An audit of financial statements is intended to confirm the reliability of the latter. This, in turn, greatly contributes to building trust between the company and its partners and customers, credit and other organizations.
General information
Audits are the collection, analysis and evaluation of information that relates to the financial condition of the company. At the end of the process, the authorized person gives an appropriate opinion. It contains information about the correctness or incorrectness of reporting, as well as the reliability of the information provided.
It should be said that often companies are not only not afraid of the appearance of a specialist, but, on the contrary, are waiting for him. With a properly selected audit firm and a well-drafted contract with it, both financial employees and management feel the benefit of the events.
Service Principles
Audits can be carried out both by competent companies and specialists conducting individual activities. Like other commercial relations, the measures under consideration are carried out on the basis of an agreement.
The purpose of the audit is to express a competent opinion on the reliability of the information presented and the correctness of accounting in the organization. The tasks of the measures do not include identifying as many errors as possible in the work of the financial department. All this should be taken into account by the management of the company planning the audit.
Main aspects
An audit of reporting involves a detailed study and analysis of the relationship and compliance of the primary documentation with the information reflected in the accounting papers. It should be noted that due to time constraints, specialists may not perform a “continuous” assessment of all operations. As a rule, a special selection of business events is made, information about which must be verified. Such an audit arrangement is considered normal practice established by standards.
Working process
Audit specialists may identify inconsistencies with applicable law, but may not correct them. Evaluation, analysis and description of the consequences of detected errors are made out in a separate document. There is currently no standard for compiling such paper.
The result of the audit may be in writing, in the form of an opinion. It indicates all the errors and shortcomings that are associated with the economic activities of the company, which can affect the accuracy of the information when accounting for operations. In addition, the conclusion may contain any information that, in the opinion of the auditors, is important for the development of the enterprise.
The legislative framework
The Federal Law governing the conduct of an audit establishes an important rule. In accordance with it, the company being audited is required to promptly eliminate the identified violations. In this regard, employees of the financial department should carefully study the expert’s opinion and begin correcting errors as soon as possible.
A company’s refusal to correct deficiencies or make appropriate amendments to the documentation will mean that the auditor will not be able to give a positive result. In this case, the specialist will be required to make notes in the final document that draw attention to the presence of a number of aspects that substantially distort the accounting information.At the end of the audit, the expert must draw certain conclusions for which he will subsequently be responsible to the licensing authority and the client.
Classification
An audit of the enterprise may be proactive. It is carried out in volumes established by the company's management. Such events are held at any time. These, in particular, include the examination of cash transactions or tax calculations with the budget.
During a proactive audit, a full assessment of the entire business of a company can be carried out. There is another type of expertise. Mandatory audit is carried out annually. It is regulated by law.
Auditor's report: general information
The final document greatly simplifies the interaction with banks, various government agencies, and tax authorities. Recommendations of specialists help to optimize accounting. In addition, the conclusion of experts allows managers to keep abreast of real matters in their company, to make timely decisions that can improve its market position.
Principles of Compilation
The audit report must be written in Russian. All cost indicators are expressed in Russian currency - rubles. Corrections in the document should not be. Based on the results of the audit, experts express their opinion on the compliance of the information analyzed with the current state of affairs. The conclusion may be unconditionally or conditionally positive or negative. In addition, the expert has the right to refuse to express his opinion.
Conditionally positive conclusion
This type of the final document means that, in addition to the circumstances indicated in the paper, the reporting on business transactions reflects all material aspects of the liabilities and assets of the economic entity as of the date of the verification event. This conclusion also contains information on the financial performance of the company for a specific period. Compilation is carried out in accordance with the regulatory act governing reporting and accounting in the Russian Federation.
Negative Outcome Document and Refusal to Express an Opinion
In this case, the conclusion contains information that the financial statements presented in connection with certain circumstances do not reflect the liabilities and assets of the company in all material respects at the date of the event. In addition, in the documentation information about the activities is not in accordance with the regulatory act governing accounting in the Russian Federation.
The auditor's refusal to express his opinion after the audit may mean that the specialist as a result of certain circumstances cannot give an opinion in accordance with any form established by law. Expert conclusions should be formulated in such a way that their content is obvious to the client.
additional information
In the final document, the object of verification should be presented as financial statements. In this case, the full name of the company and the period of the conformity analysis must be indicated. The term "financial statements" should be understood as the totality of accounting forms provided for by law.
When preparing the final document, the expert firm should take into account the significant circumstances that were established during the events. Such facts are recognized operations that have a significant impact on the reliability of the information provided. The materiality of certain circumstances is determined on the basis of internal corporate standards in the event that the legislative framework in force in the Russian Federation does not establish more stringent standards.
