The Auditing Profession - Accounting vs.Auditing & the Auditing within Essay

The Auditing Profession - Accounting vs.Auditing & the Auditing within the IRS - Essay Example We mention the opinion of Richard Brown, cited by two world-class specialists (Mautz and Sharaf, 1961) indicating that audit has its roots in the past, only a little beyond the origins of accounting. Every time the society progress has made it necessary for a man to be entrusted with the property of another- to some extent, the need of a certain type of its loyalty control become obvious. The textbook definition included in the Report of the Committee on Basic Auditing Concepts of the American Accounting Association presents auditing as â€Å"a systematic process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence regarding assertions about economic actions and events to ascertain the degree of correspondence between those assertions and established criteria and communicating the results to interested users† (Media Wiley, 2003, p.4). To emphasize the essence of financial audit, its meaning and scope, we present the definition of Arens and Loebbecke, two high-class American specia lists: â€Å"audit consists of gathering and evaluating evidences to determine and report the degree of compliance of reported with a series of predetermined criteria. The audit should be conducted by a competent and independent individual." (Arens&Loebbecke, 2003, p.11). Many of the indicated features are common to all forms of audit. There are various types of audit, such as operational, technical, ecological, but in the vast majority of cases, the term refers to the audit of financial statements. Table 1: Main features of various types of audits Type of audit Financial statement audit Compliance audit Audit report and internal control Operational audit Assertion about economic actions and operations Presentation of financial position, results of operations and cash flow Claims or data pertaining to adherence to policies, laws, regulations, so on. Adequacy of system of internal control over financial reporting Operational or performance data Established criteria GAAP Managementâ €™s policy or laws and regulations COSO criteria for evaluating internal controls Objectives set by management Communication of results Opinion of independent CPA Summary of findings or assurance regarding degree of compliance Opinion of independent CPA Summary of findings regarding efficiency and effectiveness observed Interested users Investors, creditors and others Management, board of directors and others Investors, creditors and others Management and board of directors Source: Media Wiley. Auditing and the Public Accounting Profession-Integrity of Financial reporting, 2003, p.7 Note: COSO=Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission; GAAP=Generally Accepted Accounting Principles; CPA=Certified Public Accountant. Table 1 summarizes main differences between various types of audit: financial statements audit, compliance audits, audit reports on internal control and operational audits. As presented, financial audit is an examination conducted by an independe nt, competent professional, in order to express a justified opinion on the validity and correct application of financial-accounting internal procedures established by managers and on the real, complete and accurate nature of a unit’s financial statements. Financial auditors analyze and compare accounting reports and other documents in terms of conformity with established standards and regulations such as GAAP