The concept and essence of audit, the content of auditing activities. Fundamentals of auditing. Organization of the audit service

1. Economic conditionality of independent control and the concept of audit

2. Comparison of auditing with other forms of financial control

3. Types of audit and services related to audit

1. Economic conditionality of independent control

and the concept of audit

The development of market relations and the separation of ownership of capital from actual disposal leads to a polarity of interests between owners, investors, creditors and administration. In this regard, there is a need for independent control over the activities of business entities, which should provide confirmation of the reliability of their financial statements. This type of activity is called “Audit”.

The need for audit services arises due to various circumstances:

Reliability of financial statements. Founders and shareholders, as well as creditors, are interested in obtaining reliable information about the financial condition and solvency of the organization, as well as about the prospects for the development of this economic entity. Users can obtain such information in financial statements, as well as during the process and results of the audit. The presence of reliable information allows you to increase the efficiency of the enterprise and makes it possible to assess and predict the consequences of making a number of economic decisions and, accordingly, reduce the risk of losing financial investments.

2. Complexity of business and financial transactions. Enterprises have difficulties with their correct legal registration and reflection in accounting. It is for the purpose of detecting and correcting errors made during the reporting year, identifying “hidden” unused reserves, identifying “bottlenecks” in the organization of economic activities and setting up accounting and tax accounting that the administration of firms and companies invites auditors to check the statements.

Auditing activities, audit– this is a business activity for independent verification of accounting and financial (accounting) statements of organizations and individual entrepreneurs.

Individual auditors and legal entities - audit firms, regardless of the type of ownership, including foreign ones and those created jointly with foreign legal entities and individuals, have the right to engage in auditing activities in Russia. Audit firms are registered as organizations created for the purpose of carrying out auditing activities and can have any organizational and legal form provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation, with the exception of the form of an open joint-stock company.

Auditor – This is a qualified specialist certified to carry out auditing activities in the manner established by the legislation of the Russian Federation. Individuals who have passed certification can engage in activities as part of an audit firm by concluding an employment agreement (contract) with it, or independently by registering as entrepreneurs.

Audit organizations, as subjects of control, extend their activities on a paid contractual basis, primarily to organizations in the non-state sector of the economy. However, an audit can be carried out by an audit organization at the request of any client (individual or legal entity) who has entered into an agreement with the auditor (audit organization) to conduct an audit or provide services related to the audit.

The audit does not replace the functions of state control bodies over the work of economic entities.

The essence of audit activity is determined by the users of the information that auditors check.

Stakeholders for whom auditors work may include the following users:

shareholders (owners), investing their capital in an enterprise with a certain amount of risk - in order to receive income from it. They need information on the basis of which they will decide whether it is advisable to buy, hold or sell their shares of a given enterprise, analyze the company’s ability to increase the value of shares and pay dividends on them;

creditors, providing a loan to a company. They are interested in reliable information that allows them to determine whether loan payments will be made on time;

company employees and the groups representing them (trade unions). They are interested in information about the stability of the enterprise; pay wages on time, make contributions to social insurance and pensions, and ensure employment;

suppliers, are interested in information that allows them to determine whether the amounts due to them will be paid on time. The more the supplier depends on the client, the more closely he will monitor his financial results in order to assess the degree of reliability of sales of his products;

clients those who depend on the enterprise as a supplier of the goods and services they need and are interested in the stability of supplies;

company management, interested in information that allows making decisions on the entire range of enterprise management issues: strategic and tactical planning, budgeting, financial management of the enterprise, etc.

Since the task of accounting is mainly reduced to reflecting the reliable financial position and results of operations of the enterprise, the purpose of the audit is to evaluate the fulfillment of this task.

Main purpose of the audit – expressing an opinion on the reliability of the financial (accounting) statements of the audited entities and the compliance of the accounting procedure with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

In practical terms, the purpose of the audit is determined by the contractual obligations between the auditor and the client.

Goals determine the range of tasks to be solved:

Compliance by the inspected enterprise with the norms of current legislation.

Compliance of accounting with established rules and standards.

Completeness and reliability of the reporting of the financial position and financial results of the enterprise for the reporting period.

Thus, the emergence and development of share capital, the separation of ownership of capital from actual control led to the emergence of a public need for the development of audit. The circumstances that lead to the invitation of auditors to the enterprise will further determine the types of audit services provided: directly “classical” audit - expressing an opinion on the reliability of reporting and consulting services - services accompanying the audit.

Introduction 3

1 Audit – concept, essence, meaning, principles 5

1.1 Concept and essence of audit 5

1.2 Meaning and principles of auditing 15

2 Types of audit 17

3 Audit classification 22

Conclusion 26

Glossary 28

List of sources used 30

Applications 31

Introduction

In Russia, auditing is a fairly new phenomenon, due to the transition to a market economy. In the early 90s, when, as enterprises became corporatized, the scope of state control was reduced and departmental audit services ceased to exist, the process of mass creation of audit firms began.

An audit is a type of activity consisting of collecting and assessing facts relating to the functioning and position of an economic entity (independent business unit) or relating to information about such position and functioning, and carried out by a competent independent person who, based on established criteria, makes an opinion on the quality side of this functioning. Therefore, an audit refers to an independent examination and expression of an opinion on the financial statements of an enterprise. The main purpose of the audit is to determine the reliability and correctness of the financial statements of the subject of the audit, as well as to monitor the client’s compliance with laws and regulations of business law and tax legislation.

The need for auditor services arose in connection with the isolation of the interests of those who are directly involved in managing the enterprise (administration, managers), who invest in its activities (owners, shareholders, investors), as well as the state as a consumer of information about the results of enterprise activities.

The presence of reliable information makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the capital market and makes it possible to assess and predict the consequences of economic decisions.

Conducting an audit, even in cases where it is not mandatory, is undoubtedly important.

In market conditions, enterprises, credit institutions, and other business entities enter into contractual relations for the use of property, funds, commercial transactions and investments. The credibility of these relationships must be supported by the ability to obtain and use financial information by all parties to the transactions. The reliability of the information is confirmed by an independent auditor.

Owners and, above all, collective owners - shareholders, shareholders, as well as creditors are not able to independently verify that all operations of the enterprise, numerous and often very complex, are legal and correctly reflected in the statements, since they usually do not have access to the accounts and relevant experience, and therefore require the services of auditors.

Independent confirmation of information about the performance of enterprises and their compliance with the law is necessary for the state to make decisions in the field of economics and taxation.

1. Audit – concept, essence, meaning, principles

1.1. The concept and essence of audit

“Auditor” (Latin – “listener”). The most common opinion is that the history of auditing as a profession dates back to the 19th century, and Great Britain is considered its historical homeland.

The auditing profession has received different names in different countries: in France - commissioner of accounts; in Germany - farm controller; in the USA - public accountant.

In Russia, the word “auditor” appeared during the time of Peter I. The institute of auditors was introduced into the army, where they investigated cases related to property disputes. Attempts were made to organize education and exams for auditors in 1888, 1907-1912, 1929-1930. In Russia, auditors were called chartered accountants, but they did not receive due recognition.

The need for an audit was created by the following conditions:

Discrepancy between the interests of information producers (administration) and users (regulatory authorities, shareholders, investors).

Making business decisions based on biased information can lead to negative economic consequences.

The need for special knowledge to assess the reliability of the information received, which the users of the information do not possess.

Lack of time and materials to evaluate information and its quality.

The first Russian auditing firm was created in 1987 as a self-supporting enterprise and was called “Inaudit”. The formation of it, as well as other audit firms, predetermined the emergence of joint-stock companies, joint ventures, commercial banks, etc.

In December 1993, a Presidential Decree was published approving the “Temporary Rules for Auditing in the Russian Federation,” which defined the legal standards for auditing in the Russian Federation and indicated the need for certification of auditors and licensing of auditing activities. In August 2001, the Federal Law “On Auditing Activities” was published, which legally approved auditing in Russia.

Audit activity, audit – entrepreneurial activity for independent verification of accounting and financial (accounting) statements of organizations and individual entrepreneurs (audited entities).

The purpose of the audit is to express an opinion on the reliability of the financial (accounting) statements of the audited entities and the compliance of the accounting procedure with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

As the market develops, the range and volume of services provided by audit organizations expands. For example, along with traditional accounting services and consulting, many firms provide tax consulting and pay attention to management issues, information technology, and marketing. Such firms are called auditing and consulting firms.

When performing his professional duties, the auditor must be guided by the standards established by the professional audit associations of which he is a member (professional standards), as well as the following ethical principles:

· independence;

· honesty;

· objectivity;

· professional competence and integrity;

· confidentiality;

· professional behavior.

The auditor should exercise professional skepticism during the planning and performance of the audit, which means that the auditor critically evaluates the strength of the audit evidence obtained and carefully examines audit evidence that contradicts any documents or statements of management or calls into question the reliability of such documents or statements.

When planning and conducting an audit, the auditor should not assume that the management of the entity being audited is dishonest, but should not assume that management is completely honest.

An audit is intended to provide reasonable assurance that the financial (accounting) statements taken as a whole do not contain material misstatements. The concept of reasonable assurance is a general approach related to the process of obtaining audit evidence necessary and sufficient for the auditor to conclude that there are no material misstatements in the financial (accounting) statements, considered as a whole. The concept of reasonable assurance applies to the entire audit process.

Limitations inherent in an audit that affect the auditor’s ability to detect material misstatements in financial (accounting) statements occur due to the following reasons:

· during the audit, selective methods and testing are used;

· any accounting and internal control systems are imperfect (for example, they cannot guarantee the absence of collusion);

· the preponderance of audit evidence merely provides evidence to support a particular conclusion and is not exhaustive.

An additional factor limiting the reliability of the audit is that the work performed by the auditor to form his opinion is based on his professional judgment, in particular with respect to:

· collecting audit evidence, including when determining the nature, timing and scope of audit procedures;

· preparing conclusions drawn on the basis of audit evidence, for example, when determining the validity of estimates obtained by the management of the audited entity during the preparation of financial (accounting) statements.

While the auditor is responsible for formulating and expressing an opinion on the reliability of the financial (accounting) statements, the responsibility for the preparation and presentation of the financial (accounting) statements rests with the management of the audited entity. An audit of financial (accounting) statements does not relieve the management of the audited entity from such responsibility.

Modern audit is a special organizational form of control. It has proven itself well in the conditions of a developed market economy, even a conditional market economy, a transitional type, which has now developed in Russia, i.e. its distinctive feature is its belonging to the market infrastructure.

As a rule, in the West, the initiators of the audit are banks, tax authorities, potential investors and the owners themselves. At the same time, everyone and users of audit services, taking care of their interests, objectively needs the function of certifying auditors.

To meet these needs, the number of chartered or certified public accountants is increasing dramatically. Many of them serve as auditors.

Next, it is necessary to define the essence of the audit in more detail. And it follows from the tasks that the legislator and society set before him. Let us dwell on the content of the audit, which is put into it by Anglo-American specialists, as well as auditors from continental Europe. This approach reflects American and some other foreign auditing practices, which differ sharply from the auditing practices known to us.

Thus, in the UK, according to the definition given by the British Auditing Practices Committee in 1989, an audit is “an independent examination of the financial statements of an enterprise for the purpose of expressing a professional opinion about them by a specially appointed auditor, subject to any rules established by applicable law.” And according to the Temporary Rules in force in the Russian Federation, the main task of auditing is to determine the reliability of the reporting of economic entities. Literally (clause 5 of the Temporary Rules) it reads as follows:

The main purpose of auditing activities is to establish the reliability of the accounting (financial) statements of economic entities and the compliance of the financial and business transactions performed by them with the regulations in force in the Russian Federation. The main indicators (content, volume and forms) of the accounting (financial) statements of economic entities adopted in the Russian Federation are determined by the relevant law of the Russian Federation, and before its adoption - by the regulations of the Council of Ministers - the Government of the Russian Federation and in particular the accounting (financial) statements of banks and credit institutions - regulations of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.

According to the Draft Law, this main task, from the formulation of which, in fact, the essence of the audit follows, also comes down to determining the reliability of the accounting (financial) statements of economic entities. However, the Draft Law contains an important caveat: the auditor confirms the reliability of these statements in all material aspects. Consequently, the authors of the Draft Law noted that the purpose of the audit is not and cannot be the complete elimination of information risk. The purpose of auditing activities in the Draft Law is to establish the reliability of the accounting (financial) statements of economic entities in all significant aspects, which more accurately corresponds to the essence and objectives of auditing according to international standards.

The above disclaimer is extremely important. It is due to the fact that the civilized market defines the main, fundamental tasks of audit differently than what is done now in Russia. In both theory and practice, it is essential to view auditing as:

· the process of protecting the interests of owners, the vast majority of whom do not prepare financial statements, but for whom it is extremely important that they do not contain significant distortions, and even more so, abuse on the part of the administration they hired;

· the process of reducing information risk for other users of such reporting published by various economic entities to an acceptable level.

Thus, it is impossible to completely eliminate information risk through an audit. Such a goal is simply unrealistic.

And yet, the practice of auditing in countries with developed market economies is indeed very extensive, and the tasks facing the auditor are weighty and significant. This can be seen in one of the most commonly used Western (US) definitions of auditing:

Auditing is the process by which a competent independent person obtains and evaluates evidence of quantifiable information relating to a specific business system in order to determine and express in its opinion the extent to which that information meets established criteria.

Let's use the material of the Temporary Rules and explore the main tasks of audit in the management system of economic entities. Let us justify the appropriate interpretation of individual elements of the above definition of the essence of audit as an element of the infrastructure of a market economy in relation to the relevant articles of the Temporary Rules:

a) competent – ​​the term does not appear, but is indirectly implied, including through the certification system (clause 8, 20-22);

b) independent worker - auditors are independent of the economic entity being audited, third parties, owners and managers of their audit firm (clause 12);

c) accumulates and evaluates - the first term is not found, and the second is found, but in a very broad context of “assessment of the assets and liabilities of an economic entity” (clause 9);

d) audit evidence - data obtained during the audit (clause 14);

e) information that can be quantified - accounting (financial) statements, payment and settlement documentation, tax returns and other financial obligations and requirements of economic entities (clause 3);

f) specific economic system - economic entities, i.e. enterprises, their associations, organizations and institutions, banks and credit institutions, their unions and associations, insurance organizations, commodity and stock exchanges, investment, pension and other funds, citizens engaged in independent business activities; economic entities also include audit firms and auditors working independently (clause 2);

g) conclusion – the auditor’s conclusion is a document that has legal significance for all legal entities and individuals, government and administrative bodies, local governments and judicial authorities; in the case of an order from state bodies, it is equivalent to the conclusion of an examination appointed in accordance with the procedural legislation of the Russian Federation (clause 17);

h) opinion – this term does not appear;

i) the degree of compliance of this information with the established criteria - facts identified during the audit of significant violations of the established procedure for maintaining accounting records and compliance with financial reporting, affecting its reliability.

As well as violations of the legislation of the Russian Federation when carrying out economic and financial transactions that have caused or may cause damage to the interests of the owners of the economic entity, the state and third parties (clause 18 "b").

As we see, in its essence, domestic audit is already approaching the essence of audit in the West, although it is not yet possible to talk about the development of established Russian terminology for audit, nor about the complete convergence of these concepts: it is too early. The meaning and tasks of audit in the Russian Federation, if we consider them as a whole, differ in some ways from similar audit tasks in foreign management systems of business entities. For example, as many authors have noted, “a significant omission of the definition given by the Interim Rules is the lack of designation of the result of the audit work performed. The result of the audit can only be the expression of the opinion of an independent auditor on the reliability of information about the audited object provided by the organization in which the audit was carried out.”

An analysis of the essence, significance and objectives of audit shows that this is not just a “punishing sword” in the hands of the “new revolution”, but a particularly complex socially neutral economic instrument.

Modern audit began its rapid development around the second half of the 19th century. together with the rapid development of joint-stock companies, a form of capital adequate to large-scale industry. Agriculture and trade. This happened due to the objective circumstances that, in the new conditions, the system of relations between the investor and the hired administration of joint-stock companies has undergone significant, fundamental changes:

· property differentiation of the population, as well as the development of fictitious capital, caused a fundamental shift in the composition and very appearance of investors;

· making business decisions based on biased information often led to negative economic consequences and even bankruptcies of some joint-stock companies;

· specific specialist knowledge was required for people capable of making professional judgments about the reliability of their reporting;

· there was a significant separation of the administration of joint stock companies from the direct owners due to the sharp expansion of their number;

· the interests of the company’s administration as preparers of reports and their investors, as well as other users of these reports, were objectively divided;

· the formation and development of the stock market began as a modern form of capital movement.

All of these factors are essentially directly related to modern processes in the Russian economy.

Since the final emergence of modern auditing (the 1930s), there has been and continues to be a gap between client expectations and how auditors understand their responsibilities. Naturally, there were cases of dishonest work and even bribery. Almost always after major bankruptcies, the question arose: why did the auditor who checked the financial statements not warn his clients? But, nevertheless, all stock market participants agree that the uncertainty factor will weaken if investors are sufficiently confident in the reliability of information about specific companies whose shares are listed on the stock exchange. And to do this, they must rely on the attestation function of auditors.

1.2 Meaning and principles of auditing

Most countries participating in auditing activities (including Russia) have auditing principles proven by international practice:

1. Independence of the audit from the state, its various ministries and departments, which include the Ministry of Finance, Rosstrakhnadzor, State Tax Service and the Central Bank of Russia.

2. Providing a system in which specialists themselves evaluate the level of training and moral qualities of another specialist:

· with the issuance of permission to engage in auditing activities only to those persons who are able to confirm their qualifications;

· ensuring the professional protection of auditors.

3. Financial independence of the auditor from the client:

· sufficient amount of authorized capital and net assets;

· self-insurance;

· unconditional observance by auditors of both the independence of their own position and the commercial interests of the client;

· payment coming from another source, from each client, should have an insignificant share in the total flow of income from payment of auditors’ services;

· the firm limits the provision of other services to the client to avoid conflicts of interest.

4. Rotation of auditors: every few years there is a change of auditor, which makes it possible to avoid too deep dependence of auditors on the client.

5. Availability of a sufficiently developed audit methodology for working with the client’s high-tech systems.

6. A system for verifying (by a third party similar to an audit firm) the quality of audit processes.

7. Introduction of auditing standards with adaptation of international experience to economic reality for these purposes. (Appendix A)

2. Types of audit

The following types of audit are distinguished:

1. Statutory audit - a mandatory annual audit of the accounting and financial (accounting) statements of an organization or individual entrepreneur.

2. Voluntary audit - carried out on the initiative of the highest bodies of the organization (administration, board of directors). Its purpose may be preparation for a statutory audit or assistance in organizing accounting.

3. Compulsory audit – an audit at the request of government law enforcement agencies.

By area of ​​activity there are:

· audit of insurance organizations and mutual insurance companies (audit of insurers);

· audit of exchanges, extra-budgetary funds and investment institutions;

· audit of banks and other credit institutions (bank audit);

· audit of other legal entities and individual entrepreneurs (general audit).

These types of audits differ in the methodology, content and object of the audit. A separate auditor certificate is issued for each of these types of audit.

In relation to the object of control, an audit can be:

o Internal

o External

Internal audit is an integral and important element of management control. The need for internal audit arises in large enterprises due to the fact that top management is not involved in day-to-day monitoring of the activities of the organization and lower management structures. Internal audit provides information on these activities and confirms the accuracy of managers' reports. The need for internal audit is due to:

· complication of the organizational structure of enterprises;

· variety of activities and the possibility of their cooperation;

· remoteness of divisions and branches from the parent enterprise;

· the desire of the administration of an economic entity to obtain a fairly objective and independent assessment of the actions of managers at all levels of management;

· increasing the degree of trust in the enterprise on the part of business partners.

Internal audit is necessary mainly to prevent the loss of resources and implement the necessary changes within the enterprise. (Table 1)

Table 1. Comparative characteristics of internal and external audit

Differences	Internal audit	External audit
Subject	Carried out by accounting, control, and analysis specialists working in this organization (full-time employees)	Carried out by specialists who perform their functions on a contractual basis for a fee
Objectives, goal	Determined by the administration of the organization and is to ensure the effectiveness of the enterprise management system	Convince third parties of the reliability of financial statements and positive forecasts for the development of the organization
An object	Business operations, use, safety of resources, state of accounting, reporting and control, compliance with legal norms	State of accounting and reporting, efficiency of resource use, level of control, competence of specialists
Qualification	Determined at the discretion of the management structure	Strictly determined by the Federal Law (education, work experience, certificate)
Independence	Independent of the objects being checked	Independent of the audited organization both organizationally and financially
Methods	More detailed and accurate checks	Less detailed and precise checks (the concepts of “materiality” and “risk” in auditing).
Reporting	To management and/or owner	To third parties or to the management of the organization, if the audit is voluntary
By time	Current, permanent	Periodic (annual)

An audit conducted in an organization with a certain frequency (annually) is called recurring, and an audit conducted for the first time in a given organization is called initial.

Certain functions of internal auditors are performed by audit groups in the accounting departments of large enterprises, subordinate to the chief accountant or financial director, but the functions of internal auditors are broader and include:

1) control over the condition of assets and avoidance of losses; confirmation of the accuracy of the information used by management in making decisions;

2) confirmation of the implementation of internal control procedures;

3) analysis of the effectiveness of the internal control and information processing system;

4) assessment of the quality of information produced by the management information system.

Thus, within the framework of internal audit, not only detailed control over the safety of assets is carried out, but also control over the policies and quality of management.

Internal and external audit complement each other and at the same time differ significantly. Characteristics of the features of internal and external audit are presented in the table (Appendix B).

Internal audit functions can be performed not only by employees of the enterprise, but also by invited independent auditors.

Some types of internal audit are called management or production audits.

The main objectives of this audit are to check and improve the organization and management of the enterprise, the qualitative aspects of production activities, assess the efficiency of production and financial investments, productivity, rational use of funds, and their savings.

Management audit, performed by independent auditors, is one of the types of consulting services to the client to improve the efficiency of using its capacities and resources and achieve the intended goals.

Quite close to a management audit is an audit of economic activities, i.e. a systematic analysis of the economic activities of an organization, carried out for specific purposes. This type of audit is sometimes called an operational or administrative and organizational performance audit. An audit of business activities involves an objective examination and comprehensive analysis of certain types of activities.

This type of audit has three goals:

* assessment of management effectiveness;

* identifying opportunities to improve business activities;

An audit of economic activity can be carried out either by order of the administration or at the request of a third party, including government agencies.

3. Audit classification

Compliance audit.

This audit consists of analyzing certain financial or business activities of an entity to determine their compliance with prescribed conditions, rules or laws. If such conditions, for example internal control rules, are established by the administration, then this type of audit is carried out by employees of the enterprise who perform the function of internal auditors. If conditions are set by creditors (for example, the requirement to maintain a certain ratio between working capital and short-term liabilities), then since the fulfillment of these conditions is often reflected in the company's financial statements, this type of audit is carried out together with the audit of financial statements.

An audit for compliance with the requirements established by state acts is carried out by auditors working in the state body that exercises control over the implementation of these acts, or by third-party auditors who are entrusted with such control. The results of the audit are reported to the relevant government agency.

Audit of financial statements and special audit.

An audit of financial statements is a review of an entity's statements in order to make an opinion on its compliance with established criteria and generally accepted accounting rules. This audit is carried out by third party auditors hired by the company whose reports are being audited. The results of the audit of financial statements are published and distributed to a wide range of users - shareholders, creditors, government regulators, etc.

A special audit is a check of specific issues in the activities of a business entity, compliance with certain procedures, norms and rules, usually aimed at confirming the legality, integrity and efficiency of managers, the correctness of tax reporting, the use of social funds, etc.

Mandatory and initiative audit.

Mandatory audits are carried out in cases established directly by law or on behalf of government bodies. The scope and procedure for conducting a mandatory audit are regulated by law.

An initiative (voluntary) audit is carried out by decision of an economic entity, on the basis of an agreement with an auditor (audit firm). The nature and scope of such verification is determined by the client.

Initial and agreed audit .

The initial audit is carried out by the auditor (audit firm) for the first time for a given client. This significantly increases the risk and complexity of the audit, since auditors do not have the necessary information about the specifics of the client’s activities, its internal control system, etc.

A coordinated (repeated) audit is carried out by an auditor (audit firm) repeatedly or regularly and is therefore based on knowledge of the specifics of the client, its positive and negative aspects in the organization of accounting, the results of long-term cooperation with the client (consulting, assistance in organizing an internal control system, etc.) .

The practice of audit firms demonstrates the advantages of a coordinated (repeated) audit. Such cooperation is convenient both for auditors, who have been thoroughly studying the client’s activities for many years, and for the client, who receives highly qualified, comprehensive assistance and assessment based on many years of long-term cooperation.

Moreover, when a client changes an audit firm, it often causes concern among both consumers of information and new auditors.

In other words, auditing activity is the entrepreneurial activity of auditors (audit firms) to carry out independent non-departmental audits of accounting (financial) statements, payment and settlement documentation, tax returns and other financial obligations and requirements of economic entities, as well as providing other audit services, including highlight:

* accounting;

* restoration of accounting;

* preparation of financial statements;

* protection of accounting (financial) statements and tax returns to the State Tax Inspectorate;

* modernization of the current accounting system;

* consultations;

* conducting seminars, improving the qualifications of accountants;

* training of accountants;

* publication of methodological manuals on accounting, taxation, analysis and audit;

* automation of accounting.

From a development point of view, audit is divided into three stages and, accordingly, three types:

1) confirmatory audit (checking and confirming the reliability of accounting documents and reporting);

2) system-oriented audit (audit examination based on an analysis of the internal control system. It has been proven that with an effective internal control system, the likelihood of errors is insignificant and the need for too detailed verification disappears; if there is an ineffective internal control system, the client is given recommendations for its improvement);

3) risk-based audit (concentration of audit work in areas with a higher possible risk, which greatly simplifies the audit in areas of low risk).

In terms of focus, the audit is divided into:

· general audit (enterprises and their associations, regardless of organizational and legal forms and types of ownership, organization and institution);

· banking audit;

· audit of insurance organizations;

· audit of exchanges;

· audit of extra-budgetary funds;

Conclusion

Of course, certain elements of this area of ​​activity of accounting, control and analysis specialists, due to their objective need in the USSR and in Russia, have always taken place. In the overwhelming majority of cases, such elements were scattered and did not represent a systematized whole - the auditor as an integral element of the market infrastructure. They were not called audits.

Those individual studies and practical developments that are usually carried out in the West by audit firms and are accompanied by specific recommendations for client administrations in the field of management, accounting and analysis of business activities, mechanization and automation of accounting and analytical work, have become necessary in the new Russia. And during the years of perestroika, the auditors of Kazakhstan and Estonia were the first to use these terms.

In Russia, auditing activity received its definition and application relatively recently and therefore has features characteristic only of it:

* independence (organizational, logistical, intellectual);

* economic analysis of the enterprise;

* financial analysis of the enterprise based on audit of accounting records;

* control of accounting procedures;

* control of compliance of economic and financial transactions with the legislation of the Russian Federation;

* control of completeness and accuracy of financial information;

* monitoring the compliance of the reflected financial statements with the actual activities of the enterprise.

And, therefore, its main goal is to determine the reliability and veracity of the company’s financial statements, which are determined by law, the system of regulatory regulation of auditing activities, and the contractual obligations of the auditor and the client.

In general, the organization and practice of auditing in various countries, including Russia, has its own characteristics. They are determined by the specifics of each country, its system of government, level of economic development, traditions of public self-government and many other factors.

Glossary

No.	New concept	Content
1	2	3
1		this is a type of activity consisting in the collection and assessment of facts relating to the functioning and position of an economic entity (independent economic unit) or relating to information about such position and functioning, and carried out by a competent independent person who, based on established criteria, makes a conclusion about the qualitative side of this functioning.
2	In both theory and practice, it is essential to view auditing as:	the process of protecting the interests of owners, the vast majority of whom do not prepare financial statements, but for whom it is extremely important that they do not contain significant distortions, much less abuse on the part of the administration they hired; the process of reducing to an acceptable level of information risk for other users of such reports published by various economic entities.
3	audit certificates -	data obtained during the audit
4	specific economic system –	economic entities, i.e. enterprises, their associations, organizations and institutions, banks and credit institutions, their unions and associations, insurance organizations, commodity and stock exchanges, investment, pension and other funds, citizens engaged in independent business activities; economic entities also include audit firms and auditors working independently
5	conclusion -	the auditor's conclusion is a document that has legal significance for all legal entities and individuals, government and administrative bodies, local governments and judicial authorities; in the case of an order from state bodies, it is equivalent to the conclusion of an examination appointed in accordance with the procedural legislation of the Russian Federation
6	Rotation of auditors:	Every few years there is a change of auditor, which makes it possible to avoid too deep dependence of auditors on the client.
7	Special audit
8	Special audit -	This is an inspection of specific issues in the activities of a business entity, compliance with certain procedures, norms and rules, usually aimed at confirming the legality, integrity and efficiency of managers, the correctness of tax reporting, the use of social funds, etc.
9	Audit of financial statements	is an examination of the entity’s statements in order to make an opinion on its compliance with established criteria and generally accepted accounting rules
10	Initiative (voluntary) audit	carried out by decision of an economic entity, on the basis of an agreement with an auditor (audit firm). The nature and scope of such verification is determined by the client.

List of sources used

1. Adams R. Fundamentals of Auditing / ed. I'M IN. Sokolova. – M.: UNITY, 2005. – 398 p.

2. Arens A. Audit translated from English. M.A. Terekhova, ed. Prof. I'M IN. Sokolov. - M.: Finance and Statistics, 2005. – 560 p.

3. Audit in Russia. Legislation. Standards. – M.: Invest Fund, 2004. – 192 p.

4. Temporary rules for auditing activities in the Russian Federation. Appendix to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of December 22, 1993 No. 2263 // Russian newspaper. – 1993. - No. 239.

5. Smekalov P.V., Terekhov A.A., Terekhov M.A. Theory and practice of auditing. – M., 2005. – 218 p.

6. Sokolov Ya.V., Skobara V.V., Ostrovskaya O.L.: Standards and norms of financial control // Economics and life. - 2005. - No. 33. – p. 20-35

7. Terekhov A.A. Audit. – M.: Finance and Statistics, 2001. – 511 p.

8. Sheremet A.D., Suits V.P. Audit: Textbook. – M.: INFRA-M, 2005. – 240 p.

9. Andreev V.D. Practical audit / reference manual. - M.: Economics, 1994.

10. Sheremet A.D., Suits V.P. Audit/Tutorial. - M.: INFRA-M, 2005.

11. Sidelnikova L.B. Audit of a commercial bank. - M.: Bukvitsa, 2006.

12. Belobzhetsky I.A. Accounting and internal audit. - M.: Moskovskaya Pravda, 2004.

Appendix A

COMPARATIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AUDIT ORGANIZATION

Table 1

Audit in Russia. Legislation. Standards. – M.: Invest Fund, 2004. – 180 p.

A country	Indicators
Main purpose of the audit	Audit regulators	Audit training systems
Russia	Independent examination of the financial statements of a business entity by checking compliance with the established accounting procedures, compliance of business and financial transactions with the legislation of the Russian Federation, completeness and accuracy of reflection of enterprise performance indicators in the financial statements	Commission on Auditing Activities under the President of the Russian Federation, TsALAC MF and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Audit Chamber of Russia and other public audit organizations		Training and methodological centers TsALAC MF and Central Bank of the Russian Federation

Types of audit according to the main classification criteria……..….2

Form and content of the audit report……………….15

List of references…………………………………..25

Types of audit according to main classification criteria

An audit is a type of activity consisting of collecting and assessing facts relating to the functioning and position of an economic entity (independent business unit) or relating to information about such position and functioning, and carried out by a competent independent person who, based on established criteria, makes an opinion on the quality side of this functioning. Therefore, an audit refers to an independent examination and expression of an opinion on the financial statements of an enterprise. The main purpose of the audit is to determine the reliability and correctness of the financial statements of the subject of the audit, as well as to monitor the client’s compliance with laws and regulations of business law and tax legislation.

The presence of reliable information makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the capital market and makes it possible to assess and predict the consequences of economic decisions.

In market conditions, enterprises, credit institutions, and other business entities enter into contractual relations for the use of property, funds, commercial transactions and investments. The credibility of these relationships must be supported by the ability to obtain and use financial information by all parties to the transactions. The reliability of the information is confirmed by an independent auditor.

Audits are also necessary for government agencies, judges, prosecutors and investigators to confirm the reliability of the financial statements of interest to them.

Types of audit

The main types of audit are internal and external audit.

Internal audit.

Its main task is to solve individual functional management problems, develop and test enterprise information systems. Internal audit is an integral part of the management control of an enterprise. It can also be independent, i.e. directly report not to the executive body of the enterprise, but to external founders.

The rule (standard) of auditing in the Russian Federation defines internal audit as a system of control organized by an economic entity, acting in the interests of its management and (or) owners, regulated by internal documents over compliance with the established accounting procedure and the reliability of the functioning of the internal control system.

Internal audit is one of the ways to monitor the efficiency of the units of the structure of an economic entity.

The organization, role and functions of internal audit are determined by the economic entity itself, namely its management and (or) owners, depending on:

Volumes of indicators of financial and economic activity of an economic entity;

The existing management system of the economic entity;

Internal control states.

Internal audit functions can be performed by special services or individual auditors on the staff of an economic entity, audit commissions (auditors), third-party organizations engaged for internal audit purposes and (or) external auditors.

Internal audit institutions include auditors, audit commissions, internal auditors or groups of internal auditors appointed by the owners and (or) management of an economic entity.

The work of internal audit has informational and consulting significance for the management and (or) owners of an economic entity; it is designed to help optimize the activities of an economic entity and fulfill the responsibilities of its management.

The objects of internal audit may be different depending on the characteristics of the economic entity and the requirements of its management and (or) owners. Typically, internal audit functions include:

Inspections of accounting and internal control systems, their monitoring and development of recommendations for improving these systems;

Checks of accounting and operational information, including examination of the means and methods used to identify, evaluate, classify such information and compile reports based on it, as well as a special study of individual reporting items, including detailed checks of transactions and account balances;

Checking compliance with laws and other regulations, as well as the requirements of accounting policies, instructions, decisions and instructions of management and (or) owners;

Checking the activities of various management levels;

Assessing the effectiveness of the internal control mechanism, studying and evaluating control checks in branches and structural divisions of an economic entity;

Checking the availability, condition and ensuring the safety of the property of an economic entity;

Work on special projects and control over individual elements of the internal control structure;

Assessment of the software used by the economic entity;

Special investigations into individual cases, such as suspected abuse;

Development and presentation of proposals to eliminate identified deficiencies and recommendations to improve management efficiency.

The objectivity of internal audit is ensured by the degree of its independence in the management structure of an economic entity. This requirement for internal audit, as a rule, is ensured by the fact that it reports and is obliged to submit reports only to the management and (or) owners who appointed it and is independent from the heads of the audited branches of the economic entity, structural divisions, internal control bodies, etc.

The Institute of Internal Auditors has developed the following definition:

Internal audit is an independent activity in an organization (enterprise) to verify and evaluate its work in its interests. The purpose of internal audit is to help members of an organization perform their functions effectively. Internal auditors provide their organization (enterprise) with analysis and assessment data, recommendations and other necessary information resulting from audits.

Internal auditors are employees who are on the staff of the enterprise and subordinate to its management. The tasks of internal audit are determined by management, based on the management needs of both the divisions of the enterprise and the enterprise as a whole.

The activity of the internal auditor consists of performing a wide range of different functions included in his responsibilities.

These features include:

Review of control systems aimed at developing company policy within the framework of legislation;

Assessing the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the company's operations;

Checking the level of achievement of program goals;

Confirmation of the reliability of information used by management when making decisions.

Internal audit not only provides information about the activities of the organization itself, but also confirms the correctness and reliability of managers' reports. Using internal audit information, enterprise management can quickly and timely implement the necessary changes within the enterprise.

To a certain extent, the functions of internal auditors are performed by audit groups in the accounting departments of large enterprises, subordinate to the chief accountant or financial director, but the functions of internal auditors are broader.

Internal audit solves the following tasks:

1. Monitoring the condition of assets and preventing losses.

2. Confirmation of the implementation of internal control procedures.

3. Analysis of the effectiveness of the internal control and information processing system.

4. Assessing the quality of information produced by the management information system.

Internal and external audit complement each other and at the same time differ significantly.

In table 1 lists the main features and differences between internal and external audit.

Table 1.Characteristics of the features of internal and external audit

	Internal audit		External audit
Setting goals	Determined by management based on the management needs of both divisions of the enterprise and the enterprise as a whole		Determined by an agreement between independent parties: the enterprise and the audit firm (auditor)
	Solving individual functional management problems, developing and testing enterprise information systems		Mainly enterprise accounting and reporting system
	Determined by the management of the enterprise		Determined by audit legislation: assessing the reliability of financial statements and confirming compliance with current legislation
Facilities	Self-selected (or determined by internal audit standards)		Determined by generally accepted auditing standards
Type of activity	Performing activities		Entrepreneurial activity
Organization of work	Performing specific management tasks		Determined by the auditor independently based on generally accepted norms and rules of auditing
Relationships	Subordination to the management of the enterprise, dependence on it		Equal partnership, independence
Subjects	Employees subordinate to the management of the enterprise and on staff of the enterprise		Independent experts who have the appropriate certificate and license to engage in this type of business
Qualification	Determined at the discretion of the enterprise management		Regulated by the state
	Payroll calculation according to staff schedule		Payment for services provided under the contract
Responsibility	To management for fulfilling duties		To the client and to third parties, established by legislative and regulatory acts
	The methods may be the same when solving the same problems (for example, assessing the reliability of information). There are differences in the degree of accuracy and detail.
Reporting	Before management	The final part of the audit report may be published, the analytical part
		transferred to the client

Some types of audit are called management or production audit. Their main task is to check and improve the organization and management of the enterprise, the qualitative aspects of production activities, assessing the efficiency of production and financial investments, productivity, rational use of funds, and their savings.

Management audit, performed by independent auditors, is one of the types of consulting services to help the client to improve the efficiency of using its capacities and resources and achieve its goals.

Quite close to management audit audit of economic activities, which consists in a systematic analysis of the economic activities of an organization, carried out for specific purposes. This type of audit is sometimes called an operational or administrative and organizational performance audit. When auditing business activities, the auditor is expected to conduct an objective examination and make a comprehensive analysis of certain types of activities.

An audit of business activities can be carried out either by order of the administration or at the request of a third party, including government agencies.

Compliance audit consists of analyzing certain financial or economic activities of an entity in order to determine its compliance with prescribed conditions, rules or laws. If such conditions (for example, internal control rules) are established by the administration, then this type of audit is carried out by employees of the enterprise who perform the function of internal audit. If conditions are imposed by creditors (for example, requiring a certain ratio between working capital and current liabilities to be maintained), then, since they are often related to the company's financial statements, this type of audit is performed in conjunction with the financial statement audit.

An audit for compliance with the requirements established by state acts is carried out by auditors working in the state body that exercises control over the implementation of these acts, or by third-party auditors who are entrusted with such control. The results of the audit are reported to the relevant government agency.

Audit of financial statements and special audit consists of checking the entity’s statements in order to give an opinion on the correctness of its preparation in accordance with established criteria and generally accepted accounting rules. This type of audit is conducted by third-party auditors hired by the company whose reports are being audited. The results of the audit of financial statements are published and distributed to a wide range of users - shareholders, creditors, government regulators, etc.

Special audit is aimed at checking specific issues of the activity of an economic entity, compliance with certain procedures, norms and rules. It usually aims to confirm the legality, integrity and efficiency of managers, the correctness of tax reporting, the use of social funds, and other purposes.

Mandatory and initiative audit. Mandatory audit is regulated by the state. In the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation has approved the main criteria (system of indicators) for the activities of economic entities, according to which their accounting (financial) reporting is subject to mandatory annual audit. In Table 2. criteria, economic entities, reporting indicators and mandatory audit standards are presented.

Table 2. Criteria, subjects and indicators of mandatory audit

Criteria	Economic entities, reporting indicators
1. Organizational and legal form of an economic entity	Open joint stock company, regardless of the number of shareholders and the size of the authorized capital
2. Type of activity of the economic entity	1 . Banks and other credit institutions 2. Insurance organizations and mutual insurance companies 3. Commodity and stock exchanges 4 Investment institutions (investment and check investment funds, holding companies) 5. Extra-budgetary funds (if the sources of their formation are mandatory contributions provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation on the part of legal entities and individuals) 6. Charitable and other (non-investment) funds (sources of education - voluntary donations from legal entities and individuals) 7. Other economic entities where mandatory auditing is provided for by federal laws, Decrees of the President of the Russian Federation and decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation
3. Sources of formation of authorized capital	If there is a share of foreign investors in the authorized capital
4. Financial indicators of an economic entity	(Except for enterprises that are entirely state or municipal property) 1. The volume of revenue from the sale of products (works, services) for the year if more than 500,000 times exceeds the minimum wage (minimum wage) 2. The amount of assets on the balance sheet at the end of the year if more than 200,000 times the minimum wage

Initiative (voluntary) audit carried out by decision of an economic entity, on the basis of an agreement with an auditor (audit firm). The nature and scope of such verification is determined by the client.

Initial audit carried out by an auditor or audit firm for the first time for a given client. This significantly increases the risk and labor intensity of the audit, since auditors have no idea about the specifics of the client’s activities, its internal control system, etc.

Agreed(repeated) audit This is not the first time carried out by an audit firm or auditor. The planning and audit process is based on knowledge of the specifics of the client, his weaknesses and strengths in organizing accounting, as well as the results of long-term cooperation between the audit firm (auditor) and the client (consulting, assistance in organizing an internal control system, etc.).

The practice of audit firms demonstrates the benefits of repeatable, consistent audits. Such cooperation is mutually beneficial for both auditors and the client.

Moreover, when a client changes an audit firm, it often causes concern among both consumers of information and new auditors.

To the listed types of audit it is necessary to add:

Tax audit;

Price audit;

Environmental audit.

In the development of audit, the following three stages and, accordingly, types of audit are distinguished:

a) confirmatory audit. Checking and confirming the accuracy of accounting documents and reporting;

b) system-oriented audit. Audit examination based on analysis of the internal control system. It has been proven that if the internal control system works effectively, then there is no need to conduct a detailed audit, because to some extent the internal control system can be trusted to detect errors and violations. Where controls are ineffective, recommendations are given to the client on how to improve the system;

c) audit, which is based on risk. By concentrating audit work in areas where risks are higher, the time spent auditing low-risk areas can be reduced and thereby provide a more cost-effective service.

From the point of view of economic entities, audit is divided into:

General audit (enterprises and their associations, regardless of organizational and legal forms and types of ownership, organization, institution);

Banking audit;

Audit of insurance organizations;

Exchange audit;

Audit of extra-budgetary funds;

audit of investment institutions.

Form and content of the auditor's report

The audit report represents the auditor’s opinion on the reliability of the financial statements of an economic entity. The form, content and procedure for providing the audit report are determined by the federal auditing standard.

2.1. Concept and form of audit reports

During a statutory audit, all actions of auditors are aimed at achieving the main goal of the audit - the formation of an objective opinion about the reliability of the financial statements of an economic entity. This opinion constitutes the content of the auditor's report.

The Federal Law “On Auditing Activities” (Article 10) states:

An audit report is an official document intended for users of the financial (accounting) statements of the audited entities, drawn up in accordance with the federal rules (standards) of auditing activities and containing the opinion of the audit organization of the individual auditor, expressed in the prescribed form, on the reliability of the financial (accounting) statements of the audited entity and the compliance the procedure for maintaining its accounting records in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

The conclusion of the audit organization (auditor) based on the results of the audit of the annual statements is a mandatory element of the annual financial statements for enterprises that are subject to mandatory audit in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

When drawing up the audit report, the auditor is guided by the provisions of the federal rule (standard) of auditing activities “Audit report on financial (accounting) statements” and Russian rules (standards) “Other information in documents containing audited financial statements”, “Written information from the auditor to the management of an economic entity on results of the audit”, “Conclusion of the audit organization on special audit assignments”. It is these standards that contain information about the form of the report, types of audit reports, etc. Although, auditors also use other rules (standards) when preparing the report.

The auditor's report must be drawn up in Russian, the cost indicators in it are expressed in the currency of the Russian Federation (rubles). Corrections are not allowed.

The audit organization is obliged to submit an audit report only to the economic entity in the agreed number of copies and within the time frame agreed upon by the parties. The auditor's report is accompanied by the financial statements of the economic entity with the auditor's note (signature or special stamp of the audit firm). In an audit organization (auditor), the audit report is usually stored in a special file and represents an exact analogue of the documentation transferred to the customer.

The main regulatory document for drawing up an audit report based on the results of a statutory audit is the federal rule (standard) of auditing activities “Audit report on financial (accounting) statements”, approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated September 23, 2002. This is a federal rule (standard) of auditing activities developed by taking into account international auditing standards, establishes uniform requirements for the form and content of the audit report, which is drawn up based on the results of the audit of financial (accounting) statements. Most of these requirements can be used to prepare audit opinions on accounting information that is not financial statements.

The audit report is an official document on the reliability of the financial (accounting) statements of the audited entity and the compliance of its accounting procedures with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Reliability in all material respects is understood as the degree of accuracy of financial (accounting) reporting data, which allows users of these reporting to draw correct conclusions about the results of economic activities, financial and property status of the audited entities and make informed decisions based on these conclusions. To assess the degree of compliance of financial (accounting) statements with the legislation of the Russian Federation, the auditor must establish the maximum permissible deviations by determining, for the purposes of the audit, the materiality of accounting indicators and financial (accounting) statements in accordance with the federal rule (auditing standard “Materiality in an Audit”) .

Before the adoption of the Federal Law “On Auditing Activities,” the requirements for drawing up an auditor’s report were contained in the Temporary Rules for Auditing Activities and the Russian rule (standard) “The procedure for drawing up an auditor’s report on financial statements.”

In accordance with these two documents, the audit report consisted of three parts: introductory, analytical and final. The introductory and analytical parts were confidential in nature, and the final part was of a public nature, it assessed the audit firm’s compliance in all significant aspects of the financial statements with the regulations governing accounting and reporting in the Russian Federation.

In accordance with the federal standard, the conclusion represents a single document, which includes introductory and final parts and provides an assessment of the reliability of the financial (accounting) statements. As for the analytical part (auditor's report), it is also compiled by the auditor and presented to the customer. The basis for its compilation is the Russian rules (standards) “Written information from the auditor to the management of an economic entity based on the results of the audit”, “Other information in documents containing audited financial statements”, etc.

The main provisions for drawing up an audit report are contained in the rule (standard) “Written information from the auditor to the management of an economic entity based on the results of the audit.”

The analytical part is a report from an audit organization to an economic entity; it should include:

the name of this part;

name of the audit organization to whom the written information is addressed;

audit object;

general results of verification of the state of internal control of an economic entity;

general results of checking the state of accounting and reporting;

general results of checking compliance with legislation when carrying out financial and business transactions.

The results of checking the internal control system of an economic entity include the responsibility of the administration of the economic entity for the organization and state of internal control; the purpose and nature of reviewing the state of internal control during the audit; general assessment of the compliance of the internal control system with the scale and nature of the activity of the economic entity; description of significant inconsistencies of the internal control system identified during the audit with the scale and nature of the activities of the economic entity.

The results of checking the state of accounting and reporting of an economic entity reflect an overall assessment of compliance with the established procedure for maintaining accounting records and preparing financial statements; description of significant violations of the established procedure for maintaining accounting records and preparing financial statements identified during the audit.

The results of checking the compliance of an economic entity with the law when carrying out financial and economic transactions reflect the purpose and nature of the consideration of the compliance of a number of financial and economic transactions performed by an economic entity with legislation and regulations; assess the compliance of financial and economic transactions carried out by an economic entity with the legislation in all significant respects; evidence of significant inconsistencies identified during the audit in the financial and economic transactions carried out by the economic entity with the legislation; responsibility of the executive body of an economic entity for non-compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation when carrying out financial and economic transactions. An assessment of the general results of checking the state of internal control, accounting and reporting of an economic entity, as well as the economic entity’s compliance with legislation when carrying out financial and business transactions can be expressed in any form. However, to facilitate the work of auditors and auditor-assistants for this purpose, it is advisable to develop an in-house standard that specifies the provisions considered and provides an approximate form of the audit firm’s report.

The auditor's report includes:

Name;

addressee;

the following information about the audit organization (auditor): organizational and legal form and name, for an individual auditor - last name, first name, patronymic and indication of the implementation of its activities without forming a legal entity; location; number and date of the state registration certificate; number, date of granting the license to carry out audit activities and the name of the body that granted the license, as well as the validity period of the license; membership in an accredited professional audit association;

the following information about the audited entity: legal form and name; location; number and date of the state registration certificate; information about licenses for the types of activities carried out;

introductory part;

part describing the scope of the audit;

date of the auditor's report;

auditor's signature.

Consistency in the form and content of the auditor's report should be maintained to facilitate its understanding by users and to help detect unusual circumstances should they arise. The auditor's report should have the title "Audit's report on the financial (accounting) statements" in order to distinguish the auditor's report from opinions drawn up by other persons, for example, officials of the audited entity, the board of directors.

The auditor's report must contain a list of audited financial (accounting) statements of the audited entity, indicating the reporting period and its composition.

In conclusion, a provision should be included that the responsibility for maintaining accounting records, preparing and presenting financial (accounting) statements is assigned to the audited entity, and the responsibility of the auditor is only to express, based on the audit, an opinion on the reliability of these financial (accounting) statements in all respects. significant relations and compliance of the accounting procedure with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

The introductory part of the auditor's report states the following. “We conducted an audit of the attached financial (accounting) statements of the organization “UUU” for the period from January 1 to December 31, 20(XX) inclusive.”

Financial (accounting) statements of the organization “UUU” consist of: balance sheet; profit and loss statement; attachments to the balance sheet and profit and loss account; explanatory note.

Responsibility for the preparation and presentation of these financial (accounting) statements lies with the executive organization "UUU". Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the reliability in all material respects of these statements and the compliance of the accounting procedure with the legislation of the Russian Federation on the basis of the audit performed.”

In the part describing the scope of the audit, it is indicated that the audit was conducted in accordance with federal laws, federal rules (standards) of auditing activities, internal rules (standards) of auditing activities operating in professional audit associations of which the auditor is a member, or in accordance with other documents. Audit scope refers to the auditor's ability to perform audit procedures considered necessary in the circumstances based on an acceptable level of materiality. This is necessary to provide the user with confidence that the audit was carried out in accordance with the regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation, rules and standards.

The auditor's report must contain a statement that the audit was planned and performed to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement.

When describing the scope, it should be noted that the audit was carried out through a complete review of documents and the internal control system or on a selective basis. If the audit was carried out on a sample basis, it included:

study, based on testing, of evidence confirming the meaning and disclosure in the financial (accounting) statements of information about the financial and economic activities of the audited entity;

assessment of accounting principles and methods, as well as rules for preparing financial (accounting) statements;

determination of the main estimated values ​​obtained by the management of the audited entity in the preparation of financial (accounting) statements;

assessment of the overall presentation of the financial (accounting) statements.

In addition to an opinion on the reliability of financial (accounting) statements, it may be necessary to express in the auditor’s report an opinion on the compliance of these statements with the requirements, as well as regarding other documents and transactions related to the financial and economic activities of the audited entity, if they are subject to mandatory auditing in accordance with legislation of the Russian Federation.

The statement of information in the part containing the auditor's opinion may be approximately as follows:

“In our opinion, the financial (accounting) statements of the organization “UUU” reflect reliably in all material respects the financial position as of December 31, 20(XX) and the result of financial and economic activities for the period from January 1 to January 31, 20(XX) .inclusive".

The auditor must indicate in the auditor's report the date when the audit was completed, since this circumstance provides the user with reason to believe that the auditor took into account the impact that events and transactions had on the financial (accounting) statements that took place from the date of completion of the audit to the date of signing the audit report. conclusions.

Because the auditor is required to issue an audit report on the financial statements prepared and presented by management of the entity being audited, the auditor should not indicate in the report a date prior to the date on which the financial statements were signed or approved by management of the entity being audited.

The audit report must be signed by the head of the auditor or the person authorized by the head and the person who conducted the audit (the person who led the audit), indicating the number and validity period of his qualification certificate. These signatures must be sealed.

The auditor's report is accompanied by financial (accounting) statements in respect of which an opinion is expressed and which is dated, signed and sealed by the audited entity in accordance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation regarding the preparation of such statements. The auditor's report and the specified reporting must be bound in a single package, the sheets are numbered, laced, sealed with the auditor's seal indicating the total number of sheets in the package. The audit report is prepared in the number of copies agreed upon by the auditor and the audited entity, but both the auditor and the audited entity must receive at least one copy of the audit report and the attached financial (accounting) statements.

When conducting a statutory audit, audit organizations must prepare and submit to the audited entity a written report on the results of the audit. The written report represents the auditor's analytical report and its information is confidential. Based on this information, the auditor draws up an audit report.

The auditor's report is an official document intended for users of the financial (accounting) statements of the audited entities.

Bibliography

1. Audit. Textbook / ed. V. I. Podolsky. From - to "Economist", M. - 2005.

2. Auditing activities: organizational foundations, standards, features of industry audit. Compiled by V.V. Kalinin. – M.: LLC “IKF Omega - L”, 2000.

3. Kovaleva O.V., Konstantinov Yu.P.: Audit: Textbook / Ed. O.V. Kovaleva. – M.: PRIOR Publishing House, 2002.

4. Sheremet A.D., Suits V.P. Audit: Textbook. – 4th ed., revised. and additional – M.: INFRA-M, 2003.

5. Sokolov Ya.V., Skobara V.V., Ostrovskaya O.L.: Standards and norms of financial control // Economics and life. – 1995.

6. Terekhov A.A. Audit. – M.: Finance and Statistics, 2000.

7. Audit in Russia. Legislation. Standards. – M.: Invest Fund, 1994.

8. Suits V.P., Akhmetbekov A.N., Dubrovina T.A. “Audit: general, banking, insurance” Textbook. – M.: INFRA-M, 2001.

Legal reference system "Garant"

And financial (accounting) reporting of organizations and individual entrepreneurs. In addition, audit organizations and individual auditors can provide audit-related services.

Auditing activities: statutory audit and audit-related services.

Audit-related services mean:

1. Consulting;

2. Maintaining, setting up, restoring accounting, reporting;

3. Analysis of economic activities, assessment of assets and liabilities, computerization, audit research, training.

4. Internal audit, proactive audit, audit on special audit assignments;

5. Other services related to the audit.

Goals, objectives and principles of audit

Main goal audit is the expression of an opinion on the reliability of the financial (accounting) statements of the audited entities and the compliance of the accounting procedure with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Under reliability is understood as the degree of accuracy of financial (accounting) reporting data, which allows the user of these reporting, based on its data, to draw correct conclusions about the results of economic activity, the financial and property position of the audited entities and make informed decisions based on these conclusions.

The following local tasks can be formulated when conducting a mandatory audit:

1. Formulation of principles for preparing an audit plan and program.

2. Organization of preparation and drawing up of an audit plan and program.

3. Formulation of principles for documenting the audit.

4. Formulation of requirements for the form and content of working documentation for the audit.

5. Determination of the procedure for compiling and storing working documentation.

6. Determination of types, sources and methods of obtaining audit evidence.

7. Based on the results of the audit, express an opinion on the reliability of the reporting entity in the form of an unconditionally positive, conditionally positive or negative audit report, or refuse to express your opinion in the audit report.

8. Other tasks.

The audit does not replace state control over the reliability of financial (accounting) statements, carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation by authorized government bodies.

Auditing organizations and entrepreneurs operating without forming a legal entity can provide audit-related services.

Auditor is an individual who meets the qualification requirements established by the authorized federal body and has a qualification certificate as an auditor. The auditor has the right to carry out audit activities as an employee of an audit organization or as a person engaged by an audit organization to work on the basis of a civil contract, or as an individual entrepreneur carrying out his activities without forming a legal entity. An individual auditor has the right to carry out audit activities, as well as provide audit-related services. An individual auditor does not have the right to carry out other types of business activities (Federal Law No. 307).

Audit organization- a commercial organization that carries out audits and provides audit-related services. The audit organization carries out its audit activities after receiving a license on the terms and in the manner provided for by this Federal Law and the legislation on licensing of certain types of activities. An audit organization can be created in any legal form, with the exception of an open joint-stock company. At least 50 percent of the staff of an audit organization must be citizens of the Russian Federation permanently residing on the territory of the Russian Federation, and if the head of the audit organization is a foreign citizen, at least 75 percent. The audit organization must have at least five auditors on staff (Federal Law No. 307)

To achieve the main goal and providing an opinion, the auditor must form an opinion on the following issues:

1) general acceptability of reporting (whether the reporting as a whole meets all the requirements for it and does not contain conflicting information);

2) validity (are there grounds for including the amounts indicated there in the reporting);

3) completeness (whether all appropriate amounts are included in the statements, in particular whether all assets and liabilities belong to the company);

5) classification (is there any reason to attribute the amount to the account to which it is recorded);

6) division (whether transactions carried out shortly before the balance sheet date or immediately after it are attributed to the period in which they were carried out);

7) accuracy (do the amounts of individual transactions correspond to the data given in the books and journals of analytical accounting, are they correctly summed up, do the total amounts correspond to the data given in the General Ledger);

8) disclosure (whether all categories are included in the financial statements and correctly reflected in the reports and appendices to them).

Relationship between audit and other forms of economic control

The concept of audit is much broader than such concepts as audit and control. Auditor from the Latin word means “listener”, i.e. this is a person who checks the state of the financial and economic activities of an enterprise for a certain period.

An auditor differs from an auditor in its essence, in its approach to checking documentation, in its relationship with the client, in the conclusions drawn from the results of the audit, etc.

The audit ensures not only verification of financial indicators, but also the development of proposals for optimizing business activities in order to rationalize costs and increase profits. An audit can be defined as an examination of a business.

Criteria for distinguishing an audit from an audit:

1. By purpose:

Audit - expression of opinion on the reliability of financial statements, provision of services, assistance, cooperation with the client, consultation, identification of shortcomings as an integral element of business activity.

Audit - identifying deficiencies with the aim of eliminating them and punishing those responsible.

2. By character:

Audit - performing activities, carrying out orders.

By legal regulation:

Audit is basically civil law, business contracts.

Audit is basically administrative law, instructions, orders of higher or state bodies.

By objects:

Audit - identifies everything that distorts financial statements, reduces solvency, and worsens the financial situation of the client.

Audit - identifies everything that violates current legislation.

For management relations:

Audit - horizontal connections, voluntariness, equality in relationships with the client, reporting to him.

Audit - vertical communications, coercion, assignment, reporting to higher echelons on performance.

P on the principle of remuneration:

Audit - the client pays.

Audit - pays from a higher level or the state. organ.

For actual tasks:

Audit - improving the client’s financial situation, attracting investors, creditors, i.e. liabilities, assistance and consultation of the client.

Audits - safety of assets, suppression and prevention of abuse.

According to the results:

Audit - audit act, org. conclusions, penalties, transfer to higher and other authorities, mandatory disclosure of information.

By status:

Audit - independent expert.

Audit - employee of the audit apparatus.

The principle of sufficiency:

Audit - Reasonable sufficiency with a focus on the relationship between costs and benefits.

Audit - the highest possible accuracy to identify damage and punishment.

There are similarities between audit and audit:

The purpose is to check the sufficiency of accounting and reporting.

Stages: preparatory, main and final.

Sources of information: constituent documents, decisions of the general meeting of shareholders, orders, accounting policies, reporting, general ledger, accounting registers, primary documents, etc.

Methods: desk inspection and documentary (on-site) inspection.

Scales: global and local.

Frequency: monthly, quarterly, annual

All types of activities of the enterprise are checked.

Extent of coverage: retrospective and prospective.

Subjects and objects are checked regardless of their organizational and legal form.

Audit differs from forensic accounting. The difference is that an audit is an independent review. A forensic accounting examination is carried out by decision of the judicial authorities.

The specificity of forensic accounting is manifested in its procedural and legal form, which ensures obtaining a source of evidence in the application of expert knowledge in the field of accounting in the course of studying completed business transactions.

An audit exists regardless of the presence or absence of a criminal or civil case, while forensic accounting cannot exist outside of such cases, since it represents a procedural and legal form.

According to Article 78 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, forensic accounting examination is appointed in cases where special knowledge in the field of accounting and control is required during inquiry, preliminary investigation and trial. It is not one of the mandatory examinations and its appointment depends on the decision of the investigator or the court, taking into account the circumstances of a particular case. During the trial, an examination can be ordered either at the initiative of the court or the prosecutor participating in the trial, or at the request of the defendant or his defense attorney.

The expert auditor independently determines research methods, as he is responsible for the validity of his conclusions.

In general, the financial control system can be represented as follows:

1. State financial control:

1) national financial control:

Monetary and credit;

Foreign exchange;

Insurance;

Tax;

Customs.

2) departmental financial control.

2. Public control.

3. Non-departmental control.

4. Independent control.

5. On-farm control.

Depending on the sources of information, control is divided into documentary and factual. Documentary control involves the use of primary documents to establish the reliability and legality of business transactions, the state of accounting registers and reporting. Actual control is in which the quantitative and qualitative condition of an object is established by inspection, inspection, measurement, recalculation, weighing, laboratory analysis and other methods of checking the actual condition of objects.

The applied control methods and control action systems make it possible to organize an inspection using for these purposes an audit, audit, thematic inspection, investigation or internal investigation.

Audit is a system of control actions carried out by an audit group or auditor for the activities of a subordinate enterprise, which establishes the legality, reliability and economic feasibility of completed business transactions, as well as the correctness of the actions of officials involved in their implementation.

Thematic inspection is an inspection of a specific topic or task, production or economic activity of an enterprise.

The investigation is a procedural action during which the guilt of individuals is established in committing certain violations related to the misappropriation of funds, material assets, mismanagement and abuse of office. The investigation is regulated by special procedural legislation.

An official investigation involves checking whether employees of the enterprise comply with their official duties, as well as compliance with official documents regulating industrial relations. It is carried out by a special commission created by order of the head of the enterprise in cases of theft, shortages and damage to material assets.

Depending on the time of implementation, control is divided into: preliminary, current and subsequent. Preliminary control is carried out before making management decisions and performing business transactions. It is preventive and proactive in nature (business plan, design and estimate documentation). The purpose of preliminary control is to prevent illegal actions of officials, illegal and economically inappropriate operations.

Current control is organized in the process of performing various business transactions. This is operational control. Subsequent control is carried out after the completion of a business transaction.

The number of objects of subsequent control is determined by the inspector himself, based on various factors:

Tasks and purposes of the audit;

Financial and labor costs for its implementation.

The transition to the market and fundamental changes in the economy led to the creation of a new branch of scientific knowledge - auditing.

An audit is defined as checking and confirming the correctness of the accounts of an enterprise, carried out by qualified specialists.

In Russia, auditing has developed over the past 10 years.

In difficult economic conditions during the transition to market relations, it has become important to have reliable economic information about the financial and economic activities of the organization. In addition, the creation of commercial structures caused an influx of new entrepreneurs who did not have the proper experience of working in the new business conditions and had little understanding of legislative acts, which is why the first violations (sometimes unintentional) appeared in compliance with the requirements of regulatory documents related to economic activity.

In this regard, a new form of control over economic activities has emerged, including consultations on issues of accounting and the correct calculation of taxes.

Auditing activity - audit - is the entrepreneurial activity of auditors (audit firms) to carry out independent non-departmental audits of accounting (financial) statements, payment and settlement documentation, tax returns and other financial obligations and requirements of economic entities, as well as the provision of other audit services.

Thus, auditing is a broader concept that includes both the audit itself (an audit to confirm the reliability of financial statements) and related services (tax consulting, analysis of financial and economic activities, forecasting issues, etc.).

The main purpose of auditing is to establish the reliability of the accounting (financial) statements of economic entities and the compliance of their financial and business transactions with the regulations in force in the Russian Federation.

The significance of the audit is that it is not only an independent verification of financial and economic activities, but also provides recommendations and proposals for improving these activities, expanding audit services and creating audit companies and firms at the international level.

The need for an audit is related to:

the need to obtain special knowledge to conduct inspections at a professional level;

Obtaining objective information about the state of accounting and reporting at the enterprise and its creditworthiness;

proper management of entrepreneurship and its quality. Auditors should also apply audit techniques such as:

which would make it possible to reduce the time required to carry it out as much as possible without compromising quality.

Audit objectives are related to the purpose of the audit (for example, cash audit, etc.).

The main objectives of auditing activities are:

checking the legality of financial and business transactions;

checking the status of accounting and reporting;

checking the reliability of the most important reporting indicators, including the balance sheet, income statement, etc.;

research of economic activities in order to identify intra-production reserves;

checking the condition and efficiency of use of resources (labor, financial, material).

The audit is based on civil law, administrative and economic law, and accounting.

The ultimate goal of the audit is to analyze the financial condition of the organization, its financial stability and creditworthiness. The financial condition and stability of the organization are measured by a number of financial ratios: K b, K

r ^ t t t "1 solvency liquidity

The purpose of the audit is to verify the reliability and reality of the financial statements and confirm their compliance, as well as to express the opinion of the audit organization on the reliability of these statements and their compliance with regulations.

An important place is occupied by issues related to audit, control and audit, their similarities and differences.

Revision and audit are ways of organizing control over the financial and economic activities of an organization.

Audit and audit are two approaches to organizing control over the financial and economic activities of an organization. There are many similarities and significant differences between them.

Audit is an integral part of state financial control, establishing the legality, reliability, appropriateness and efficiency of business operations.

Audit is an independent verification of financial statements or financial information of an economic entity in order to identify reserves and draw conclusions about the financial condition of the enterprise.

During the audit, shortcomings in the financial and economic activities of the audited organization are identified in order to eliminate them. Features of audit, audit: 1.

The purpose of the audit is to determine the legality of all operations and eliminate irrational ones (the purpose of the audit is to find out how accurate the accounting data is). 2.

The audit determines the sequence of procedures (during the audit, the verification scheme is mainly given). 3.

In an audit, all operations are checked with maximum arithmetic accuracy (in an audit - approximately, since it depends on the established significance of the operations and the degree of risk). 4.

The legal basis for the audit is the Administrative Code (in the case of an audit - the Civil Code). 5.

The salary in an audit depends on the management of the enterprise (for an audit, the fee is the amount paid to the auditor by the client). 6.

The auditor imposes penalties (the auditor gives advice and recommendations to eliminate deficiencies).

The main differences between an audit and an audit are presented in Table 1. 1.

Although there are many differences between audit and audit, the auditor can and should use audit methods and approaches to verification wisely.

1.1. Concept, essence and content of audit Organization of audit service

Currently, audit firms in Russia are organized in all major cities. ,

Audit firms may have any organizational and legal forms provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation, with the exception of the form of an open joint-stock company. Audit firms have the organizational and legal forms of a closed company or limited liability company.

The main features of the classification of audit firms are as follows:

Nature of activity;

volume of services sold.

Based on the nature of their activities, audit firms are divided into universal and specialized.

Universal audit firms engage in a variety of types of work and may have several licenses for the right to conduct one or another type of statutory audit. For example, an audit in the field of general audit, banking audit, insurance, etc., services for setting up, restoring and maintaining accounting records, analyzing financial and economic activities, consulting on financial, management and tax accounting, computerization of accounting and others services.

Specialized audit firms perform the narrowest range of work and specialize in certain types of work (for example, audits, training, etc.).

In addition to audit firms, auditors who must undergo certification, obtain a license in a certain area for the right to conduct an audit, and register as entrepreneurs can also engage in auditing. Privately practicing auditors can engage in both universal and specialized activities. Auditors and audit firms cannot engage in any business activities other than auditing and other related activities. Both universal and specialized firms must perform the main type of service - conducting a statutory audit.

Based on the volume of services provided, audit firms are divided into large, medium, and small. Universal firms are most often large and medium-sized. In Russia, mainly small and medium-sized audit firms are created. For example, a small company - up to 10 people, a medium company - 10-15 people, a large company - 50 and above.

A large audit firm has deputy managers who report to the relevant departments (for example, departments for types of audit and related services).

In addition, to maintain accounting records, the company has an accounting department, and to carry out business activities, there is an administrative and economic department; the editorial and publishing department is engaged in publishing activities.

Small audit organizations may have a simplified two-level management system - the head of the audit organization and the auditors subordinate to him.

Head of an audit firm - auditor 1

Chief Accountant

Auditors (senior auditors, assistants)

Audit-related services specialists

An important area of ​​audits is the use of basic methods (in-house standards) prepared in advance for checking the relevant sections and accounts of accounting.

Thus, the main activities of audit firms are:

conducting inspections;

setting up accounting;

accounting for enterprises and organizations;

control of accounting and preparation of accounting (financial) statements;

improving the organization of accounting, its improvement;

conducting financial analysis, consulting services (in the field of banking, tax, etc., economic legislation, investment activities, etc.);

conducting seminars, improving the qualifications of accounting personnel;

training of accounting personnel;

publication of methodological manuals on accounting, taxation, analysis, auditing;