Any company always maintains accounts with the help of accounting, which are an ordered basis for organizing all the property and operations of the enterprise itself over a certain period of time.
Accounting includes information on which transactions were carried out, what property and money are on the balance sheet of the company, as well as other important information about the state of the company and its operating conditions. However, accounting data is not always accurate and reliable. There can be two main reasons for this: a random error or deliberate falsification of data.
The solution in this situation is to conduct an audit as a means of combating errors in the financial statements in the form of audits.
What is the purpose of the audit? We will try to answer this very important question below.
An audit is an independent review of an entity and its accounting documents related to that entity.
Audit concept and legal framework
An audit is an audit of the financial management of an enterprise or organization conducted by the auditor based on the submitted financial statements of the company.
The legislative framework of audit in Russia is represented by the following main documents:
- Federal Law No. 307- dated December 30, 2008 “On Auditing Activities” contains general concepts of auditing and all relevant actions.
- Federal auditing standards govern audit procedures.
- The Code of Professional Ethics of Auditors contains principles and rules of conduct for auditors.
- GOST documents, requirements of tax authorities and other supervisory authorities.
The concept of audit, certification requirements, rights and obligations of individuals, responsibility of organizations is defined in the main document governing such activities in the Russian Federation - this is the Federal Law of 30.12.2008 No. 307- “On Auditing Activities”.
The role and importance of audit
Like any process, an audit has the primary purpose of an audit.
This procedure allows you to form the basis for conducting a study of the financial condition of the company in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, as well as to solve the problem of making informed decisions, and to prevent administrative sanctions on the part of state bodies. A mature manager fully understands the need for audits and, as a rule, does not put them off. However, not all so simple. The results of the audit and the future activities of the company will directly depend on the level of knowledge, professionalism and qualifications of the audit staff. This is due to the fact that industry standards give them many opportunities for decision making.
Types of audit
Depending on the criteria, audits are of different types. By the criterion of audit objects, the following types are distinguished:
- general;
- bank;
- state;
- exchange, off-budget funds, insurance organizations.
In relation to the audited organization, external and internal audits are distinguished.
When answering the question: “What is the main purpose of the audit?”, One can imagine the following classification by the groups of operations that he checks:
- economic activity in general;
- financial transactions in general or certain types;
- financial report;
- enterprise management etc.
In addition, depending on the relationship of legislation to audit, there are:
- obligatory;
- initiative check.
The first type of audit requires a more responsible approach from auditors than voluntary. The activities of the auditor should be based on several principles:
- the audit is carried out in full in the following areas: the company's business activities, balance sheet, inventories, settlements with the budget and founders, the company's obligations to creditors;
- the auditor's conclusion should be absolute: the information provided is either reliable or not;
- the auditor follows the rules of procedure established by federal law.
The benefits of a mandatory review are:
- errors in accounting are immediately corrected - this minimizes the tax and financial risks of the company;
- in case of violations in the actions of officials, the audit reduces the risk of fraudulent staff behavior;
- tax accounting is stabilized, which avoids fines;
- The entire workflow is brought in accordance with the requirements of the law.
Initiative audit is the most “young” form: it began to spread widely when the Russian economy began to quickly adapt Western technologies to the conditions of the domestic market.
An initiative audit at the personal request of the owners or managers helps to find out the information contained in the reports on the financial condition and economic activity of the enterprise. Such knowledge helps to make the right management decisions and develop a competent company development strategy.
An initiative audit of the organization, as the name implies, is not mandatory, but it obeys the rules and algorithms.
The main goals and objectives of the audit
Audit is an independent assessment of the financial condition of an organization. The main purpose of the audit is to identify errors in the financial statements and provide the manager with objective and accurate information about the state of his company's documentation. Thus, the procedure is aimed at collecting, studying and analyzing all business operations conducted by the audited entity during the reporting period, with the aim of their correctness and accuracy reflected in the documents.
The main purpose of the audit is to verify the accuracy of the statements, and the main condition for its implementation is the independence of the auditor. The result of the audit is officially recorded in the prescribed form, which is the competent opinion of the inspector about the degree of accuracy of the financial information contained in the reports for a certain period, that is, the audit report.
The purpose of the audit is to verify allegations, confirm or refute the accuracy, correctness of the information contained in the statements.
In essence, an audit is a control of the accuracy of information in existing reports. The main condition for success in carrying out such work is the involvement of an independent specialist who can conduct inspections impartially.
The completion of the work of auditors is a conclusion in the form of a conclusion, which records the opinion of the inspection body regarding the correctness of the information in the reports of the company.
The audit report has been prepared in a special form and contains complete information about the results of the audit. Based on the available data, it is easy to determine the competence of the company's accountants and identify attempts to deceive the controlling structures. In practice, an audit conducted by independent bodies monitors compliance with laws and regulations, as well as the absence of violations.
The main objectives of the audit in the company are:
- verification and confirmation of the correctness of the information reflected in the financial statements of the organization;
- detection of violations with subsequent reference to them (if necessary, they can be eliminated);
- obtaining accurate information about the company, as well as the status of accounting in it and in the documentation.
Audit Objects
The list of enterprises that should be audited annually is contained in the Federal Law “On Auditing Activities”. Such enterprises include:
- companies issuing securities traded on the stock exchange, as well as companies operating in the stock market professionally;
- enterprises engaged in clearing or insurance activities;
- mutual funds, pension funds, as well as non-state extra-budgetary funds;
- financial institutions, namely banks, MFIs and others;
- currency, commodity and stock exchanges;
- joint-stock enterprises;
- firms publishing their reports in the public domain;
- other companies whose annual income exceeds 400 million rubles, as well as companies with assets worth more than 60 million rubles by the end of the reporting period.
In addition, a mandatory audit is carried out in accordance with the goals and objectives of the audit, if the company:
- claims to receive a loan (verification may be one of the requirements of the bank);
- makes a major transaction or requires investment;
- participates in the tender.
Audit Planning Basics
There are several stages to the organization of audit planning:
- formal proposal of the client to conduct an audit;
- initial familiarization with the characteristics of the company, its financial performance without a detailed check;
- development, implementation and preparation of a comprehensive plan and the formation of a specific audit program;
- drawing up a letter of verification;
- certification of an audit contract by two parties.
In general terms, the purpose of planning an audit is to identify:
- subject of research and a list of investigated objects;
- a list of questions for each object of verification;
- sources of information;
- working conditions;
- the structure of the reviewer group;
- the timing and implementation of the program.
The audit program is a detailed document that develops a general plan and contains a list of audit procedures.
Stages
Any audit goes through three stages in accordance with the objectives of the audit:
- Preparatory. At this stage, the auditor meets with the client, enters into an agreement with him on the audit, draws up a plan, determines the amount of work;
- Collection of audit evidence. At this stage, the actual activity of the specialist is to collect, study and analyze all the necessary documents;
- Preparation of an audit report. This is a systematization and synthesis of the information received. After the audit, an auditor's report is compiled, which includes his opinion on the accuracy and fidelity of accounting in the organization.
Validation Results
As a result of the audit, an audit report is prepared, which can be unconditionally positive or modified. With an unconditionally positive conclusion, the specialist has no comments and reservations, and the goal of the audit is achieved.
A modified conclusion is issued when the auditor wants to draw the attention of the auditee to any situations or factors that may affect the opinion of the auditors.
The objectives of the audit are to identify errors in reporting. As a result of their identification, the auditor can express an opinion with a reservation, a negative opinion or even reject his expression.
Disclaimer
The audit report should be included in the annual financial statements. Otherwise, the tax authorities cannot accept it, citing the fact that, without an audit report, the statements are not reliable.
For failure to provide the necessary documents in a timely manner, the tax authorities may impose a fine in the amount of 200 rubles for each undeclared paper on the basis of Art. 126 Tax Code.
In addition, the court may impose a fine in the amount of 300 to 500 rubles per official for failure to submit reports to the tax authorities within the required time period.
Conclusion
The results obtained allow us to draw final conclusions (conclusions) on how well the records are kept, whether the company's financial statements are reliable and reliable. Thus, by providing the opinion of the auditor, the main purpose of the audit can be achieved.