Audit of accounting policies is a certain type of activity, which consists in collecting facts related to the work and position of the enterprise, as well as in assessing them. It is carried out by an independent, competent person in this field. Based on previously established criteria, it draws conclusions about how well one organization or another functions. That is, an audit of accounting policies is an audit that is carried out independently and ends with the expression of the opinion of a specialist on the condition in which the financial statements of the enterprise are.
Its main goal is to objectively determine the veracity of the information collected. In addition, the audit of the accounting policies of the enterprise is designed to ensure that the client complies with the norms of law and business law, regularly pays taxes.
The reliability of the information received is important for assessing the performance of the capital market and increasing its effectiveness. It also allows you to anticipate the possible consequences of decisions made in the economy.
Audit of accounting policies is carried out in two stages:
1. The first of these gives an assessment of how control is conducted within the organization itself. To this end, it is good to use pre-designed tests. Forms must be attached to them with the answers of the interviewed person and the notes of the auditor who conducted the survey. The internal control in the organization is evaluated in accordance with the methodology that is approved in it. It can be, for example, a point system.
2. At the next stage, the audit of the accounting policies of the organization is engaged in the analysis of the collected data. For accounting purposes, a special table is filled out. In it, each component of the accounting policy is accompanied by answers to questions and notes by the person who sets them.
Features of the work of the auditor depend on those goals in accordance with which he conducts the audit. Work can be accounting and tax.
In the first case, the auditor should study well the accounting policies of the person who he will interview. This type of verification is carried out for several purposes. Firstly, it is needed to confirm the fact that the company has an accounting policy. And secondly, it is necessary to assess how rational and correct the selected forms and methods of bookkeeping are.
Before conducting an audit of accounting policies, the inspector must familiarize himself with a number of documents of the person whom he will interview. These include:
- a list of forms for primary documents and documents for reporting within the organization - all of them must be approved;
- an order for a policy regarding accounting that is conducted at the audited entity;
- chart of accounts drawn up by the accounting department;
- the rules by which information is processed and documents are circulated;
- a note, which is attached to the balance sheet and contains information about how the company maintains an accounting policy: attention should be paid to how these documents differ from those provided in the previous year;
- changes that have occurred in accounting policies - they can significantly affect what decisions will be made by persons using the results of accounting work in the current or subsequent years.
An audit of accounting policies for accounting purposes is very important. As a rule, its results significantly affect the opinion of the person conducting the survey regarding the reliability of information about the financial condition of each particular organization.
An audit of accounting policies for tax purposes is approved by the head of the enterprise. The Order shall enter into force on the first day of the year following the year of its signing. This type of audit consists of two sections:
1) organizational and technical;
2) methodological.
As part of this audit, a specialist, as in the first case, must first answer a number of questions regarding the accounting, and then make a thorough analysis of them.