Audit - goals and objectives, organization of mandatory and voluntary, stages of implementation and results. What is an audit of an enterprise How is an audit of an enterprise carried out

Each enterprise, regardless of the type of activity, needs an audit, which provides for a number of important activities.

This article will provide comprehensive answers to all questions.

The audit is independent and includes the collection, evaluation and analysis of data that indicate the functioning and financial position of a public, commercial or private enterprise (audited entity).

Learn about the list required documents to open an IP, you can in more detail.

The results obtained make it possible to draw final conclusions (conclusion) on how correctly accounting is maintained, is truthful and reliable.

An independent audit provides only control over how the laws and norms of economic law are observed and whether there are any violations in tax legislation.

There is no purposeful detection of errors in the work of accountants(financiers).

Types and purpose of the audit

Depending on the purpose and goals There are two main types of audits:

Mandatory audit- is held annually and without fail in compliance with the current law. It is carried out only by audit companies. Regulated by the state or carried out by court order.
initiative or voluntary- carried out at the request of the client, in order to verify the reliability of accounting and tax accounting, and to assess financial risks. This will help you avoid penalties. But here the main thing is not to make a mistake in choosing an audit firm or a private person providing this kind of service.

The reasons for the audit may also be a change in the owner of the company or a change in the composition of the founders.

See more details on the schedule and procedure for conducting tax audits.

The main objective of the audit is to:

validation;
timely detection of violations and their elimination;
obtaining reliable information about the functioning of the enterprise and the state accounting, maintaining documents.

After the audit, the audited entity is issued:

conclusion - with a mandatory audit;
a report on the audit with the conclusions and recommendations of specialists to improve accounting and activities - during voluntary audits and other types of audits.

Besides, there is an audit:

external - carried out by prior agreement between the client and the contractor, and is an independent examination of reliable reporting;
internal - is carried out by the economic entity's own forces for managerial control over activities, an increase in economic and financial indicators, and obtaining recommendations (advice) for improving and managing efficiency.

Stages of an audit

The audit procedure is carried out in accordance with the established rules. Conditional stages of the audit:

Preparation (organization) and planning. The process is carried out in accordance with the current legislation and in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the contract for the provision of services. On the basis of the drawn up contractual agreement and the audit plan, the auditor is provided with all the necessary documentation, including accounting and tax reports, allowing to get a complete picture of all areas of financial and economic activities of the audited object. The accounting and internal control systems are studied and evaluated, the risks of the upcoming audit are determined and an audit plan is drawn up.
Performance (implementation) of control procedures is to collect audit evidence, namely, testing controls for compliance, conducting a substantive audit.
The result is the formulation of one's own opinion about the reliability of the facts and their compliance with the current regulations.
Completion- preparation and execution working documentation, drawing up an opinion (final document) on the reliability of financial statements with a summary of audit evidence. The information received as a result of the audit is brought to the management of the enterprise.

How is an audit carried out?

A feature of the audit is the time limit.

That's why a clear organization of the audit is required which is based on planning and programming. At the initial stage, the main goals and objectives are determined, the objects to be studied and the most effective analytical methods are selected.

During the events, important evidence is collected, which is the basis of the conclusion drawn up.

Before the start of the audit, a written request (an audit letter) is prepared in accordance with the standard.

Its form and content may have some features, but the indication of the purpose and scope of the audit, the responsibility of the management of the audited entity for the preparatory process and the provision of the necessary documentation are unchanged.

After everything is agreed upon, a bilateral agreement is concluded, which specifies all the conditions for the inspection.

When is a mandatory audit carried out?

According to the law obligatory audit to be carried out annually. The list of organizations includes:

open joint stock companies (JSC);
Insurance companies;
market participants valuable papers(professional) or organizations whose securities are admitted to circulation on trading stock exchanges;
non-state pension funds or companies managing them;
credit organizations;
organizers of gambling;
issuers of securities;
enterprises whose revenue for the previous reporting year amounted to more than 400,000,000 rubles. or the amount of assets in the balance sheet for the previous reporting period exceeded 60,000,000 rubles.

The exceptions are agricultural cooperatives and unions, state (municipal) unitary enterprises.

Checks are carried out according to the following schemes:

in one stage - annual audit;
in stages - quarterly, for half a year or 9 months.

With a phased audit, it is much easier to identify violations in accounting and reporting in accordance with applicable regulations and rules.

This makes it possible to promptly eliminate all shortcomings and errors before the end of an independent audit and will positively affect the conclusion drawn up by a specialist.

Internal check

Internal auditing by the management of the enterprise is regulated. Such event is held for the purpose:

identifying "holes" in the activities of the enterprise and to find ways to improve its efficiency and potential;
determining the inconsistency of accounting and tax accounting with current regulations;
identification of risks associated with the control of various services, which result in fines, sanctions, reprimands, warnings, etc., leading to losses Money and image;
preliminary preparation for external audit.

Holding internal audit contributes to the rational use of company resources, optimization of risks, preservation of assets and improvement of management activities.

It is these factors that are an indicator for the confidence of investors and stakeholders.

FAQ

What is a personnel audit?

Very often, work with personnel documents in companies is in a state of disrepair. The management remembers that it is necessary to put the documents in order when the prospect of control measures “shines”; To do this, they promptly organize an audit and correct all detected errors. However, the audit is not only carried out in such cases. You will now learn how a personnel audit is carried out and what is checked at the same time.

An audit is a check and evaluation of an organization's activities by a professional specialist or an independent organization to identify existing risks of occurrence. conflict situations, such as a labor dispute or claims from the State Labor Inspectorate.

Personnel documentation in the company plays an important role: it is required by the accounting department for calculation wages, vacation pay, an employee - for submission to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation or other organizations, for example, to use any benefits. Therefore, such documents must be maintained in strict accordance with the requirements of the law.

If the company is not large enough to have a special unit - the internal audit department, you can invite an auditor under a civil law contract - a specialist who checks personnel documentation submits a report on identified violations, gives recommendations for their elimination and prevention.

In this case, the audit is carried out by a specialist who knows labor legislation well and has the skill to draw up personnel documentation. He appreciates:

completeness of the personnel documentation;
system of registration and storage of documentation;
local regulations;
employment contracts, additional agreements to them;
the procedure for maintaining work books.

In order to assess how accurate and correct the bookkeeping in your company is, regular audits should be carried out. It is this procedure that allows you to determine how correctly you are doing business and accounting in order to avoid sanctions from the inspection authorities. In this article, we will analyze what an audit is, why it is carried out and how it is regulated.

Standard audit can be compared to diagnostics vehicle or examining a person for the purpose of identifying hidden diseases or making a diagnosis. There are various types of verification. They can be categorized into independent, that is, when the procedure is carried out by an organization or commission that is not interested in the result; state, that is, one that takes place with the involvement of civil servants or official representatives; internal, that is, one that is carried out by company employees on the basis of an order or internal regulations. The main objective of the internal audit is to determine how well the records are being kept.

Also, the audit can be divided according to the direction of the company's work into insurance, banking, general, for non-profit organizations or public funds. If we talk about the type of verification, then it can be mandatory, which is carried out every year according to the regulations or internal order, as well as voluntary, which is carried out in the organization either at the request of the director, or due to the detection of some violation (or suspicion of it).

Attention: if the audit is conducted voluntarily, then its volume and start-end dates are appointed by the head of the company, depending on the goals that are set before the audit.

How audit is regulated

Now that we have figured out what types of audits exist, let's look at what laws govern this procedure. The main one is FZ-307, which is called “on audit activity”, adopted in 2008. In addition to it, there are various rules that govern the conduct of the audit and establish standards for it, that is, in fact, give it a single standard. Standardization is considered extremely important, since it prescribes exactly how the procedure goes, how the conclusion is drawn up on the result, what principles auditors should use, etc. Also, the standards make it possible to understand the extent to which the audit should be carried out, by what methods, etc. They were developed by the International federation of accountants in order to unify the system and set of documents, as well as to formulate common points for conducting audits.

Attention: standardization of the audit allows you to bring it to the general standards and the correct understanding of the procedure by all participants. Standardization also helps to resolve disputes in arbitration courts.

Who conducts the checks

Auditing should be carried out either by private auditors or by professional organizations with appropriate rights. Both the first and second must be part of an accredited SRO and have the appropriate permits. Consider what requirements are put forward to private auditors:

They must have a completed legal or economic education.
Work experience as an assistant to the inspector or chief accountant from three years.
Passing a qualifying exam.

After the auditor candidate successfully passes the exam, he receives the appropriate certificate, which gives him the right to work in the industry. Companies also have special requirements. First, it must be a commercial organization headed by a certified auditor. Secondly, the company must have at least three specialized auditors. Thirdly, 51 percent of the authorized capital of the company must belong to either certified auditors or operating audit companies.

What exactly is checked

What will be checked during the audit depends on the purpose for which it is carried out, as well as in which enterprise it is carried out. Why is an audit needed in commercial and non-profit organizations and what exactly is checked? First of all, the audit concerns financial and accounting reporting. At the same time, company employees are obliged to provide the inspectors with all the information they require. If the auditor is not given access to documents or electronic databases, then he has the right to refuse to conduct necessary action. If some documents have been lost or it is impossible to access them at the moment for one reason or another, then the specialist decides on their importance for the process.

If the audit is initiated but not completed, then the relevant authorities and counterparties will understand that the company is hiding and manipulating its reporting. If the audit is carried out voluntarily, then it affects only those areas that are specified in the contract. For example, a company can order an audit of current and intangible assets, as well as fixed assets, order an audit of cash discipline and tax payments. Accordingly, the auditor will need to provide all the documents that are related to this area.

Attention: during the audit, the auditor may request documents that are not related to accounting or financial, but at the same time they can provide the necessary information and affect the business of the company.

When to carry out

Ordinary entrepreneurs and small LLCs do not have to carry out an inspection. In fact, the process takes place only at medium and large enterprises that work with budget or public finances. The verification is carried out in order to prevent manipulation, verify the intended use of funds, protect customers or ordinary citizens from fraudulent activities. According to the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, an audit is carried out every year in the following organizations:

In any joint-stock companies.
Companies that list their papers on the stock exchange.
The company belongs to the category of non-state funds and works with the money of the population.
The company decides to publish financial statements or present them accordingly, with the exception of state-owned companies, which are required to publish financial statements).
If the company received revenue in the amount of 400 million rubles or more for the last reporting period.
If the active part of the balance at the end of the year exceeds 60 million rubles.

However, the main division is carried out according to the nature of the order. In this context, a distinction is made between mandatory and voluntary audits, as well as audits according to an agreed task.

Mandatory Checks

An audit is mandatory for those organizations that meet the criteria detailed in Article 5 of Federal Law No. 307-FZ "On Auditing" dated December 30, 2008. If a company meets these criteria, then it must organize an independent audit every year to review its financial and accounting records.

As a result of such an audit, the company receives a conclusion and detailed written information about the identified violations. Sometimes a mandatory audit is carried out not according to the requirements of Russian legislation, but according to the decision of the company's owners.

Audit Objectives

The main objectives of the audit:

Study of accounting reports for the main parameters.
Assessment of the compliance of the submitted documents with the legislative norms established by the authorities.
Checking the status of constituent contracts, charters.

Types of audit

Mandatory

Annual audit conducted in accordance with Article 5 of the Federal Law "On Auditing". Organizations run by:

Open Joint Stock Companies.
State funds; banks; insurance organizations; stock and commodity exchanges.
Subjects with at least one of the following indicators: the amount of profit for the year is more than 500 thousand rubles; the minimum wage at the end of the year exceeds 200 thousand set by the state.
Municipal enterprises that have the above indicators.

Verification can only be carried out by audit organizations. If the capital of the organization consists of at least 25% of the state. ownership - the conclusion of the contract is based on the results of an open tender.

If the organization's documentation contains information that contains state secrets, then the audit cannot be carried out by audit institutions that have a share of foreign investment.

In order to conduct a statutory audit, an economic entity is required to conclude an agreement with the auditor. organization, pay for the service and provide the necessary documentation on time.

Initiative

The organization is the initiator. The audit concerns exclusively financial and economic activities. At the discretion of management, auditors may review any specific activity without covering all of the institution's records.

This type of audit is important for the enterprise itself, because as a result, management gets the opportunity to improve accounting and improve its performance.

Key stages of the audit

Organization and planning

Comprises:

Public offer of the economic entity to room. organization about the desire to audit.

Familiarization of the auditor with the activities of the enterprise (assessment of audit risk, study of factors that may affect audit activities).

Joint agreement on the audit plan.

Registration, and after the signing of the contract.

Collection of audit evidence

Auditors work in the following areas:

"Aud. evidence” (collection and monitoring of evidence);
"Aud. sample” (evaluation of the sample and comparison of the results for a given population);
"Analytical research" (search for unusual discrepancies in accounting reports);
"Primary audit" (analysis of the reliability of data);
"The work of an expert";
"Audit documentation";
“Checking that the requirements described in regulations RF";

Based on the norms of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, namely on Chapter No. 39 “Contract for the provision of services”, the contract is built based on the following aspects:

Subject of the contract.
Terms of service.
Rights and obligations of the auditor.

Rights:

Determine the form and method of the audit.
Have access to the necessary documentation of the object and receive supporting information that will be useful for the quality provision of services.
Refuse inspection or conclusion, provided that the enterprise does not comply with the obligations assigned to them.

Responsibilities:

Comply with the requirements of the legislative norms of the Russian Federation regarding the audit.
To conduct an audit at the proper level. verification and not to disclose trade secrets.
Ensure the safety of the received documentation.

Rights and obligations of an organization or enterprise

The subject must:

Create the right conditions.
Provide the auditor with all necessary documentation.
Provide access to computer processing of materials.
To explain, at the request of the auditor, issues of concern to him, either orally or in writing.
If there are violations in the order of accounting, quickly eliminate them.

The cost of audit services

This section specifies:

Price.
Terms of payment, order of payments.

The level of responsibility of the parties and the procedure for resolving conflicts

Includes the following conditions:

Punishment for non-compliance with obligations.
Possible circumstances that exclude liability for deviation from the main provisions of the contract.
Resolution of possible conflicts through negotiations or in court.

The contract also indicates the period of its validity and the legal addresses of the subjects.

Audit Methods

Solid check. Covers all financial documents that relate to the accounting of banking transactions, securities, etc.
Custom scan. This method allows you to check documents on a specific sample. If serious violations are found in the reports, it is replaced by a complete check.
Combined check. Has recently become widespread. It is used in large enterprises with complex production processes. In the process, a large number of audit professionals are involved.
Documentary verification. Includes verification of documents, records of transactions. Methods are used: mathematical, logical and formal.
actual check. Allows checking the availability of cash and material resources, for comparison with the data indicated in the reports.

Main approaches to the development of an audit methodology

Before starting the audit, it is important to choose the right methodology that will allow you to conduct a high-quality audit in a short time. The auditor keeps secret the methods by which he studies the documentation, because the methodology is influenced by his experience and qualifications.

There are four approaches to method development:

Accounting approach. There are traditional. To check book sections. accounting. In auditing, this is called the method of checking the turnover on accounting accounts.
legal approach. View documents for their compliance with legal acts and their impact on industrial operations. According to the standard, it is called the method of checking the control system.
Industry approach. Takes into account industry specifics of audit clients. It is divided into such methods as: insurance, construction, banking, trade enterprises, etc.
special approach. It is developed if groups of subjects have aggregate indicators - the structure of capital, the tax charter, the number of employees, etc.

Why do organizations conduct audits?

Apart from the mandatory audit, the heads of organizations often use the services of auditors. There are many reasons for this:

Checking the documentation will avoid possible penalties after the tax audit.
Check the quality of work of employees.
A positive audit can attract investors.
The performance of the organization increases, with the timely elimination of possible problems documentation.

How to choose an audit organization

In a joint stock company, the auditor is elected by a vote of the shareholders' meeting. As previously mentioned, if the company's capital consists of more than a quarter of the state. property - the audit organization is selected through a competition.

If you are a director of an enterprise and you want to find a good audit firm, pay attention to two main characteristics: professional and formal.

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Professional characteristics consist of three main points:

A good control system that allows you to clearly and correctly perform your own functions.
Presence of certain verification standards.
Qualified personnel. The formal characteristic concerns the compliance of the organization's activities with established legislation. Behind him, an audit firm should.
Not be an open joint stock company.
Have 50% of employees - citizens of the Russian Federation who permanently reside in Russia.
Provided that the director of the organization is a foreigner, then at least 75%.
The company must have at least 5 professional auditors.
Have a license.
Must be insured against the risk of breach of contract.

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How to prepare for an upcoming audit, whether it be a statutory or initiative audit.

This article presents a short, universal instruction for auditing. So, if your company is suddenly faced with the need for an audit, and you, as they say, “neither sleep nor spirit” and you “have never seen an auditor before”, then the main thing is not to panic, take this article and consider each of it item honestly and with an open mind, compare what you have and what you don't have, without giving yourself any concessions.

Accounting policy

One of the first documents that an auditor will ask you for is a properly executed accounting policy of your organization. We remind you that the need to form an accounting policy and the basic requirements for its content and disclosure are enshrined in Article 8 of Federal Law 402-FZ “On Accounting”, as well as in PBU 1/2008 “Accounting Policy of an Organization”.

The main notes on accounting policies are generally as follows:

The accounting policy is not formalized properly or is out of date.
What does this mean? The accountant brings an accounting policy without a signature, just printed sheets with text, it happens that they are still warm after the printer. Or the other extreme: the accounting policy was approved properly, but it was so long ago that even the sheets turned yellow, not to mention the fact that the content of such an accounting policy has long been outdated.
The accounting policy does not fully reflect the applied accounting methods.
This means that you forgot to fix some of the actually used accounting methods in the accounting policy. To avoid this, in preparation for the audit, check again your accounting policy for compliance with paragraph 4 of PBU 1/2008 "Accounting Policy of the Organization". Your document must state:
- a working chart of accounting accounts containing synthetic and analytical accounts necessary for accounting in accordance with the requirements of timeliness and completeness of accounting and reporting
- forms of primary accounting documents, accounting registers, as well as documents for internal accounting reporting
- the procedure for conducting an inventory of the assets and liabilities of the organization
- ways to value assets and liabilities
- document flow rules and accounting information processing technology
- procedure for controlling business transactions
- other solutions necessary for the organization of accounting

Financial statements

At this step, you need to check the completeness of your reporting, the compliance of accounting and reporting data, as well as the quality of filling. The fact is that some required fields or lines are not automatically filled in 1s or in another accounting program, and we are all too used to the fact that it is enough to click the "Fill" button. For example, in balance sheet and report on financial results the column "Explanations" must be filled in independently.

In addition, please note that if you are subject to a statutory audit, then the reporting set must contain all forms, including annexes, and not be limited to a set of simplified financial statements. Such a norm is enshrined in paragraph 5 of Article 6 of the Federal Law 402-FZ "On Accounting". As a rule, a small business that encounters a mandatory audit for the first time mistakenly provides an incomplete set, acting in accordance with paragraph 4 of article 6 of the above-mentioned law, which allows small businesses to apply simplified accounting methods, including simplified financial statements.

Reconciliation acts for counterparties

In paragraphs 73 and 74 of the Regulation on accounting and financial reporting in Russian Federation stated:

settlements with debtors and creditors are reflected by each party in its financial statements in amounts arising from accounting records and recognized by it as correct
the amounts reflected in the financial statements for settlements with banks, the budget must be agreed with the relevant organizations and are identical. It is not allowed to leave unsettled amounts on the balance sheet for these calculations.

Thus, the law does not establish mandatory reconciliation with counterparties when conducting an inventory of receivables and payables, with the exception of reconciliations with the bank and the budget.

In practice, the auditor, on a selective or continuous basis, will ask you for signed reconciliation acts with counterparties. The fact is that in their activities the auditor is obliged to be guided by the standards of auditing, which, in particular, indicate that audit evidence obtained from an independent source external to the audited entity (confirmation of third parties) is more reliable. Therefore, when preparing for an audit, it is very important to check in advance, if not for all, then for the main counterparties, especially since accounting errors can be identified during the reconciliation process.

Inventory

In accordance with paragraphs 26 and 27 of the Regulations on Accounting and Accounting in the Russian Federation, in order to ensure the reliability of accounting data and financial statements, organizations are required to conduct an inventory of property and liabilities, during which their presence, condition and assessment are checked and documented, in be sure to do this before preparing the annual financial statements. Therefore, when preparing for an audit, make sure that an inventory has been carried out in your organization and its results are documented, since such a procedure as an inventory, due to its mandatory nature, cannot be ignored by the auditor. In addition, the conducted inventory in terms of receivables and payables makes it possible to identify doubtful or bad debts, for which it is necessary to form a reserve.

reserves

At this stage, it is necessary to check whether the reserve for doubtful debts has been formed in accounting and how much the formed reserve corresponds to the results of the inventory as of December 31. Most common mistake in this matter, it is a complete disregard for the obligation to form a reserve for doubtful debts, despite the unambiguous requirement of the legislation for its formation in accordance with paragraph 70 of the Regulation on Accounting and Accounting in the Russian Federation.

Also make sure that your company has formed a reserve for vacation pay for employees of the organization, which is an estimated liability. In accordance with paragraph 3 of PBU 8/2010 "Estimated Liabilities, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets", all organizations are required to reflect estimated liabilities, with the exception of those who are entitled to apply simplified accounting methods. I repeat once again that if your organization belongs to small businesses, but is subject to mandatory audit, then you cannot apply simplified accounting methods.

Source documents

Of course, you won’t eliminate the auditor’s possible comments regarding primary documents in one day, this is just the case when it’s better to do everything right right away, namely to keep under control not only the timeliness of receipt of the original documents, but also the “quality” of your primary documentation. You will be surprised, but for the most part, the auditors' comments on primary documents have a reference to paragraph 2 of Article 9 of the Federal Law 402-FZ "On Accounting", which lists the mandatory details of the primary document, or to paragraph 1 of the same article, which states that each fact of economic life is subject to registration by the primary accounting document. Thus, typical remarks regarding primary documentation boil down to the following:

the primary document is issued in violation of the current legislation
original document missing

As a rule, according to the results of the audit, there are always comments on the primary documents, so it would be useful to pay special attention to this issue when preparing, and it is better to start preparing a year before the audit J.

Any activity enterprises is mandatory to audit, which is a verification of the reliability of the financial statements of the organization, its compliance with the legislation in the field of accounting. The audit also consists in monitoring the activities of the company, as a result of which clarifications and clarifications regarding the work can be obtained. enterprises.

Instruction

Audit checks are mandatory and proactive. In the first case, they are held annually and are regulated by Russian law. Joint-stock companies, credit organizations, insurance companies, commodity and stock exchanges, investment funds fall under the mandatory audit.
An initiative audit is a check of the accounting and reporting of a company under an agreement with an audit company. At the same time, the scope of verification can vary from the entire accounting and reporting system to its separate part. The most important goal of a proactive audit for a firm is the ability to predict bankruptcy.
The basic principle of conducting an audit is to determine the relationship between costs and results. It is necessary to agree in advance with the enterprise the scope of work, the timing of the audit, as well as the method of providing information about the activities of the company. In some cases, auditors travel directly to the enterprise, sometimes the firm presents data on its own.
The audit begins with a review of the financial statements enterprises, preparation for the audit. At the same time, the cost of expenses is calculated, as well as the risk assessment of the auditor during the audit.
Further, audit procedures are carried out directly, with the help of which the compliance of the company's internal control system with the required standards is determined. After that, an audit report is drawn up, and then it is transferred to the head of the company. At the same time, the violations identified during the audit are indicated, and the level of reliability of the submitted reports is calculated.

The goal of any audit should be the degree of need for verification. It can be an objective state of financial activity, economic strategy and internal verification of control of one structural form or another. Improving the performance of the company should be a top priority in the audit.

Usually, a mandatory audit is carried out before the submission of the annual report. If the audit is carried out in several stages, the company can achieve a number of advantages, namely:

Rates provided at the end of the calendar year are usually higher because that is when most firms conduct audits.
Your company will not need to change the data in accounting and tax accounting just before the submission of annual reports
Limited time is sure to lead to bugs in the fix

It is advisable to conduct an audit with distribution over several periods. For example, the semi-annual and subsequent third quarter. In this situation, the accounting department will have enough time to correct various shortcomings. At the end of the year, it remains only to check the corrections against the comments made earlier. The last quarter will not be as busy. Thus, the burden on the finance department becomes minimal, the cost of the audit is reduced through a phased audit.

The service, which is carried out during the change of the owner, the chief accountant, during the reorganization, is called an initiative audit. The main thing in such an audit is the assessment of the effectiveness of the enterprise and the state of accounting. With this form of audit, the manager can check any departments where cost calculations were made, the correctness of taxation. As a result, your company will be able to pass all tax audits.

Express audit is carried out in cases brief analysis. This may be a reporting period of a certain time associated with a change in the chief accountant or various personnel changes in departments.

The recommendation of an expert auditor usually contains a number of explanations for the analysis of the financial activities of the customer. Based on any results of the audit, the auditor must issue documents to the customer-client with a detailed report on the work done and a conclusion, which defines the correctness of the financial statements.

In recent years, the services of audit firms are widely used. Right now, many enterprises, even those for which annual inspections are not mandatory, apply for inspections more and more often. Responsible selection of auditors and the goals set by the company are the key to a competent commercial strategy.

Internal audit is carried out in order to obtain truthful information about the financial and material condition of the organization. At the same time, the methods and procedures of the economic system are evaluated for their productivity and efficiency.

Instruction

Before conducting an internal audit, you need to decide on the purpose and objectives that you would like to see as a result of the work of auditors. Creating your own audit can be negatively accepted by employees of the enterprise, which may adversely affect the work of the organization. Therefore, it is necessary to convey to all services and departments of the enterprise that the audit is designed to control not employees, but the work process, identifying shortcomings and deviations in work, thereby helping to achieve better results.
At the board of directors or at the meeting of founders, a decision is made to create an internal audit, such a decision is recorded in the relevant documents.
The rules and powers of internal audit are documented in a written document signed by the board of directors or the founders of the firm.
Before conducting an audit, auditors write a plan that describes the method of conducting procedures and the amount of work. The plan is signed by the head of the organization. If necessary, the head gives written explanations about the work of the enterprise.
If an audit of a production process or a similar operation requires a specialist with specific knowledge, then an outside professional is hired for such an audit and an appropriate agreement is signed with him.
After conducting its own audit, the department issues a report in which the responsible auditor expresses an opinion on all material matters and makes detailed recommendations. When expressing an opinion, the auditor is guided by the norms, according to the professional code of ethics for auditors.
The audit department should conduct an internal audit on one assigned task until all errors and deviations are corrected.
Remember that the auditor is independent from the management of the company. Only in this way will the reliability of the data provided in the auditor's final report be ensured.

The financial assessment of the company involves an analysis of its financial position. It includes: calculation of a number of key indicators that reflect the system for the formation of working capital legal entity, directions of their most competent use.

Instruction

Calculate the data characterizing different sides activities of the firm associated with the use and formation of all its cash funds. Determine the value of the liquidity ratio. It characterizes the ability of the enterprise to satisfy its short-term debt obligations. In turn, one should find the absolute liquidity ratio, which determines how much short-term debt obligations can be returned not in cash, but with the help of securities or deposits. This ratio is determined as the ratio of the amount of cash and financial short-term investments to the amount of current liabilities.
Calculate the quick liquidity ratio. It is calculated as the ratio of the most liquid share of current assets (financial short-term investments, receivables and cash) and the amount of short-term liabilities.
Determine the value of the current liquidity indicator. It is calculated as a quotient of the ratio of the amount of working capital and short-term debt obligations. This ratio reflects whether the company has enough funds that can be used to pay off short-term liabilities.
Calculate the profitability ratios. They will help you assess how profitable the business is. The profitability of sales indicator will be able to show a part of the net profit received from the volume of all sales of the organization. It can be determined from the ratio of net profit to net sales, multiplied by 100%.
Find the sum of the return on equity. This indicator determines the effectiveness of the use of equity capital, which was contributed by the owners of the enterprise. You can calculate it using the following formula: divide the net profit by the value of your own cash investments, and then multiply the resulting value by 100%.
Compare the received data with normative and planned indicators. Draw the conclusions of the financial assessment of the company.

Based on materials: ac-g.ru, kakprosto.ru

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Among the many economic terms that have become part of our lives, audit (audit) is not the last.

He happens different types and there can be many reasons for its holding, but one thing unites all this - the real demand for such services in the market.

Today we will learn what it is when an audit is carried out voluntarily, and in what cases it is mandatory. Well, we will also consider the specifics of the work of audit companies and the methodology for conducting audits.

Despite the apparent "boring" topics, it will be interesting. Don't switch...

Audit is a voluntary check to improve performance

Audit (audit) is a check of the financial and economic activities of the enterprise. The main purpose of the audit is to study and analyze the reliability of financial statements.

All products manufactured by the enterprise and projects that it implements can also be analyzed. An audit is very similar to a control check or revision, but differs in purpose.

The main task of the audit is identifying errors and finding ways their elimination. Unlike an audit, which is always mandatory, an audit can also be carried out voluntarily in order to improve performance.

There are many different types and areas of audit. For example, in relation to the audited organization, external, internal and initiative audit can be distinguished.

Regular auditing allows you to dynamically evaluate the financial and economic activities of the enterprise, increase the level of trust, and reduce tax risks.

When conducting an audit, recommendations are developed that can be used to optimize business processes.

The objects of audit may include:

. , labor resources, for example, copyright or property rights;
enterprise performance results. , and individual production processes and lines. raw materials. Volumes of manufactured blanks and finished products;
methods of organization and management, and their cost-effectiveness (eg planning and control).

In any type of audit, including mandatory, the management of the company is interested.

In its course, the correctness of accounting, labor agreements is checked in terms of their compliance with the law.

Audit, rather, is advisory in nature, which follows even from the very translation of this word from Latin. Audit means - listening.

When is an audit required?

A mandatory audit procedure is in the following cases:

credit and insurance communities, joint-stock groups, state and municipal unitary enterprises, participants in the securities market are required to undergo an audit procedure annually;
companies whose annual revenue is 500,000 times;
company assets at the end of the year exceed the minimum wage 200,000 times;
the assets and profits of the LLC exceeded the norm set by the charter.

Mandatory audit is carried out only by specialized companies, private specialists do not have such powers.

Auditing evaluates how resources, costs, output, and the final profit of the enterprise correlate.

Let's say that everything is in order with resources and expenses, but the profit is too small. Specialist - will analyze production processes and control system. It is not at all necessary that fraud or malicious intent will be revealed at the company.

More often the problem lies in the inability to optimize processes and in management errors that the auditor will note.

The concept of an audit

Most common cause audit is a change in the composition of the founders of the enterprise, or a change in ownership.

After the audit, a conclusion is issued (if the audit was mandatory) or an audit report, with conclusions and recommendations. The audit itself is performed in accordance with a proven algorithm.

At the stage of organization and planning, the auditor documentation provided: tax and accounting reports, with which you can get an idea about the activities of the enterprise in all its areas. An audit plan is drawn up and its risks are identified.

At the next stage, the control procedures: controls are checked for compliance, applicability for specific conditions.

Based on the results of the checks, conclusions are drawn about the reliability of the facts indicated in the documents, and about how the documents comply with the regulations. Prepared at the end final document, which summarizes all the evidence, it is provided to the management of the enterprise.

A feature of the audit is the limited time for it.

Audit Methods

Research, including external inspection of equipment and technology, for example, weighing materials, semi-finished products; laboratory tests to assess compliance with quality.
Mapping. The actual state of the object is compared with the way it appears according to regulatory documents. For example, end-of-life equipment may be declared as new. Or the technological process reflects unnecessary operations or manipulations with raw materials.
Analytical - the result of listening.

Additionally, general scientific methods are used, such as experiments, calculations, surveys, and special ones, characteristic only for this area.

Activities of audit companies

The directions of audit activity can be different, and are determined by the specifics of the enterprise, and the purpose of the audit.

Financial audit. The economic condition of the enterprise is checked, the reliability and development prospects are assessed.
Investment. Audit of investment funds and participants.
Industrial. Comprehensive check of the financial and technical condition of the enterprise. The volumes of work actually performed and their correlation with those stated in the documents are determined. The accuracy of compliance with the requirements of building or industrial norms and rules is revealed.
managerial. Diagnostics of the enterprise management system - its production, commercial and social activities.

In addition to the general areas of audit activity, there are a number of highly specialized ones. Most requested:

operational audit. Checking the management system - estimates, targeted programs,;
personnel audit. The personnel potential of the company is assessed, its compliance with development goals;
. Comprehensive verification of a network resource for compliance with the requirements of search engines;
ecological. Assessment of compliance with environmental standards and requirements, preparation of necessary recommendations.

Conclusion

The need for audit services arose due to conflicts of interest between the management of the enterprise and investors, shareholders, employees, that is, those whose well-being is determined by the final profit.

If the report of managers is not enough for decision-making, and more objective information is required, then the best solution is to contact an audit agency to identify errors.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the blog pages site

What is an internal audit

Internal audit is an audit of the company's activities, which is carried out in the interests of the owner. The procedure is carried out on the basis of the regulations drawn up by the company itself. In the process, documents are checked, a survey of employees is conducted.

Main goals

Consider the tasks of the internal audit of the company:

Organization of effective financial and economic activity.
Establishing productive interaction with contractors.
Prevention of occurrence of significant violations.
Reducing the number of losses.
Ensuring compliance of activities with the law.
Checking the accuracy of the information contained in the documents.

Internal audit is needed, first of all, by the head of the company. The test results will help optimize production.

The legislative framework

The work of specialists performing internal audit must comply with international (MSVA) and domestic standards. It is regulated by Federal Law No. 307 “On the activities of the auditor”. In addition, the check should not contradict these norms:

Federal Law No. 115 "On combating money laundering" dated August 7, 2001.
Federal Law No. 273 "On Combating Corruption" dated December 25, 2008.

Internal audit standards should also be contained in the company's internal documents.

What is checked during the internal audit process

Conducting an internal audit involves an integrated approach. That is, all aspects of the company's activities are checked. In particular, these are:

Keeping records of fixed assets, intangible assets, cash transactions, financial results, capital and other things.
Operations on currency, current and other accounts, settlements with counterparties, insurance companies.
OS state, documenting funds, the correctness of depreciation, the implementation of the repair plan.

The auditor must also ensure that information security. Checks the processing of information in the company operating Information system presence of trade secrets. The specialist conducts an audit of the information security system.

Varieties of internal audit

Exist different kinds internal audit. The audit is divided into types depending on the tasks assigned to the auditor. There are the following varieties:

Checking the control system.
Organizational and technical control.
Control audit of the main activities.
Checking for compliance with internal and legal standards.
Establishing the expediency of the activities of officials.

All considered types of audit are not mandatory. They are carried out at the initiative of the leader.

Documentary support of the audit

As part of the audit, it is necessary to draw up a number of documents. Otherwise, the audit will not be legitimate.

Issuance of an audit order

The inspection is carried out on the basis of the order of the head. This document establishes the following aspects of work:

Dates of the inspection.
Employees who will be involved in the audit.
Conditions for conducting internal audit.
Control over the work of the auditor.

The order must contain clear instructions regarding the commencement of the audit.

Check list

As part of the audit, control of many areas is carried out. There are many operations that need to be followed in sequence. To comply with the algorithm, it is recommended to draw up a checklist. It includes a list of security questions. There are no laws governing the compilation of this document. The checklist is filled in in accordance with the wishes of the head. It allows you to solve these problems:

Proper planning of control measures in accordance with the law.
Execution of intermediate and selective control of the auditor's activity.
Implementation of all the main stages of the procedure.
Facilitate the work of the auditor.
Possibility of carrying out a complex and holistic procedure.

You can draw up a checklist on the basis of the provisions of the Federal Law No. 307 "On Auditing" dated December 30, 2008.

Stages of internal audit

Internal audit can be divided into three stages:

Preparation. Includes issuing an order, compiling a checklist.
Worker. As part of it, documentation is checked for compliance with the norms of the law, interviews of employees and management.
Final. A conclusion is drawn up in which the results of the procedure are prescribed.

Each of these stages has its own significance. For example, if adequate preparation is not carried out, the procedure will not be as effective in the future.

Internal audit tools

The components of an internal audit depend on the needs of the company. For example, these can be the following tools:

Checking the correctness of budgeting, projects and plans.
Analysis of existing orders for the supply of raw materials.
Checking the fulfillment of supply contracts.
Establishing the actual write-off of materials into production.
Establishing the correctness of calculations, checking the reflection of their results in accounting for the cost of goods.
Checking invoices.
Checking the validity of depreciation.
Execution of control over the movement of funds.
Timely reflection in accounting of all business transactions.
Establishing the correctness of settlements with counterparties.

This list may be supplemented. The nature of the additions is determined by the specifics of the companies' activities.

Auditors use a variety of tools in their work. For example, if invoices are checked, the following control procedure is relevant:

Establishing the fidelity of keeping a book of sales and purchases.
Analysis of invoices for missing numbers.
Control over the entry of all transactions in the General Ledger.
Checking the correctness of customer accounts.
Reconciliation of information from analytical and synthetic accounting.
Reconciliation of the dates of the performed operations with the dates indicated in the invoices.

Checking the movement of material assets is carried out through an inventory. You need to prepare for this procedure. Preparation includes these steps:

Drawing up a list of materials that are subject to inventory.
Formation of the inventory commission.
Obtaining a receipt that all documents related to the MPZ are in the accounting department.

Analysis of the accuracy of depreciation is performed on the basis of documents. The list of securities subject to audit includes inventory cards. The auditor may also carry out a recalculation.

Results of the internal audit

The results of the audit are recorded in the report. It contains this information:

List of verified documents and areas of activity.
Identified shortcomings.
Recommendations for correcting defects.
The person who performed the audit.

Audit reports must be kept. They can be compared with each other in order to analyze the dynamics of the company. Based on the reports, work is carried out to correct the identified shortcomings.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION! Not every employee can participate in an audit. It is desirable that the specialist had the appropriate education. You can get all the necessary knowledge in specialized courses.