Accounting and auditing are two activities that constantly intersect with each other. At any enterprise financial statements are kept. The correctness of its compilation, the reliability of the information and the timeliness of the records are periodically checked. Such an audit is called an audit. Consider this activity in more detail. 
What is an audit?
It represents an entrepreneurial activity aimed at an independent assessment of the accounting and financial statements of enterprises. Both legal entities and individual entrepreneurs are subject to verification. During the audit, an opinion is formed on the reliability of the information and the compliance of the procedure for maintaining securities with the requirements of the law.
Speaking of what audit is, it is necessary to note its importance in the economic life of entities. The strengthening of the role of this activity is associated with an increased need for interested parties - reporting users - for an expert assessment of the completeness and reliability of the information contained in the documents of the enterprise. These data indicate the financial condition of the company, its solvency. The findings of the independent auditor provide greater confidence in reporting by stakeholders.
Reporting Users
The entities interested in obtaining reliable information about the financial condition of the enterprise include:
- Workers (their representatives).
- Lenders.
- Investors (their representatives).
- Contractors and suppliers.
- Customers and consumers.
- State bodies.
- Members of the public.
Specificity
Currently, there are practically no economic entities left in the world who do not know what audit is. With the development of a market management system, this activity is of great importance. In international practice, it is used in various fields of economic life. As for Russia, domestic enterprises have learned what audit is, relatively recently.
General classification
Users of financial statements seek to gain confidence in the quality of the conclusions of the auditing entities. In this regard, quite high requirements are imposed on the activities of auditors. In practice, the following types of checks are distinguished:
- Financial. It involves the audit of funds, monitoring compliance with the requirements and principles of reporting.
- Operating room. Such verification is applied to the working methods of the enterprise, the processes that take place on it. During this audit, an assessment is made of the effectiveness and productivity of the company.
- Special. Such verification is carried out to form an official opinion on the reliability of the information provided to the interested person.
In addition to the above, an audit is carried out for compliance with the requirements of the law and other regulatory provisions. 
Types of checks in Russia
In the Russian Federation an audit is carried out:
- Accounting / financial statements to determine the degree of its reliability.
- The tax audit is aimed at establishing compliance with the operations of the Tax Code.
- Price. It provides for checking the validity of the formation of value by the enterprise for its products.
- For compliance with regulations. In the course of it, an analysis of a specific economic / financial activity is carried out, aimed at identifying contradictions with the legislation, rules or regulatory conditions.
- Special. Such verification is carried out with respect to specific areas of activity of the subject.
- Production / management work.In the course of such an audit, the effectiveness of administrative methods and the rational use of resources are analyzed.
- Economic activity. This check is carried out systematically and pursues specific goals in each specific case.
Additional views
An enterprise may conduct an initiative or mandatory audit. The first is carried out by decision of the economic entity itself. In this case, the head of the enterprise turns to independent experts. They on the basis of the contract carry out an audit of the documentation. Statutory audit provided by law. It is performed at regular intervals. The check may be scheduled or sudden. 
Audit organization
The activities in question can be carried out in various ways. However, regardless of the method chosen, formal procedures must be followed. In particular, if the audit is mandatory, the authority authorized to conduct the audit must notify the company. The entity performing the verification draws up a plan. Guided by its provisions, experts analyze the documentation, if necessary, request papers. Based on the results of the audit, a conclusion is drawn up. It identifies the identified deficiencies and provides recommendations for their elimination. An audit may include an inventory, expert assessments, visual observation, as well as desk audits, information modeling, and examination of documentation.
