Documentation of the audit allows you to create a basis on which to draw conclusions about the correctness of the procedure and the sufficiency, professionalism, accuracy of the actions of the auditors who implemented the event. From the papers drawn up during the audit, you can get the necessary amount of data for the analysis of audit activities and their evaluation.
Documentation of the audit allows you to establish control over the control, regardless of whether an internal audit was organized or a third-party organization was involved. If the conflict situation has reached the court, it is the papers formed during the audit that will help to defend their position in the state instance, even if the client is convinced that the service was rendered insufficiently.
Documentation: audit and paper
It is unacceptable to neglect the design of official papers. One of the main tasks of an audit specialist is to carefully compile in the established manner information that is at least of some importance for the conclusion, as well as one that can be used to prove one’s position. In addition, it must be remembered that for the conduct of the audit, federal standards have been introduced, which must be met without fail. The correct and correct documentation of the audit, the working documents of the auditor will serve as evidence of compliance with the rules established at the state level, which will help to protect your interests in the event of a conflict with the customer.
By documentation it is customary to understand such materials, documents generated during the audit, on which the auditor worked. This also includes data provided by the customer to the auditor, stored by a specialist, as the verification conditions require. In this aspect, documenting the audit of a small enterprise has the same requirements as working with a medium and large company.
Neglecting is unacceptable!
Why does the organization of the audit always include work planning with a huge amount of official papers? There are several justifications for such workflow and officialdom adopted among specialists and firms organizing inspections.
If the auditor can provide an audit plan and working documentation, on the basis of which a final conclusion was made, this means that the audit was conducted in a high-quality and complete manner. But in the case when no working documentation was formed during the audit, they say that the check was "fake". We can safely assume that the audit report was made literally from scratch. If such a position can be proved in court, the company will lose its license for audit activities.
Important aspects
The specified reason is not the only one, which compels to carefully, carefully treat the issue of documenting the audit. So, it is the presence of official papers that makes it possible to monitor how efficiently, efficiently the person responsible for the audit fulfilled his tasks. Supervisors can monitor the progress of work and take measures depending on indicators.
If an economic entity was dissatisfied with the audit report, the documentation generated in the workflow may be a key factor in helping to defend one's position. In some cases, it is enough to present these documents to substantiate the conclusions, in others it will be necessary to prove their case in court.It should be remembered that the court is a rather bureaucratic instance, which pays a lot of attention to whether all the papers were drawn up in a timely manner. That is, the audit plan and other documents can be a decisive aspect, proving the validity of the audit company.
What else to look for?
Auditing standards, audit documentation were not invented by chance. It is a thorough, attentive, meticulous approach to paperwork that allows to achieve the greatest optimization of the workflow, that is, to minimize the efforts, time of the staff spent on the planned activities. If the documents are standardized, executed systematically, without missing important points, then the auditor can quickly process all the information in them, analyze it and give an accurate, reliable result.
At the same time, the auditor has the right in each case to decide which volume of documentation of the work process is necessary, and what will become an unnecessary waste of time. At the same time, audit documentation standards are taken into account, but the key will be professional opinion, “instinct”. The examiner considers a huge number of questions during the work process, and according to the rules, there is no need to reflect each of them in the documentation. Documentation is made only of important, significant aspects.
Official position
The audit criteria were first formulated in 2006, when international auditing standards entered into force. Even then it was indicated that the documentation of the audit was carried out so that the opinion of the auditor was properly expressed, as well as to have evidence of the audit in accordance with international standards, applicable laws and requirements. The requirements themselves in the updated standard were revised in the direction of tightening. As the authors of the innovations explained, this was done in order to improve the quality of the checks carried out.
In addition to the main goal, that is, improving quality, updating requirements, there were also a number of additional ones, the achievement of which seemed possible through the improvement of the document management system during inspections. In particular, the auditors were able to fully bear responsibility for the tasks performed, be aware of this, and also prove their position if the representative of the customer disagrees. Since documentation is carried out at all stages of the execution of work, the reports generated during the process are quite complete and give an idea of the degree to which tasks are completed, which is important both for the current audit and for accumulating experience useful in the future. If the team of auditors has the opportunity to collaborate with a more experienced specialist in this field, then it is through the documents generated during the work process that it receives a qualitative third-party assessment of the task it has completed.
Working aspects
If you turn to the official recommendations about the format and format of the audit documentation reflecting the work process, you can find persistent advice to exclude unnecessary papers from archives. In particular, there is no need to store projects that were replaced by more advanced ones in the course of work; there is no need to store copies of reports that were subsequently redone, reformulated. Conclusions, records that do not contain useful information, including preliminary findings, are also excluded from the archives. No need to store documents that were corrected in the future, as well as additional copies.
Preparation of documents related to the audit is not an easy task, therefore it is recommended to trust it to experienced auditors with an understanding of the rules of document management and office work.At the same time, the papers are formed in such a way that even the specialist who did not directly participate in the audit could draw conclusions about the features of the event from the documentation. The volume of work performed, their nature and time spent on it should be obvious. Be sure to reflect the results, evidence, conclusions made for the sake of obtaining the procedure. It is considered important to record the significant aspects that appeared during the audit, as well as the results obtained during their study.
Maximum attention to everything important
Correctly, professionally compiled documentation necessarily includes such a volume of information from which it is possible to form a clear verification plan, monitor the performance of work tasks and draw up a conclusion reflecting the real situation in the studied economic subject. The documentation should include information that clearly confirms that the audit was implemented taking into account the laws, requirements, regulatory, legal acts that govern this sphere of service provision in our country.
Audit: a delicate matter
One of the important tasks of the auditor responsible for the documentation of the workflow is not only to fully ensure the audit with official papers, but also to organize this on time, without delay. As soon as a specific stage of work begins, a document is prepared for him, reflecting all the data for this step. At the same time, the documentation describing the stage can be divided into three groups: formed at the beginning of work, in the process, at the end of the verification step. At the time of receipt of the audit report by the customer, all documents at all stages must be ready, drawn up according to the rules of document management in force in the state.
Is it important or not?
From the standards it follows that only such data that have been documented in the prescribed manner are significant. The information verbally transmitted by the auditor to the customer does not constitute confirmation that the order has been executed. Oral findings cannot be an audit opinion. At the same time, it is allowed to give verbal explanations, clarifications of the data specified in the written opinion.
The working documentation contains data classified as evidence. They are considered to be the primary sources of information on the basis of which a conclusion is formed. Such certificates can be used when generating tax returns, as well as when processing other securities in various instances.
We fix everything!
When the auditor prepares documentation describing the workflow, his task is to describe in detail all the significant aspects. When characterizing the procedures, the specialist prescribes their nature, time limits allocated for the execution, the scale of the performed, data on who worked on the task. At the same time, it is assumed that higher posts control the work process at every step, and it is not required to enter evidence of this fact anywhere.
The right approach to staff is the key to success
Maintaining documentation describing the verification process of an economic entity starts at the moment when a customer representative sends a letter of application to the address of the audit company. The contractor will appoint a responsible auditor who will be the lead specialist in this task. It is his area of responsibility - documenting the audit in the framework of cooperation with a given client. Assistants are usually assigned directly to assist the lead auditor, who is only responsible for controlling the staff. But such a scheme is preliminarily agreed upon with the management team, and permission is obtained for it. A special approach is practiced if the audit company has a large volume of orders, leading to increased workload of leading specialists.In such a situation, it is possible to entrust the work to assistants only if there is reliable information about their high level of professionalism.