Types (services) of audit are activities that are carried out by competent authorities or persons. They include extra-departmental verification of financial statements, tax returns, accounting and other documentation of the enterprise. Let us consider in more detail the concept and types of audit. 
Terminology
In accordance with domestic standards, the type of audit activity is defined as an independent examination of the company's statements. It is carried out on the basis of verification of compliance with the established procedure for reporting, compliance of business and monetary transactions with the law, accuracy and completeness of reflection of information in the documentation. The auditor is a competent person who analyzes the financial and economic activities of the company for a certain period. Such verification provides not only an assessment of the reliability of indicators in the documentation. The main types of audit allow the development of proposals aimed at optimizing the operation of the enterprise to increase profits and rationalize costs.
Classification of types of audit
As analysis of industry legislation shows, there are two forms of expertise: mandatory and proactive. The first is a planned annual audit of accounting and reporting of an individual entrepreneur or organization. The need for its implementation is determined by the specifics of the legal type of the enterprise in which the examination is carried out, the features of their functions, a large amount of profit from the sale of goods or a significant amount of assets in the balance sheet at the end of the reporting period. All these circumstances require the establishment of a guarantee of reliability to ensure the protection of the interests and rights of other entities and the economic security of the state.
Categories of persons subject to mandatory verification
Such types of control (audit) are applied to entities that fall under certain criteria established by law. Verification is carried out if:
- The legal form of the enterprise is OJSC.
- The company is a credit, insurance or acts as a mutual insurance company, stock or commodity exchange, off-budget state or investment fund, the source of the formation of funds in which are mandatory or voluntary payments made by legal entities and citizens.
- The profit of an individual entrepreneur or organization from the sale of goods / rendering of services / performance of work for the year is 500 times higher than the minimum wage established by law or the balance sheet assets are 200 times higher than the minimum wage at the end of the period.
- The organization acts as a municipal or state unitary enterprise, which is based on the right of households. reference if the financial results of its activities correspond to the above figures.
Mandatory verification for specific legal entities and individual entrepreneurs is provided for by the Federal Law.
Authorized persons
All types of audit can be carried out only by entities that meet established strict requirements of the law. If the documents of the audited person contain information constituting state secrets, the expert examination may be performed only by organizations formed without the involvement of foreign participants and having appropriate access to such data.If the share of state property or property of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation in the company's authorized (authorized) capital is at least 25%, the mandatory types of audit are carried out in accordance with an agreement concluded as a result of an open tender.
Important point
Mandatory types of audit should be distinguished from checks carried out on behalf of the investigator or inquiry body with the appropriate sanction, prosecutor, court (including arbitration) when initiating proceedings in criminal, civil or other other jurisdictions of the indicated instances. Such events have specific goals and are intended for specific stakeholders. Performing these types of audits, specialists use special methods similar to the methods of forensic accounting expertise. 
Proactive Checks
For enterprises that do not meet the above criteria, the examination is carried out on a voluntary basis on the basis of an agreement between the company and authorized persons. Initiative audits are performed at any time and to the extent that the administration of the company establishes an independent decision. These, for example, include inspections of industrial groups carried out voluntarily and at the expense of authorized bodies. These types of financial audits are needed to establish the actual economic condition of the business operations of these entities. Carrying out such inspections can be caused by a number of reasons:
- Detection of false information in the provided documentation.
- Avoiding timely and full presentation of the necessary papers.
- Abuse of existing powers and provided measures of state support.
- Violations of the requirements of federal or subject laws.
These types of audits are usually focused on checking individual areas of work of a particular industrial association. Along with this, verification of the whole range of issues related to the production and management of the group, including the assessment of compliance with the provisions of the existing federal laws, is not ruled out. 
Types of External Audit
Such verification is carried out by specialists of competent organizations or an individual. The purpose of external audits is to assess the reliability of the information that is presented in the statements and reflects the state of the enterprise, results of operations and cash flows. These examinations are carried out on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles.
Company own verification
In addition to the above, there are also types of internal audit. Such checks are carried out by employees of the enterprise itself. Activities aimed at evaluating the work of the company in its own interests. The information obtained is necessary for the management personnel of the enterprise. The organization, role and tasks of internal audits are determined by the management itself (owner). They will depend on the specifics of the work, the volume of management indicators, the approved management system.
Legal aspect
It should be noted that the legal relations that arise when performing our own and external audits have significant differences. In particular, the procedure for conducting the latter is regulated by law. As for internal audits, a number of authors see a significant flaw in existing regulations. Specialists propose to extend the force of industry legislation to inspections initiated and conducted by employees of the enterprise itself. 
Views on the problem
Experts believe that it is advisable to make additions to the Federal Law "On Audit" that, together with independent activities of accounting statements and other documentation, the provision of related services to individual entrepreneurs and organizations, includes control activities that are formed within the company and operating in its economic interests, a system for assessing compliance with accounting and record keeping. However, this proposal is considered somewhat incorrect. Despite the fact that the content of the activities of internal and independent audits is similar, since they are used to verify the business of the entity, they differ fundamentally in the nature of the relationship.
A service formed directly at the enterprise itself acts as an on-farm body. Its legal status is established in accordance with the provisions of local acts adopted directly by the economic entity itself. In some cases, in order to protect the interests of investors, depositors, customers, orders and other securities require the formation of an audit service. Self-checking relationships are vertical. They arise between a particular unit and the legal entity as a whole. Relations with independent (external) forms of audit are horizontal. They are built in accordance with a civil contract concluded by an expert company with the company being inspected. Relations of the first category do not have the sign of independence that the legislator requires. In addition, they have nothing to do with entrepreneurial activity, which is, in fact, an independent audit in any form. 
Structural Interaction
In the practice of audit activity, there is a close relationship between independent and local services. This interaction is expressed in the provision of information obtained during their own inspections to competent independent authorities. This significantly reduces and simplifies the work of the latter and, consequently, the cost of their services. Such interaction allows external auditors to look deeper and examine the work of the enterprise. This relationship is especially relevant when expanding a company, forming a network of branches, and complicating ongoing cash and business transactions.
Other types of verification
Depending on their focus, they distinguish audit of accounting (financial) statements and special events. The latter are aimed at checking certain issues of managing the entity. An expert organization may be instructed to formulate an opinion regarding several or one article of financial statements. For example, an assessment may be carried out regarding accounts payable and receivable, the presence and condition of inventories, fixed assets, and so on. The nature, content and scope of activities of the audit firm for such special tasks will depend on circumstances directly related to the reasons for the need to conduct such checks. They are recorded directly in the contract for the provision of services. An audit firm may receive special tasks from a state body, economic entity, interested persons - users of reporting. 
Tax audit
It is a kind of special audit. This work includes the fulfillment of tasks for the consideration of tax and accounting statements to express an opinion on the reliability of information, the compliance of material aspects with established standards. During such inspections, the following procedure is also established for the formation, reflection and deduction by the enterprise of mandatory payments to the budget. The object of the audit are tax returns, advance payments, rates, and so on.
