The auditor is an individual who has a qualification certificate and is part of a self-regulatory organization of auditors. This is a definition from an accounting textbook.
Auditor: the essence of the profession
Who is the auditor in today's understanding of the fact? This is primarily a person who can prompt, advise, give professional advice in the field of accounting. The auditor, in fact, should not act as a strict auditor, whose arrival they are afraid to trembling knees and hide financial documents. Rather, he is a teacher, mentor, trying to prevent unjustified fines and penalties. Our article will be about auditors. We will talk about what qualities and knowledge they should have, what is the essence of their work.
Auditor Requirements
This specialist checks the financial and tax documents of the organization, and also evaluates the effectiveness of the company from an economic position. He also advises management on correcting identified errors and preventing them in the future. The responsibilities of the auditor are akin to the work of the auditor. The difference is that it is an independent expert providing services of this kind to organizations.
When forming the list of requirements for the auditor, it should be clearly understood that everything here depends on his competence. To what extent is a specialist working in the field of financial control capable of practical work, as well as effective and efficient activity, which is based on special knowledge and skills. A professional requirement for an auditor is the presence of some potential reserve of knowledge and skills that will enable them to successfully fulfill their duties. At the same time, assessing the competence of an employee in the field of financial control is a rather difficult task, in solving which it is necessary not only to rely on the results of his work, but also to assess the presence of economic knowledge and social laws.
The auditor should be well acquainted with the legislative acts in the field of labor, financial, tax and business law, as well as with the rules for conducting inspections and audits, the specifics of conducting and documenting financial transactions, the pricing system, management methods, patterns and characteristics of socio-economic processes in society .
Personal qualities of a specialist
All the requirements that apply to workers in this industry can be divided into several categories represented by various properties: professional (availability of special knowledge, skills, analytical abilities), personal (the auditor must be executive, responsible, sociable, stress-resistant), physiological ( good reaction, endurance).
Among the most important features are objectivity (it is unacceptable that the personal preferences of a specialist influence the results of the audit), confidentiality (it is unacceptable to use trusted information for your own purposes), friendliness and respect for colleagues and clients. All this knowledge and qualities do not replace the fact that the official auditor should have a decent amount of knowledge in the field of accounting.
And also guarantee the compliance of the services provided with all the requirements of generally accepted standards.In addition, due to the initial alertness of the auditor in relation to the auditor, the identity of the auditor should always be beyond suspicion. Here, such qualities as dedication, selflessness and compliance with the law are important.
Interesting Facts
Such a profession as an auditor existed in pre-revolutionary Russia, but at that time it was the name of a lawyer or secretary in the military-judicial bodies. In the form in which we have an idea about these specialists now, they appeared not so long ago - in 1991. It was then that the corresponding service was formed. 
And a few more interesting facts:
- For the first time, independent auditors began their work in the middle of the 19th century in Europe.
- Each vacant auditor position in Moscow is about 15 applicants.
- About 4,000 audit companies work in our country, in Moscow alone there are a little more than 1,000.
- A typical image of an auditor is a young woman with a higher economic education.
- Specialists under 30 years of age, approximately 56% of the total number of workers in this field.
Audit Firm
In fact, this is an organization where key experts are auditors. One of the statutory activities of this legal entity is including the provision of audit services. In this case, the legal form may be any, with the exception of joint stock companies, state and municipal unitary enterprises.
The share of the authorized capital of an audit firm, which is owned by auditors, should be at least 51%. The composition of the collegial executive body in such an organization should consist of 50% auditors. Such firms collaborate with many large organizations that submit annual tax and financial statements to government agencies. The auditor can obtain a license and practice privately.
This form of work has recently been very popular and in demand. In addition to employment in an audit firm and private practice, a specialist may be on the staff of a large company. Serious business players often hire a professional in accounting, which is engaged in checking financial documents and all types of statements of their company.
What does the auditor do?
The duties of a specialist include:
- organization and conduct of an audit, drawing up a report and conclusion based on its results, advising a client;
- checking and drawing up a conclusion on the correctness of financial and tax documents of the company (primary documentation, tax and accounting statements);
- assessment of financial and economic activity and its effectiveness;
- preliminary analysis of future financial transactions and the degree of risk in each case;
- advising company leaders in the field of financial management and accounting.
Sometimes the area of responsibility of the auditor may be a little wider. In this case, he is engaged in tracking changes in legislative acts and improving accounting in the organization. In addition, the auditor can control the costs of the company in the regions, as well as monitor the performance of sales representatives.
Often, such a specialist advises the client on the identification and assessment of the risks of the organization, as well as provides recommendations for their reduction.
Legislation
According to the requirements of the law “On Auditing”, an auditor can be both a Russian citizen and a foreigner. It can also become a stateless person. The main condition of the law “On Auditing” is compliance with qualification requirements established by federal authorities. An auditor qualification certificate is also required.
One of the formal conditions is the availability of documents on higher education of an economic or legal profile.We need at least 3 years of experience in accounting or auditing. In general, the requirements for the education of auditors are not so strict, and therefore anyone who is really interested in becoming an expert in this field can.
How to get admission to the profession
To become the owner of a qualification certificate, according to the law "On Auditing", you must pass a special exam. Such a document gives a specialist the right to provide any specialized services. It serves as the main formal requirement for the auditor. The qualification certificate has no restrictions on the validity period. Its issuance is carried out in the following areas:
- in the field of audit of credit organizations;
- in the field of insurance audit;
- in the field of audit of the exchange, off-budget fund and investment institution;
- general audit, that is, verification of other entities.
When conducting exam tests to obtain a certificate, applicants go through the testing phase, then pass the written work and confirm their knowledge during an oral survey within two days. This ensures their compliance with the requirements of the auditor.
As a result, for a positive decision of the commission, it is necessary to score at least 86 points in the first stage, in the second there must be at least 67 points. The requirements for applicants for an auditor's certificate are serious enough so that random people are not in the profession, but they cannot be called excessive.
To lose the right to work: reasons and conditions
A qualification certificate is issued indefinitely, but it can be canceled for the following reasons:
- when establishing the fact of obtaining a certificate on forged documents;
- upon the entry into force of a legal court sentence imposing a penalty of deprivation of the right to engage in audit activities for a certain period of time;
- when establishing facts that indicate the auditor's non-compliance with the provisions of Article 8 and Art. 12 Federal Laws;
- in establishing facts of systematic violations of legislative requirements or standards;
- when establishing the fact that the auditor draws up a report on the audit without actually conducting it;
- in the event that for two years the specialist is not engaged in audit activities;
- in violation of the requirements for training.
The decision to revoke the certificate is taken by the Ministry of Finance. Most often, the right to work is deprived in case of violation of qualification requirements for the auditor. The decision of the ministry may be appealed in court within three months from the date of its adoption.