what is Audit and its Types.

Financial auditing is the process of examining an organization's (or individual's) financial records to determine if they are accurate and in accordance with any applicable rules (including accepted accounting standards), regulations, and laws.

External auditors come in from outside the organization to examine accounting and financial records and provide an independent opinion on these records. Law requires that all public companies have their financial statements externally audited.

Internal auditors work for the organization as internal employees to examine records and help improve internal processes such as operations, internal controls, risk management, and governance.

Types of Audits

External Audits

Audits performed by outside parties can be extremely helpful in removing any bias in reviewing the state of a company's financials. Financial audits seek to identify if there are any material misstatements in the financial statements. An unqualified, or clean, auditor's opinion provides financial statement users with confidence that the financials are both accurate and complete. External audits, therefore, allow stakeholders to make better, more informed decisions related to the company being audited.

External auditors follow a set of standards different from that of the company or organization hiring them to do the work. The biggest difference between an internal and external audit is the concept of independence of the external auditor. When audits are performed by third parties, the resulting auditor's opinion expressed on items being audited (a company's financials, internal controls, or a system) can be candid and honest without it affecting daily work relationships within the company.

Internal Audits

Internal auditors are employed by the company or organization for whom they are performing an audit, and the resulting audit report is given directly to management and the board of directors. Consultant auditors, while not employed internally, use the standards of the company they are auditing as opposed to a separate set of standards. These types of auditors are used when an organization doesn’t have the in-house resources to audit certain parts of their own operations.

The results of the internal audit are used to make managerial changes and improvements to internal controls. The purpose of an internal audit is to ensure compliance with laws and regulations and to help maintain accurate and timely financial reporting and data collection. It also provides a benefit to management by identifying flaws in internal control or financial reporting prior to its review by external auditors.

Audit Planning

Audit planning includes deciding on the overall audit strategy and developing an audit plan.

Auditing Standard No. 9 from the PCAOB describes an external auditor's responsibility and the requirements for planning an audit. According to standard No. 9, an audit plan is expected to describe the planned nature, extent, and timing of the procedures for risk assessment and the tests to be done on the controls and substantive procedures, along with a description of other audit procedures planned to ensure the audit meets PCAOB standards.

For internal auditing, the Institute of Internal Auditors provides guidance for audit planning. Planning starts with determining the scope and objectives of the audit.

Internal auditors need to understand the business, operations, and unique characteristics of the department/unit being audited and to develop an audit plan that defines the procedures needed to do an efficient and effective audit.

By Dr Muhammad Shakeel awaisi https://www.awaisimd.com/index.php

On 2019-09-30 07:31:54 0 56