors);

Dependence of the consequences of decisions made on the quality of information;

The need for special knowledge to verify information;

Users often lack access to information to assess its quality.

Purpose of auditing financial statements:

confirmation of the reliability of reports or determination of their unreliability;

control over compliance with legislation and regulations governing the rules of accounting and reporting, methodology for assessing assets, liabilities and equity capital;

confirmation of the completeness, reliability and accuracy of the reflection in accounting and reporting of assets, liabilities, equity, costs, income and financial results of the enterprise for the audited period;

identifying reserves for better use of own fixed and working capital, financial reserves and borrowed funds.

The reliability of financial statements is understood as such a degree of accuracy of reporting data that allows a qualified user of reporting information to draw correct conclusions about the financial position and performance of the audited organizations and make appropriate informed decisions.

The main purpose of the audit can be supplemented by identifying reserves for the best use of financial resources, stipulated by the contract with the client, analyzing the correctness of tax calculations, developing measures to improve the financial position of the enterprise, optimizing costs and operating results, income and expenses.

Audit objectives are related to the purpose of the audit (for example, cash audit, etc.). The main objectives of auditing activities are:

The audit is based on civil law, administrative and economic law, and accounting. The ultimate goal of the audit is to analyze the financial condition of the organization, its financial stability and creditworthiness.

TYPES OF AUDIT

In world practice, as well as in our country, audit is divided into: internal, external, initiative and mandatory (Figure 2).

Figure 2 - General classification of audit types

Internal audit is considered as part common system management and control over the production and economic activities of the organization. It is carried out by decision of management.

The tasks that the internal audit service must perform determine the functions of the employees of this service and their professional qualifications. Main tasks of internal audit:

1. Carrying out periodic control over the financial and economic activities of the inspected organizations.

Carrying out this task, the internal auditor studies the accounting and control system, assesses the effectiveness of its functioning, using various techniques (sampling, scanning, etc.). The auditor checks the legal validity of the transaction and the optimality of taxation, and assesses the significance of the errors found.

2. Conducting a financial and economic analysis of the organization’s activities and developing its financial strategy.

When performing the second task, the auditor conducts an express analysis of the financial and economic activities of the organization, assesses its solvency and financial stability, and gives recommendations on the strategy of financial and economic activities.

3. Advisory services in the field accounting and taxation, as well as in matters of law and other services in the profile of the audit service - one of the most common types of services. An accountant engaged in routine work may require professional assistance in unusual or rare economic situations, as well as in the event of significant changes in legislation; the performance of this service may also be attributed to the tasks of the internal audit service.

External audit is an independent control carried out by highly qualified specialists in the field of accounting, control and analysis of business activities who have the appropriate license or certificate. An audit is carried out by independent auditors on the basis of contracts and the preparation of an appropriate conclusion confirming the reliability of the financial statements and the effectiveness of the results achieved in accordance with current standards and the correctness of accounting. The object of the external audit is the financial and economic activities of the enterprise. An external audit can make recommendations to the client. At the same time, auditors use modern forms of calculations based on economic and mathematical statistical methods of analysis.

The main objectives of external audit are:

verification and conclusion on the reliability of the enterprise’s financial statements;

assessment of ongoing business transactions and their compliance with laws and regulations;

assessment of accounting quality;

checking the correctness of economic calculations (cost, profit, its distribution);

analysis of the financial condition of the enterprise;

assessment of liquidity, solvency, financial stability and solvency;

setting up accounting, providing practical assistance in improving it;

providing advice on various issues;

An external audit is carried out by audit firms or individual auditors for the purpose of objectively assessing the reliability of the accounting and financial statements of the audited entity.

CONCLUSION

The purpose of an audit is the same in any country in the world - it is an independent assessment of the accounting status of public companies.

The significance of the audit is that it is not only an independent verification of the financial and economic activities of business entities, but also provides recommendations and proposals for improving these activities, expanding audit services and creating audit companies and firms at the international level.

The main purpose of auditing activities is to establish the reliability of the accounting (financial) statements of economic entities and the compliance of their financial and business transactions with the regulations in force in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Audit objectives are related to the purpose of the audit. The main objectives of auditing activities are:

checking the legality of financial and business transactions;

checking the status of accounting and reporting;

checking the reliability of the most important reporting indicators, including the balance sheet, income statement, etc.;

research of economic activities in order to identify intra-production reserves;

checking the condition and efficiency of use of resources (labor, financial, material).

The ultimate goal of the audit is to analyze the financial condition of the organization, its financial stability and creditworthiness.

LIST OF REFERENCES USED

Federal Law of December 30, 2008 N 307-FZ (as amended on July 1, 2010) “On Auditing Activities”

Audit. 2nd ed., transl. and add. Ed. Podolsky V.I. - M.: Economist; 2007

Audit. Textbook 3rd ed., revised and supplemented; Merzlikina E.M., Nikolskaya Yu.P. - Infra-M; 2008

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Thanks to the development of market economic relations and the integration processes of introducing our business into the world economy, the need arose to translate the accounting statements of enterprises interested in foreign economic activity to international standards (IFRS, GAAP, IAS). As you understand, not all companies can do this with their accountants, so it is advisable to use the help of specialists. The preparation of such documents falls within the competence of consulting institutions that have at their disposal a translation agency for financial reporting documents into English and other foreign languages ​​in accordance with foreign standards. At the same time (if necessary), they provide a certified notarized translation of documents, which also helps to increase the confidence of international investors. Today it is very easy to order accounting support in St. Petersburg or in another city in the country - the main thing is to choose only those professionals who have a high reputation and have been working in this field for many years. This way you will save yourself from problems.

To carry out competent audit it requires the collection and subsequent analysis of information that is directly related to the activities of the enterprise in order to clearly understand not only the nuances of doing business, but also take into account possible financial risks. To do this, the financial position of the business is studied and assessed, its diagnostics are made, accounting entries are checked, the correctness of reporting documentation and the preparation of the balance sheet. Since the audit is primarily aimed at providing assistance in the correct organization of accounting (in accordance with the requirements of its legislation and international standards), such work is carried out in close cooperation with the client, and this, in turn, contributes to the radical improvement of its international financial -economic relations.

Such professional cooperation also allows you to avoid financial problems in time and take the right measures to prevent crisis situations. However, it should be taken into account that when carrying out an independent audit to bring the reporting financial documentation into compliance with foreign standards, it is necessary to contact only reputable audit firms that have extensive experience in such work in the international market and are perfectly familiar with international auditing standards. After all, as practice shows, domestic audit does not always correspond to world-class status, which is trusted by all participants in financial and economic relations of the international market.

Today, no one questions the need for an audit. To improve performance, organizations need trust from customers, creditors and investors. More and more Russian companies are entering domestic and/or international financial markets, successfully attracting funding. In these circumstances, strengthening investor confidence is fundamental.

The need for an audit is determined by the following circumstances:

The importance of reliability and transparency of financial information for decision-making by interested users, property owners of an economic entity, real and potential investors, partners, competitors and government agencies. Confidence in the reliability of reporting

The most important components of success for strengthening the confidence of Russian and foreign investors and entering the stock markets.

There is a high probability of distortion of financial statements due to a number of factors, in particular the ambiguity of the current legislation and the interpretation of the facts of economic activity, as well as the possible bias of its compilers.

The degree of sufficiency of accounting statements, as a rule, cannot be independently assessed by the majority of interested users due to the difficulty of access to primary accounting documentation and due to insufficient qualifications and competence.

In our work, we strive not only to audit the financial statements of our clients, but also to help improve the efficiency of risk management and improve business transparency.

Our company is dedicated to identifying, discussing and finding constructive solutions to problems related to control systems and other issues affecting our clients' operations.

In addition to all of the above, minimizing tax risks is very important for many organizations today. As part of the audit, we are initially given the task Special attention pay attention to possible tax consequences and assess the degree of their influence on the organization’s activities. Despite the fact that often in the structure of financial statements the item of obligations to the budget is not the most significant, the assessment of possible risks is important both for the management of the organization and for its potential creditors and investors.

Improving the quality and reliability of information is carried out through work (in combination or separately) in the following areas.

- Detailed familiarization with the client’s business and understanding of its characteristics;

Detailed planning of project work;

Throughout the entire period of cooperation, we provide our clients with professional advice.

Legal examination of the organization’s regulatory documents.

Legal examination and verification of the authenticity of documents confirming property rights

Legal examination of the contractual framework, legal and claims work.

Audit of execution of individual contracts (foreign economic, investment, leasing, contract, etc.)

Assessing the current accounting system, accounting policies, methodology, forms and methods for compliance with user needs. Evaluating the effectiveness of applied automation systems. Analysis actual cost broken down by items and cost elements:

Examination of the sales system, including the completeness of capitalization of proceeds from the sale of products (works, services).

Examination of export-import transactions for compliance with the requirements of currency, tax legislation and international standards.

Examination of accounts receivable and payable, analysis of the use of financial instruments when making payments (bills, assignments, etc.).

Checking the correctness and timeliness of accrual and payment of taxes and fees, correct completion and timely submission tax reporting,Assessment of the applied tax accounting system.

Expertise in the use of targeted funding, incl. budgetary

Analysis of the use of profits: distribution among funds and reserves, dividend policy.

Assessing the compliance of the applied accounting system with the needs of management and the owner.

Conducting an analysis of the real financial condition of the organization and developing recommendations for its improvement.

History of audit.

The first independent auditors appeared in the 19th century. in European joint stock companies. The word "audit" in different translations means "he hears" or "listening." So in spiritual educational institutions called an excellent student who, on behalf of the teacher, carried out a confidential check of other students to ensure that they had mastered the material they had covered. Such trust relationships also exist in auditing.

The emergence of an audit is associated with the division of interests of those who are directly involved in managing the enterprise (administration, managers) and those who invest money in its activities (owners, shareholders, investors). England is considered the historical birthplace of auditing, where since 1844 a series of laws on companies have been issued, according to which the boards of joint-stock companies are required to invite a special person at least once a year to check the accounts and report to shareholders.

In Russia, the title of auditor was introduced by Peter I. The position of auditor combined some of the responsibilities of a clerk, secretary and prosecutor. Auditors in Russia were called chartered accountants. All three attempts to organize an audit institute (in 1889, 1912 and 1928) were unsuccessful.

World economic crisis 1929--1933 increased the need for the services of accountants and auditors. At this time, the requirements for the quality of the audit and its mandatory nature are sharply tightened, and the market demand for this kind of services increases.

Until the end of the 40s. auditing primarily involved examining the documentation supporting recorded monetary transactions and correctly grouping those transactions in the financial statements. This was the so-called confirmatory audit. After 1949, independent auditors began to pay more attention to internal control issues in companies. Auditing firms began to engage in more consulting activities than direct audits. This type of audit is called system-oriented.

In the early 70s. The development of auditing standards began. In England, auditors are any specialists in the field of monitoring the reliability of financial statements, including those working in government agencies. In France, there are two professional organizations in the field of independent financial control: expert accountants who are directly involved in accounting, reporting and providing consulting services in this area, and commissioners (authorized) for accounts, who ensure control over the reliability of financial statements. In the United States, a certified public accountant reviews the accuracy of financial statements.

Essence, meaning and objectives of audit.

Audit is an independent verification of the accounting (financial) statements of the audited entity in order to express an opinion on the reliability of such statements.
The auditor's task is to check the state of the financial and economic activities of the enterprise for a certain period, formulate objective conclusions, and give the necessary recommendations.

The basic principle governing the audit is a set of certain ethical and professional standards: independence, honesty and objectivity of the auditor, his professionalism, competence and integrity, confidentiality of information, responsibility.

Purpose of the audit- solving a specific problem, which is determined by legislation, the system of regulatory regulation of auditing activities, and the contractual obligations of the auditor and the client. In particular, the objectives of the audit may be: assessing the state of accounting, checking the reliability of accounting (financial) statements, confirming the prospectus for the issue of securities, conducting an analysis of financial and economic activities and preparing recommendations for strengthening the financial condition of the client, optimizing costs, consulting on accounting issues , taxation, commercial law, etc.

Auditors (audit firms) in the course of their activities also solve a number of problems related to the provision of audit services:

· checking accounting and reporting, legality of business transactions;

· assistance in organizing accounting;

· assistance in restoring and maintaining records, preparing accounting (financial) statements;

· assistance in tax planning and tax calculation;

· consulting on certain issues of accounting and reporting;

· expert assessments and analysis of business results;

· consulting on a wide range of financial and legal issues, marketing, management, technological and environmental consulting, etc.;

· development of constituent documents, etc.;

· providing information about future partners;

· informational customer service;

· other services.

3. Federal Law “On Auditing Activities”.

dated December 30, 2008 N 307-FZ (adopted by the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on December 24, 2008)
(current edition dated 09/01/2013)

This Federal Law defines the legal basis for regulating auditing activities in the Russian Federation.

Consists of 26 sections and defines the following concepts:

· Auditing activities

· Legislation of the Russian Federation and other regulatory legal acts that regulate audit activities

Audit organization

· Auditor

· Mandatory audit

· Audit report

· Auditing standards and code of professional ethics for auditors

· Independence of audit organizations, auditors

· Auditor confidentiality

· Quality control of audit organizations and auditors

· Auditor qualification certificate

· Grounds and procedure for revocation of an auditor’s qualification certificate

· Rights and obligations of an audit organization, an individual auditor

· Rights and obligations of the audited entity, the entity that has entered into an agreement for the provision of audit services

· State regulation of auditing activities

· Audit Council

Self-regulatory organization of auditors

· Requirements for membership in a self-regulatory organization of auditors

· Maintaining a register of auditors and audit organizations

· Disciplinary measures against audit organizations and auditors

· Maintaining the state register of self-regulatory organizations of auditors

· State control (supervision) over the activities of self-regulatory organizations of auditors

The transition to the market, fundamental changes in the economy led to the creation of a new industry scientific knowledge- audit.

An audit is defined as checking and confirming the correctness of the accounts of an enterprise, carried out by qualified specialists. In Russia, auditing has developed over the past 10 years.

In difficult economic conditions during the transition to market relations, it has become important to have reliable economic information about the financial and economic activities of the organization. Except for the above, the creation of commercial structures caused an influx of new entrepreneurs who did not have the proper experience of working in the new economic conditions and had little understanding of legislative acts, which is why the first violations (sometimes unintentional) appeared in compliance with the requirements of regulatory documents related to economic activity.

In connection with this, a new form of control over economic activities has emerged, including consultations on issues of accounting and the correct calculation of taxes.

Auditing activities - audit- represents the entrepreneurial activity of auditors (audit firms) to carry out independent non-departmental audits of accounting (financial) statements, payment and settlement documentation, tax returns and other financial obligations and requirements of economic entities, as well as the provision of other audit services.

Based on all of the above, we come to the conclusion that auditing is a broader concept that includes both the audit itself (an audit to confirm the reliability of financial statements) and related services (tax consulting, analysis of financial and economic activities, forecasting issues etc.)

The main purpose of the audit activity will be to establish the reliability of the accounting (financial) statements of economic entities and the compliance of the financial and business transactions they carry out with the regulations in force in the Russian Federation.

The significance of the audit is essentially that it will not only be an independent verification of financial and economic activities, but also provides recommendations and proposals for improving these activities, expanding audit services and creating audit companies and firms at the international level.

The need for an audit is related to:

• the need to obtain special knowledge to conduct inspections at a professional level;
• obtaining objective information about the state of accounting and reporting at the enterprise and its creditworthiness;
• proper management of entrepreneurship and its quality.

Auditors should also use such verification methods that would allow them to minimize the time it takes to conduct it without compromising quality.

The main audit objectives are related to the purpose of the audit (for example, cash audit, etc.)

The main objectives of audit activities will be:

• checking the legality of financial and business transactions;
• checking the status of accounting and reporting;
• checking the reliability of the most important reporting indicators, including the balance sheet, income statement, etc.;
• research of economic activities in order to identify intra-production reserves;
• checking the condition and efficiency of use of resources (labor, financial, material)

The audit is based on civil law, administrative and economic law, and accounting.

The ultimate goal of the audit is to analyze the financial condition of the organization, its financial stability and creditworthiness.

The financial condition and stability of an organization are measured by a number of financial ratios: Solvency, Liquidity, etc.

Purpose of the audit there will be a check of the reliability and reality of the financial statements and confirmation of their ϲᴏᴏᴛʙᴇᴛϲᴛʙiya, as well as an expression of the opinion of the audit organization on the reliability of the ϶ᴛᴏth reporting and its ϲᴏᴏᴛʙᴇᴛϲᴛʙiy normative acts.

Do not forget that issues related to audit, control and audit, their similarities and differences, occupy an important place.

Audit and audit will be ways of organizing control over the financial and economic activities of an organization. Audit and audit are two approaches to organizing control over the financial and economic activities of an organization. There are many similarities and significant differences between them.

Audit- an integral part of state financial control, establishing the legality, reliability, feasibility and efficiency of business operations.

Audit- independent verification of financial statements or financial information of an economic entity in order to identify reserves and draw conclusions about the financial condition of the enterprise.

During the audit, shortcomings in the financial and economic activities of the audited organization will be identified in order to eliminate them.

Features of audit, audit:

1. The purpose of the audit is to determine the legality of all operations and eliminate irrational ones (the purpose of the audit is to find out how accurate the accounting data is)
2. The audit determines the sequence of procedures (during the audit, the verification scheme is mainly given)
3. In an audit, all operations are checked with maximum arithmetic accuracy (in an audit - approximately, since it depends on the established significance of the operations and the degree of risk)
4. The legal basis for the audit will be the Administrative Code (in the case of an audit - the Civil Code)
5. The salary in an audit depends on the management of the enterprise (for an audit - a fee - the amount paid to the auditor by the client)
6. The auditor imposes penalties (the auditor gives advice and recommendations to eliminate deficiencies)

The main differences between an audit and an audit are presented in Table. 1.

Table 1

Organization of the audit service

Today in Russia audit firms are organized in all major cities.

Audit firms may have any organizational and legal forms provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation, with the exception of the open joint stock company. Audit firms have the organizational and legal forms of a closed company or limited liability company.

The main features of the classification of audit firms are as follows:

• Nature of activity;
• volume of services sold.

Based on the nature of their activities, audit firms are divided into universal and specialized.

Universal audit firms engage in a variety of types of work and may have several licenses for the right to conduct one or another type of statutory audit. For example, an audit in the field of general audit, banking audit, insurance, etc., services for setting up, restoring and maintaining accounting records, analyzing financial and economic activities, consulting on financial, management and tax accounting, computerization of accounting and other services.

Specialized audit firms perform the narrowest range of work and specialize in certain types of work (for example, audits, training, etc.)

In addition to audit firms, auditors can also engage in auditing; they must pass certification, obtain a license in a certain area to conduct an audit, and register as entrepreneurs. Privately practicing auditors can engage in both universal and specialized activities. Auditors and audit firms cannot engage in any business activities other than auditing and other related activities. Both universal and specialized firms must perform the main type of service - conducting a statutory audit.

Based on the volume of services provided, audit firms are divided into large, medium, and small. Universal firms are most often large and medium-sized. In Russia, mainly small and medium-sized audit firms are created. For example, a small company - up to 10 people, a medium company - 10-15 people, a large company - 50 and above.

A large audit firm has deputy heads, to whom the relevant departments are subordinate (for example, departments for types of audit and related services)

Except for the above, for accounting purposes the company has an accounting department, and for carrying out business activities there is an administrative and economic department; the editorial and publishing department is engaged in publishing activities.

Small audit organizations may have a simplified two-level management system - the head of the audit organization and the auditors subordinate to him.

We should not forget that an important area of ​​audits is the use of basic methods (in-house standards) prepared in advance for checking the relevant sections and accounts of accounting.

Based on all of the above, we come to the conclusion that the main areas of activity of audit firms will be:

• conducting inspections;
• setting up accounting;
• accounting for enterprises and organizations;
• control of accounting and preparation of accounting (financial) statements;
• improving the organization of accounting, its improvement;
• conducting financial analysis, consulting services (in the field of banking, tax, etc., economic legislation, investment activities, etc.);
• conducting seminars, improving the qualifications of accounting personnel;
• training of accounting personnel;
• edition methodological manuals on accounting, taxation, analysis, audit;
• assessment of economic and investment projects;
• automation of accounting.

This list can be expanded and supplemented, but it is obvious: even today, audit firms perform a wide variety of services.

Self-test questions

1. What is the essence of an audit?
2. What is the need and need for an audit?
3. What are the purpose and objectives of the audit?
4. How are audit firms formed?
5. What is the structure of the audit system?
6. Who determines the procedure for issuing and revoking audit licenses?
7. What types of services do audit firms provide?

By the way, the stages of formation and development of audit

Chronology of audit development

Auditing began to develop in the 14th century, when accounting books began to appear in court. In the 16th century control of these books is carried out.

The birthplace of audit will be Great Britain (Scotland), where a series of company legislation was issued in 1844.

In 1853, the Edinburgh Institute of Audit was created (in France, the audit institute was created in 1862, in the USA - in 1937)

Since 1905, the formation of the audit profession began. In the 70s of the XX century. International auditing standards began to be issued, to which changes and additions were made until today.

Today, all countries with a market economy have a public audit institution with its own legal and organizational infrastructure.

In Russia, the title of auditor was introduced under Peter I in the army, where the positions of auditor combined the duties of a clerk, secretary and prosecutor. Since 1867, with the introduction of military-judicial reform in Russia, the position of army auditor was abolished.

Attempts to create an audit institute with examinations in Russia were made in 1889, 1909, 1912, 1928. (Institute of State Accountants-Experts), but they all ended in failure due to the lack of a mechanism for the operation of these financial control bodies and the economic prerequisites for auditing activities. The material was published on http://site

In Russia, an important feature for the creation of an audit was the transition to a market economy. In 1987, with the resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, the first auditing firm “Inaudit” was created, privatized in 1991.

Since 1987, with the creation of this company, the formation of audit in Russia begins, but the official date is 1991 (transition to a market economy)

Activities of auditors in Russia, as in other countries market economy, is regulated by law.

In 1993, auditing received a legal basis - Temporary Rules for Auditing Activities were introduced (Decree of the President of Russia No. 2263 of December 22, 1993)

Since 1998, the development of norms and standards began in relation to the conditions of Russia, meanwhile, abroad, the development of norms and standards dates back to the 70s.

Since 1999, separate volumes of the Encyclopedia of General Auditing have begun to be published.

Audit in our country is beginning to gain momentum.

Audits can be carried out individuals who have a license to carry out such activities. The material was published on http://site
The Auditing Commission under the President of the Russian Federation determines the procedure for issuing and revoking licenses, organizes work to develop standards and recommendations in the field of auditing, accounting, and economic analysis. Licenses are issued to conduct: banking audit; audit of insurance organizations; audit of exchanges, extra-budgetary funds and investment institutions; general audit. Having one license, for example for a general audit, does not give the right to conduct a banking audit without a corresponding license.

It should be noted: the creation of audit and audit firms in Russia had the following directions:

• at the beginning of 1990, foreign firms dominated the market of audit firms;
• Currently, leadership is passing to domestic firms, which have begun to work together with large international clients.

Self-test questions

1. What is the nature and significance of auditing?
2. What are the purpose, objectives and need for auditing?
3. What are the similarities and differences between audit and audit?
4. What are the roles and tasks of audit firms?
5. What are the features of auditing in Russia?

Types of audit

Within the framework of international practice, as well as in our country, audit is divided into: internal, external, initiative and mandatory.

Internal audit is considered as part of the overall system of management and control over the production and economic activities of the organization.
It is worth noting that it is carried out by decision of management.

The objectives of the internal audit will be:

• checking the accuracy of records;
• control over the safety of funds;
• preventing errors and abuses;
• strict adherence to control procedures;
• control over the completion of tasks;
• determining the effectiveness of individual operations;
• reliability, objectivity, completeness of financial (accounting) reporting;
• efficiency and assessment of financial and economic activities during inspection;
• development of proposals to improve accounting and analysis;
• compliance with regulations and standards.

The scope of internal audit work should be determined by management independently of the work of external auditors.

The role of internal audit has changed. So, at first there was control over information and its processing, then internal control over the quality of information and the effectiveness of information analysis techniques began to be strengthened.

Internal audit is often called intra-business audit; it will be the information base for external audit. Internal audit is carried out continuously during the business process.

The main task of internal audit is to help employees of the enterprise competently perform their duties.

It is carried out to carry out self-monitoring of the level of production costs, distribution costs, quality of products and work, etc.

The internal auditor prepares information about the financial and economic activities of the enterprise, the correctness of reporting and posting of accounts, etc.

Internal auditors will traditionally be employees who are on the staff of the enterprise and subordinate to its management.

The tasks that the internal audit service must perform determine the functions of the employees of this service and their professional qualifications:

1. Carrying out periodic control over the financial and economic activities of the audited organizations.

   Carrying out this task, the internal auditor studies the accounting and control system, assesses the effectiveness of its functioning, using various techniques (sampling, scanning, etc.). The auditor checks the legal validity of the operation and the optimality of taxation, and assesses the significance of the errors found.

2. Conducting a financial and economic analysis of the organization’s activities and developing its financial strategy. When performing the second task, the auditor conducts an express analysis of the financial and economic activities of the organization, assesses its solvency and financial stability, and gives recommendations on the strategy of financial and economic activities. The material was published on http://site
3. Advisory services in the field of accounting and taxation, as well as in legal matters and other services in the profile of the audit service are one of the most common types of services. An accountant engaged in routine work may require professional assistance in unusual or rare economic situations, as well as in the event of significant changes in legislation; the performance of this service may also be attributed to the tasks of the internal audit service.

As a result of inspection, analysis and consultation by the internal audit service, the organization will be prepared for inspection by external auditors, the tax inspectorate and other control bodies.

The third task is performed by the internal auditor as needed. Certified auditors, as well as specialists in legal issues, taxation and analysis, can be involved in solving it.

Internal audit is divided into:

• managerial - checking and improving the system of internal control and management of the enterprise, assessing the efficiency of production and financial investments.

  A management audit is performed by an independent auditor and will be a type of consulting service;

• economic activity - a systematic analysis of the economic activity of an enterprise, carried out to assess the effectiveness of management and identify reserves, develop recommendations for identified reserves. An audit of economic activities can be carried out by order of the administration or at the request of government agencies.
• The main requirement is to determine the compliance of financial or business activities with applicable laws and regulations (conducted by internal or external auditors);
• financial statements - verification of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted standards. The result will be the preparation of an audit report, where the auditor expresses his opinion on the reporting provided, the correct conduct of accounting and analysis of business activities and is carried out mainly by independent auditors;
• special - checking compliance by an economic entity with certain procedures, for example, preparation of tax reporting, use of special funds, etc.

Based on all of the above, we come to the conclusion that internal audit is determined by management: its role changes from checking and preventing losses to analyzing the quality of information systems.

Internal audit provides the management of the enterprise with information about the financial and economic activities of the enterprise, contributes to the creation of a highly effective accounting and internal control system that prevents the occurrence of violations and confirms the reliability of the reports of the enterprise and its structural divisions.

The existing external audit system is aimed primarily at protecting the interests of enterprises and organizations, shareholders, as well as counterparties (banks, insurance organizations, suppliers, buyers, etc.)

External audit is an independent control carried out by highly qualified specialists in the field of accounting, control and analysis of business activities who have a valid license or certificate. An audit is carried out by independent auditors on the basis of contracts and the preparation of a final conclusion confirming the reliability of financial statements and the effectiveness of the results achieved in accordance with current standards and the correctness of accounting. The object of the external audit will be the financial and economic activities of the enterprise. An external audit can make recommendations to the client. In this case, auditors use modern forms of calculations based on economic and mathematical statistical methods of analysis.

To more clearly define these types, we use the scheme for conducting internal and external audits (Table 2.)

table 2

The main objectives of the external audit will be:

• verification and conclusion on the reliability of the enterprise’s financial statements;
• assessment of ongoing business transactions and their compliance with legislation and regulations;
• quality of accounting;
• checking the correctness of economic calculations (cost, profit, its distribution);
• analysis of the financial condition of the enterprise;
• assessment of liquidity, solvency, financial stability and solvency;
• setting up accounting, providing practical assistance in improving it;
• providing advice on various issues;
• recommendations for improving accounting and business activities. The material was published on http://site

An external audit is carried out by audit firms or individual auditors for the purpose of objectively assessing the reliability of the accounting and financial statements of the audited entity; There are different types of external audit: proactive and mandatory.

Initiative audit (or voluntary) - ϶ᴛᴏ checking the financial and economic activities of the client at his request.

The reason is staff turnover at the enterprise, low qualifications of accounting personnel, especially at newly formed enterprises, and other reasons.

Managers of enterprises and firms facing such problems themselves turn to audit firms about the need to conduct an audit (in order to check the quality of work of the accounting apparatus, ensure the reliability of reporting, etc.)

An initiative audit can be thematic, and the audit can be selective or complete.

Mandatory audit - carried out in accordance with legislative acts. It is worth noting that it will be comprehensive and can be carried out on behalf of government bodies determined by the Temporary Rules. Evasion of the mandatory audit leads to penalties or fines; the amounts go to the republican budget. The purpose of a statutory audit is to confirm the accuracy of financial statements. If an audit firm has previously provided services to a given enterprise, it cannot conduct a statutory audit.

Self-test questions

1. What types of audits do you know?
2. What is internal audit and how is it carried out, what are its objectives?
3. Who conducts the external audit, its purpose and objectives?
4. What types of internal audit do you know?
5. What is meant by mandatory and proactive audit?

Legislative and regulatory framework for auditing

The development of auditing abroad and in Russia has led to the need to unify auditing activities. The material was published on http://site
As a result, standards began to be developed, first within a national framework, then on an international scale. Modern audit is based on theoretical concepts that involve the use of postulates that define the audit methodology. Postulates are scientifically based provisions that regulate the main, important aspects of auditing standards.

The organization of audit activities in Russia is formed taking into account the experience that has developed in world practice. It is worth saying that for a high-quality audit, standards play an important role. The standards define the requirements for auditors, for the general approach to conducting an audit, and for reflecting the results of the audit.

The significance of auditing standards lies essentially in the fact that they have the following features:

• If they are followed, the high quality of the audit is ensured;
• promote the introduction of new scientific achievements into audit practice;
• determine the auditor’s actions in specific conditions;
• help users understand the audit process;
• make the work of auditors easier.

The standards are divided into:

1. General laws (postulates)
2. General standards.
3. Working (special) standards.
4. Reporting standards.

General principles (postulates) include a general approach to conducting an audit - compliance with standards, consistency, access to information, management responsibility, etc., and serve auditors as a framework for forming an independent opinion and drawing up an audit report.

General standards determine the quality and degree of qualifications that an auditor must have, in other words, the standards of conduct for auditors.

To general standards: independence, confidentiality, competence, objectivity, due care.

The independence of the auditor is due to the fact that he will not be an employee government agency, is not subordinate to control and audit bodies and does not work under their control, complies with audit standards, and does not have any property or personal interests in the audited enterprise.

The auditor, therefore, must be independent, have access to all audit documents and the right to obtain the necessary information.

Confidentiality is the most important requirement when conducting an audit. The auditor should not provide any information to any body about the economic activities of the audited company. For disclosing the secrets of their clients, the auditor bears responsibility under the law, as well as moral, and if provided for by the contract, financial responsibility.

Competence is related to the fact that the auditor must have the necessary professional qualifications, take care of maintaining them at the proper level, and comply with the requirements of regulatory documents. The auditor must be sufficiently competent in the main issues of the audit and should not provide services to the client if he does not have sufficient qualifications.

He must use economic, statistical and mathematical methods of analysis, factor analysis models, and skillfully apply new information technologies in auditing activities. The material was published on http://site

The auditor must be sufficiently objective in conducting the audit. This quality is closely related to internal control. The better the control is organized, the more objective its accounting and reporting data. A good control system eliminates the possibility of abuse, unexpected losses, fraud, etc.

Due care is due to the fact that the auditor is obliged to act in the audit process with due care and be extremely careful in ϲᴏᴏᴛʙᴇᴛϲᴛʙii with the standard. The auditor must be prepared for possible forgeries, additions, and various violations, and be able to resist them.

These are the general auditing standards.

Working (special) standards are the rules by which the auditor is guided when performing an audit.

Operating standards include:

1. Planning, control and documentation.
2. Study and assessment of the accounting and internal control system during the audit.
3. Audit in conditions of computer information processing.
4. Document analysis.

Let's study these directions.

The auditor should plan the audit to improve the quality of the audit. Auditors also monitor the audit of members of the audit team. Attention is paid to internal control in assessing accounting and reporting, as well as risk assessment.

The basis for the verification will be reliable information obtained during the verification.

For an objective conclusion, the auditor must be confident in good quality information.

Evidence can be internal, received from the client, and external, from third parties and other organizations.

More valuable will be external evidence (statements from the client’s bank accounts, etc.), as well as evidence obtained by the auditor himself, taking into account the risk.

When collecting evidence, the auditor: 1) checks the client’s arithmetic calculations; 2) participates in the inventory of individual business transactions; 3) checks documents received from the client.

Computer data processing affects three aspects of the audit: 1) planning; 2) assessing the risk of control failure; 3) collection of factual data on the details of business transactions.

Of greatest importance are the features of planning and control when using computer systems, testing control procedures and collecting data on business transactions.

The auditor completes the analysis of working standards with an analysis of documents (for example, he analyzes documents related to profit growth, identifies unprofitable transactions, monitors correct distribution arrived)

Reporting Standards- with their help, the auditor can determine whether the financial statements being audited comply with generally accepted accounting principles. The auditor must express an opinion regarding their reliability or indicate the reasons why such an opinion cannot be expressed.

The reporting standards include: the auditor's report on the audit of financial statements, types of audit reports, written information from the auditor to the management of the economic entity about the results of the audit.

These standards will be extremely important; the type and content of the reports must be known not only to the auditors themselves, but also to all users of the reports supported by the audit report.

Auditing standards can be presented in the form of a diagram (Fig. 1)

1. Regularities (postulates)
   • Compliance
   • Consistency, impartiality
   • Internal controls
   • Accountability
   • Access to the information
   • Management Responsibility
   • Monitoring activities + improving inspection techniques
2. General standards
   • Objectivity
   • Independence
   • Competence, due care, etc.
3. Operating standards (quality of inspection)
   • Planning the inspection (preparation)
   • Supervision and control Internal controls
   • Information (evidence)
   • Document analysis
4. Reporting Standards
   • by form - title, date, signature, obligations of the parties
   • in content - completeness, legal basis, ϲᴏᴏᴛʙᴇᴛϲᴛʙie
   • standards modern methods calculation

Figure No. 1. Diagram of auditing standards

Based on all of the above, we come to the conclusion that the reporting standards, report (or conclusions) must have an addressee, title, signature and date.

When formulating a conclusion, the auditor must pay attention to the significance of the issues and the nature of the activities of the audited enterprise.

Do not forget that it will be important to say that the auditor’s opinion depends on his interests (professional, moral)

Additions to the listed generally accepted standards are periodically issued.

Specific standards can be used in auditing in certain areas of activity, for example, audit standards of banks, insurance organizations, etc.

With the development of market relations and the transformation of individual audit organizations into large international groups, the need arose to unify auditing on an international scale.

Despite the undoubted achievements in the field of creating international auditing standards, it is still too early to say that true uniformity has already been achieved. Modern international standards can be considered as a set of national and regional standards that have mutual influence, since national legislation in this area differs significantly in different countries. Moreover, the leaders in this area, as well as in the service sector in general, will be industrialized countries.

A number of organizations are involved in developing professional requirements at the international level.
It is worth noting that the main organization will be the International Committee of Auditing Practices, operating within the framework of the International Federation of Accountants, which was created in 1977. However, Russia is not included in this organization. Different countries apply international standards differently.

In Russia, the development of auditing standards (taking into account international standards) is headed by the Research Financial Institute of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, which began work in this direction in 1993. Ten standards were selected, which were extremely important to develop first:

1. Basic principles of auditing.
2. Objectives and scope of the audit of financial statements.
3. Auditor's report on the audit of financial statements.
4. Types of audit reports.
5. Letter of commitment of consent to conduct an audit.
6. Audit evidence (types, sources and methods of obtaining)
7. What the auditor should do when fraud or error is detected.
8. Using the work of an expert.
9. information for management.
10. Date of the audit report, events after the balance sheet, discoveries after the financial statements were issued.

In general, it was planned to create four groups of Russian analogues on the basis of the standards developed by the International Committee on Auditing Standards:

1. General auditing standards.
2. Working standards in 1 audit.
3. Reporting standards.
4. Specific standards used for auditing in specific industries.

The problem of compliance of Russian audit firms with international auditing standards is all the more relevant due to the fierce competition in the Russian market from large Western firms.

Leading Russian companies strive to become clients of Western companies. Therefore, Russian audit firms are faced with a very pressing issue of compliance with international auditing standards in order to create real competition for Western companies.

Russian audit firms attract clients with lower prices and greater attention to clients' wishes. The advantage of Western companies is a big name and a strong reputation.

At the same time, the quality of services provided by Russian auditors is usually no worse than that of their Western colleagues. At the same time, the development of its own Russian market is largely hampered by the lack of a number of legislatively established auditing standards, which would become a guideline for all firms and would establish criteria for the professional responsibility of auditors.

The peculiarities of the application of auditing standards in Russia and the specifics of auditing in general are largely due to the fact that Russian auditing historically arose on the basis of the work of control and audit bodies, which had both positive and negative aspects.

It is important to note that one of the disadvantages of the work of such services will be a narrow departmental approach, as a result of which much attention during inspections was paid to the search for minor errors, which was supposed to demonstrate the meticulousness of the inspectors, and major omissions were often “turned a blind eye” if it was not a matter of theft. The fact that Russian audit largely “grew up” from audits led to a distortion of the very concept of “audit”.

Often, the purpose of an audit is not understood to be confirmation of reporting, but to identify theft, search for financial abuse, check the correctness of tax calculations and the timeliness of tax transfers to the budget.

The national system of Russian standards, according to leading scientists, should include 59 rules, of which 46 will be analogues of international auditing standards (MCA), and an additional 13 standards will be purely Russian. As an example for comparison, we provide a table of domestic and international auditing standards (and a number of standards have already been published and approved by the Auditing Commission under the President of the Russian Federation)

Do not forget that it will be important to say that Russian standards are more detailed and Section XI “Education and Training” refers entirely to Russian standards (Table 3)

Table 3

Self-test questions

1. What is meant by auditing standards?
2. Name the types of auditing standards.
3. What are the general standards?
4. What operating standards do you know? What is their significance?
5. Name the reporting standards. What is their essence?
6. What is included in the classification of standards?
7. What is the difference between Russian auditing standards and international ones?

Rights, duties and responsibilities of the auditor

The rights and obligations of auditors and clients of audit services are determined by the Law “On Auditing Activities” dated August 7, 2001 No. 119-FZ.

Understanding by auditors and their clients of their rights and obligations (as well as conflicts between their interests) has its own peculiarities. We should not forget that it will be important to say that the rights and obligations of auditors and their clients in Russian conditions are extremely important to study in detail, test in practice, decide and debug as part of the creation of a legal economy as a whole. This will be resolved over time.

The audit is carried out by individuals or legal entities licensed to conduct audits. Auditors (individuals) can engage in auditing activities as part of an audit firm, having concluded an employment agreement with it, or independently, having received an audit license.

Auditors and audit firms do not have the right to:

1. Engage in any business activity, except for auditing and related activities.
2. Transfer information obtained during the audit to third parties.
3. Conduct an audit if there are relatives at the company being audited, and also purchase shares of the company being audited. There are four types of licenses (general audit, banking, insurance, other organizations)

There are three types of liability:

• responsibility to the client;
• liability based on civil law;
• criminal liability.

During the audit process, the auditor has the right to:

1. Independently determine the forms and methods of audit (based on the requirements of regulations, specific terms of the contract, etc.)
2. Check in full the documentation on financial and economic activities (accounting books, monetary documents, securities and etc.)
3. It is worth saying - to receive from third parties all the information necessary to fulfill the audit objectives (upon written request)
4. It is worth saying - to receive all the necessary clarifications on emerging questions or additional information.
5. Engage highly qualified specialists on a contractual basis (in the field of accounting and analysis of economic activities, etc., except for persons working at the inspected enterprise)
6. Refuse to conduct an inspection special cases(failure to provide the necessary information for verification, criminal situation, etc.)
7. Provide audit-related services.

Responsibilities of auditors

When considering the responsibilities of auditors and audit firms, it should be borne in mind that they carry out financial control and their functions do not include tax control, as well as control over the formation and use of social insurance and security funds and other extra-budgetary funds. Based on this, auditors mainly check accounting or financial statements (balance sheet with appendices, i.e. 5 forms of annual reporting), confirming their reality and validity. Except for the above, an audit covers only those business transactions of an economic entity that are documented. Business transactions that are not documented will be the responsibility of other authorities.

As a result, the auditor is required to:

1. Strictly comply with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as rules and audit standards.
2. Immediately inform the customer, as well as government agency who commissioned the audit, about the impossibility of his participation in the audit or about the need to attract additional auditors to participate in the audit.
3. Perform functions impartially.
4. Ensure the safety of documents during the audit and not disclose their contents without the consent of the owner (manager) of the economic entity.
5. Be based on the principles of integrity, honesty, goodwill. The material was published on http://site
6. Prepare an audit report and written information (auditor's report) in accordance with approved standards.
7. To contribute to the growth of the authority of this profession in society.

To better understand the rights and responsibilities of auditors, let’s reflect them in the diagram (Fig. 2)

Figure No. 2. Rights and responsibilities of the auditor

To successfully perform these responsibilities, the auditor must meet a number of requirements. The directive of the International Audit Service specifies the following principles that must be observed when conducting an audit: integrity, objectivity, independence, secrecy, qualifications and competence, professional organization and integrity. A necessary requirement for an auditor is to have proper education. The International Federation of Accountants notes that the key issues that should be carefully examined will be audit objectives, concepts, evidence, practices and procedures, and the rights, duties and responsibilities of auditors.

It is important to note that one of the main distinguishing features of a professional auditor is his understanding of responsibility to the public. The necessary minimum rules of conduct that must be followed are given. Ethical behavior is not just compliance with certain prohibitions. Data rules require strict adherence to the principle of respect for clients to the detriment of personal interests of the public accountant (auditor)

Professional and data requirements for auditors include:

1. honesty;
2. objectivity;
3. goodwill;
4. professional competence;
5. confidentiality of information.

The requirement of independence will be a prerequisite for conducting an audit (these requirements are set out in detail in the topic on auditing standards) Professional data requirements for auditors are reflected in the Code of Data for Auditors, which was adopted by the Audit Council under the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation on August 28, 2003. The Code establishes the basic rules behavior of auditors and basic requirements when conducting audits.

The auditor passes a qualification exam for the right to carry out audit activities. The material was published on http://site
Both the audit firm and the auditor can therefore conduct an audit and issue a formal audit report only if they have a license.

Individuals who have an economic or legal education (higher or specialized secondary education), with work experience of at least 3 out of the last 5 years as an auditor, an audit firm specialist, an accountant, an economist, or an enterprise manager, are eligible for certification. Persons convicted by a court verdict are not allowed to undergo certification.

Certification is entrusted to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation for the audit of enterprises, organizations, stock exchanges, investment, pension, public and other funds, as well as citizens engaged in independent business activities. Central Bank of the Russian Federation - for checking banks, credit organizations, their unions, etc.

Certification is carried out on the basis of educational and methodological centers for training and retraining of auditors (UMC), the list of which is determined by the Commission on Auditing Activities under the President of the Russian Federation. Examinations are conducted according to unified programs.

It is worth saying that the provision on licensing by type of auditor was approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 23, 2002 No. 190 “On licensing of auditing activities.”

Certification is carried out on the basis of educational and methodological centers (with representatives of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, teachers of the Moscow Financial Academy under the Government of Russia) The license is issued for a period of 5 years. The work on certifying auditors and issuing licenses is carried out by the Central Licensing Commissions created under the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, and the Federal Service of Russia for Supervision of Insurance Activities.

Self-test questions

1. What are the rights of auditors?
2. What are the responsibilities of auditors?
3. Who certifies and licenses auditors?
4. Draw up a diagram of “Rights and Responsibilities of Auditors” and reveal its contents.