What does an audit check in accounting. Auditing. Who is authorized to inspect

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 to conduct 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• The accounting policy is not formalized properly or is out of date.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 properly approved, but it was so long ago that even the sheets turned yellow, not to mention that the content of such an accounting policy has long been outdated.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, when preparing for the audit, check again your accounting policy for compliance with clause 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 the balance sheet and income statement, the “Explanations” column 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

Paragraphs 73 and 74 of the Regulation on Accounting and Accounting in the Russian Federation state:

• 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. Leaving unsettled amounts on the balance sheet for these calculations is not allowed.

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.

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. The most common mistake in this matter is the complete disregard for the obligation to form a reserve for doubtful debts, despite the unequivocal requirement of the legislation for its formation in accordance with paragraph 70 of the Regulations 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 clause 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 possible auditor’s remarks 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 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 refer 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

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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. This may be an objective state of financial activity, economic strategy and internal control of the control of one or another structural form. 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 of 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

1. 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.
2. At the board of directors or at the meeting of the founders, a decision is made to establish an internal audit, such a decision is recorded in the relevant documents.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. The audit department should conduct an internal audit on one assigned task until all errors and deviations are corrected.
8. 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: the calculation of a number of key indicators that reflect the system for the formation of working capital from a legal entity, the direction of their most competent use.

Instruction

1. Calculate the data characterizing different aspects of the company's activities related to 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 what amount of 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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%.
5. 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%.
6. 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

Internal audit is used in most large companies. It is needed to prevent the occurrence of significant shortcomings. It is carried out in accordance with a given algorithm.

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 tasks

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.
• The condition of the fixed assets, documenting the funds, the correctness of depreciation, the implementation of the repair plan.

The auditor must also be satisfied with the information security. The processing of information in the company, the current information system, the presence of trade secrets are checked. The specialist conducts an audit of the information security system.

Varieties of internal audit

There are different types of 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:

1. Training. Includes issuing an order, compiling a checklist.
2. Worker. As part of it, documentation is checked for compliance with the norms of the law, interviews of employees and management.
3. 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.

NOTE! 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.

• initiative (voluntary), which is carried out by decision of the owners or management of the organization. Such a check can take place, for example, when the owners (manager) need to obtain information about the state of accounting when changing the chief accountant or when receiving a bank loan.

Situation: can one of the founders (participants, shareholders) initiate an audit in the organization?

The answer to this question depends on the organizational and legal form of the organization.

In an LLC, as a general rule, the decision to conduct an audit, select an auditor and determine the amount of payment for his services is made by the general meeting of participants (i.e., the decision must be made by a majority vote) (subparagraph 10, paragraph 2, article 33 of the Law of February 8, 1998 No. 14-FZ). However, an individual participant also has the right to initiate an audit if he is ready to pay for audit services at his own expense (part 2 of article 48 of the Law of February 8, 1998 No. 14-FZ). In this case, the decision of the general meeting is not required (Resolution of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation of May 13, 2008 No. 17869/07).

In joint stock companies, the decision to select an auditor is made by the general meeting of shareholders, and the determination of the amount of payment for his services is considered by the board of directors (supervisory board) of the organization (clause 2, article 86 of the Law of December 26, 1995 No. 208-FZ). An individual shareholder may require an audit if he owns 10 or more percent of voting shares (clause 3, article 85 of the Law of December 26, 1995 No. 208-FZ).

Who can audit

Audit (both mandatory and initiative) can be carried out by both audit organizations and individual auditors (part 2 of article 1, article 3, 4 of the Law of December 30, 2008 No. 307-FZ). An exception is provided only for organizations listed in Part 3 of Article 5 of the Law of December 30, 2008 No. 307-FZ. Only audit organizations have the right to conduct a mandatory audit. See more on this.When is an audit required? .

Requirements for audit organizations (auditors)

An audit organization (individual auditor) has the right to conduct inspections and provide audit-related services if it is a member of a self-regulatory organization of auditors. These are the requirements of part 1 of article 3, part 1 of article 4, part 2 of article 23 of the Law of December 30, 2008 No. 307-FZ.

Auditors (audit organizations, individual auditors) are not entitled to conduct an audit if:

• the auditor (its head or officials) is a founder (participants, shareholders) of the audited organization;

• the auditor (his head or officials) holds a position responsible for organizing and maintaining accounting and reporting in the audited organization (for example, head, accountant);

• the auditor (his head or officials) is closely related to the officials responsible for organizing and maintaining accounting and reporting in the audited organization (for example, a manager, an accountant);

• the audited organization is a founder (participant, shareholder) of the auditor;

• the audited organization is a subsidiary of the founder (participant, shareholder) of the auditor;

• the audited organization and the auditor have common founders (participants, shareholders);

• during the three years preceding the audit, the auditor kept (restored) accounting in the audited organization or compiled its financial (accounting) statements;

• the audited organization is an insurance company with which the auditor has concluded a liability insurance contract.

Audit principles

The main principles of the audit are established by the Rules (standards) approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 23, 2002 No. 696, as well as FSAD 1/2010, 2/2010 and 3/2010, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia of May 20, 2010 No. 46n . They are mandatory for all auditors (clause 3, part 1, article 7 of the Law of December 30, 2008 No. 307-FZ).

Also, when checking accounting (financial) statements, auditors are guided by the recommendations of the financial department. These clarifications regarding the audit of financial statements for 2015 are set out in the Recommendations from the Appendix to the letter of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated January 22, 2016 No. 07-04-09 / 2355. In particular, auditors are advised to pay particular attention to the following issues:

• creation of a reserve for doubtful debts on loans;

• reflection in accounting operations of hedging financial risks;

• recognition of expenses for the payment of bonuses to employees of the organization based on the results of work for the year;

• determination of the degree of completion of works, services, products with a long production cycle;

• disclosure of information on financial investments, the value of which is expressed in foreign currency;

• accounting for the organization's contribution to the compensation fund;

• disclosure of information on federal loan bonds with an indexed par value;

• accounting for the presence and movement of production waste;

• reflection in accounting of costs for the formation of an insurance stock of assets;

• disclosure by the audited entity of information on issued independent guarantees;

• reflection in accounting of the amounts of sales tax;

• reflection of insurance premiums to state off-budget funds in the cash flow statement;

• storage of accounting documents;

• preparation of consolidated financial statements.

The terms of the audit are specified in a written contract (letter on the audit). The rules for their compilation are specified in Rule (standard) No. 12, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 23, 2002 No. 696.

Audit report

The results of the audit should be presented in the auditor's report. It is an official document that is intended for users of accounting (financial) statements (part 1 of article 6 of the Law of December 30, 2008 No. 307-FZ). In conclusion, the auditor gives an assessment of the reliability of the indicators of the accounting (financial) statements (part 2 of article 6 of the Law of December 30, 2008 No. 307-FZ, clause 2 of FSAD 1/2010, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia of May 20, 2010 No. 46n).

The auditor's report may express an unmodified or modified opinion on the reliability of the accounting (financial) statements (clause 14 of the FSAD 1/2010, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 20, 2010 No. 46n).

If the auditor comes to the conclusion that the financial statements accurately reflect the financial position of the organization, then he expresses an unmodified opinion.

The auditor expresses a modified opinion in the following cases:

• on the basis of the audit evidence obtained, it is established that the financial statements contain material misstatements;

• the auditor cannot obtain sufficient evidence that the financial statements, considered as a whole, do not contain material misstatements.

This procedure is provided for in paragraphs 15, 17 of the FSAD 1/2010, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 20, 2010 No. 46n.

A modified opinion may be expressed in the following forms:

• qualified opinion;

• disclaimer of opinion;

• negative opinion.

This is stated in paragraph 1 of the FSAD 2/2010, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 20, 2010 No. 46n.

The auditor must express a qualified opinion if:

• sufficient evidence has been obtained that the effect of misstatements, considered individually or in the aggregate, is significant, but does not affect most of the significant elements of the accounting (financial) statements;

• the auditor is unable to obtain sufficient audit evidence on which to base his opinion. At the same time, the auditor may conclude that the impact of undetected misstatements is significant, but does not affect most of the significant elements of the accounting (financial) statements.

This is stated in paragraph 13 of FSAD 2/2010, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 20, 2010 No. 46n.

The auditor should disclaim an opinion when he is unable to obtain sufficient evidence on which to base his opinion. At the same time, he comes to the conclusion that the impact of undetected misstatements is significant and affects most of the significant elements of the accounting (financial) statements (clause 16 of the FSAD 2/2010, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 20, 2010 No. 46n).

The auditor must express a negative opinion upon receipt of sufficient evidence that the detected misstatements can significantly affect the state of the accounting (financial) statements and most of its significant elements (clause 15 of the Federal Financial Forecasting Service 2/2010, approved by Order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 20, 2010 No. 46n ).

Situation: Should the audit organization check the correctness of the calculation of taxes and reflect the results of such a check in the audit report?

The answer to this question depends on the purpose of the audit (reflected in the contract).

As a rule, the auditor checks the procedure for the formation of accounting (financial) statements (part 3 of article 1 of the Law of December 30, 2008 No. 307-FZ). At the same time, the auditor can also check questions related to the calculation of taxes. This must be done as part of checking the correctness of the reflection of transactions on account 68 “Calculations on taxes and fees” and account 69 “Calculations on social insurance and security”. However, in this case, the auditor only selectively checks the significant aspects of tax calculation (FSAD 1/2010, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 20, 2010 No. 46n).

If an organization needs to conduct a full tax audit, this must be expressly stated in the contract. The procedure for conducting a tax audit is established in the Auditing Methodology “Tax audit and other related services on tax issues. Communication with tax authorities” (approved by the Audit Committee under the President of the Russian Federation on July 11, 2000, Minutes No. 1).

Based on the results of the audit, errors and violations of the law can be identified. Before drawing up an auditor's report, auditors must report this to the management of the organization. This is stated in paragraph 52 of Rule (standard) No. 13, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 23, 2002 No. 696. They can describe the reason for violations of accounting and reporting in a document drawn up in any form (for example, in the form of a report) . After studying this document, employees of the organization should correct the errors. If the organization refuses to correct the violations, then the auditors will not be able to express an unmodified opinion in the report. This conclusion follows from paragraph 15 of the FSAD 1/2010, approved by order of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated May 20, 2010 No. 46n.

Situation: Is it possible to hold an audit organization liable if, as a result of a tax audit of a site audited by an auditor, violations were identified and fines and penalties were charged?

Yes, you can.

However, in practice, it is quite difficult to prove that the accrual of fines and penalties occurred precisely because of an auditor's error.

The contract for the provision of audit services is paid (Article 779 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, clause 3, part 2, article 14, part 2, article 8 of the Law of December 30, 2008 No. 307-FZ). For improper performance of the service, the organization may demand compensation from the audit company for losses (even if this is not specified in the contract). This follows from paragraph 1 of Article 393 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. If, as a result of a tax audit, violations are revealed and additional taxes, penalties and fines are charged, then you can try to recover fines from the audit organization. As for additionally assessed taxes and penalties, they cannot be regarded as a loss to the organization. This follows from the decision of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation of December 17, 1996 No. 20-P.

However, in arbitration practice there are cases where penalties should not be considered a loss, since there is no connection between the quality of the auditor's work and the fine. For example, the decision of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Urals District of August 29, 2006 No. Ф09-7480 / 06-С4.

Advice: to avoid disputes with the audit company, make a clear clause on the responsibility of the audit organization in the service agreement.

Conditions such as “The Auditing Company is liable in accordance with applicable law” or “The Contractor is liable for damage caused to the customer in the event of an unqualified audit” do not provide a guarantee of compensation for losses. The auditor is not responsible for the fact that the distortions of the accounting (financial) statements were not detected, if this could not affect the auditor's opinion regarding the reliability of the accounting (financial) statements as a whole. This conclusion is confirmed by arbitration practice (see, for example, the decision of the Federal Antimonopoly Service of the Volga-Vyatka District of September 6, 2006 No. A39-8206/2005-120/17).

The best option is to indicate that if, as a result of a tax audit of a site approved by the auditor, violations were revealed, then the audit company must pay a penalty. In this case, the audited organization is not required to prove the infliction of losses due to poor-quality work of the auditor (clause 1, article 330 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

In addition, the audit company can insure its professional liability for violation of the terms of the contract (clause 4.1, part 1, article 13 of the Law of December 30, 2008 No. 307-FZ). In this case, the insurance company will pay for the damages from the fine. Study the rules for insuring these risks that the insurer has established. Disputes and disagreements are likely to be avoided if the insurance rules directly state: "The insurer compensates for the risks associated with the sanctions that the tax office imposes on the consumer of audit and related services."

The head of any organization, regardless of the form of ownership, is well aware that it is necessary to control production and financial activities. An audit is one of the effective methods, the main purpose of which is to determine the weaknesses in the functioning of an enterprise at a certain stage for the subsequent adoption of certain management decisions.

What is an audit

In order for the enterprise to work efficiently and make a profit, it is necessary to constantly monitor the situation in all departments and areas of its activity. To do this, there are various kinds of audits, the essence of which is to assess the reliability of the information provided. Carrying out a control-audit, regardless of whether it is planned or initiated by the decision of the management, helps to conduct not only an analysis, but also make a number of important management decisions.

Depending on the activities of the company, an annual review may be scheduled for a number of reasons. Its characteristic features are inherent in each sphere of economic activity of the organization. So, for example, the audit of small enterprises differs from a similar procedure in larger organizations, since it is highly specialized. The audit of representatives of medium or large businesses is different in that the process is more complex, since activities are analyzed from different angles by the method of selective audit.

Independent audit of the organization

Independent verification is a classic option. It is carried out by independent auditors and is designed to impartially assess the financial position of the organization and the effectiveness of its activities. Timely independent assessment of financial and economic activities helps not only to calculate miscalculations, but also reduce tax payments and financial losses. When summing up, recommendations are given on how to eliminate errors, shortcomings, and optimize the company's work.

Verification by the decision of state bodies

Great importance is given to monitoring the use of public finances. Control over the formation, distribution and use of budget money is constantly under control. The essence of the state audit is the verification of enterprises that are directly related to the use of budgetary funds. State audit does not come down only to rechecking financial or accounting statements, but carries the goal of objectively assessing the work on the use of the allocated money.

Internal control and audit

Organizations can independently conduct an audit without the involvement of third-party experts. For this purpose, special services are created at the enterprise, which are charged with this type of activity. As a rule, companies with a widespread branch network have such a need, since it gives management the opportunity to assess the coordination of the work of departments, to determine the contribution of each to the activities of the organization as a whole.

Regulatory framework

The main document that regulates audit activities, gives basic definitions, describes the rights and obligations of audit specialists, is the federal law “On Auditing Activities”, adopted in 2008. In addition, in their practice, auditors should be guided by federal rules, which provide information on the rules for checking and issuing opinions, and describe the audit methodology.

Federal standards unify the norms of verification activities. They are adopted in order to ensure that auditors throughout the country use uniform standards in their work (“Analytical procedures”, “Audit sampling”, etc.). To form uniform norms around the world, International Standards are used, which are developed by the International Federation of Accountants. Thanks to this documentation, the rights and obligations of auditors, their professional ethics are established, goals, objectives, and rules for drawing up conclusions are indicated.

Goals and objectives of the audit

The main purpose of the audit is to determine relevant and truthful performance indicators of the organization for the possibility of further adjustment of policies in the field of management and finance. It allows you to identify violations in the calculations carried out by the accounting department and the financial department, helps to obtain information about the state of accounting and workflow. Depending on the type of audit conducted, different tasks are distinguished, the main of which can be called:

• revision of the state of accounting (reporting);
• identification of legality of financial and economic operations;
• study of the efficiency of the use of labor resources;
• identification of the presence of intra-production reserves;
• examination of the state of the material and financial situation of the organization.

Financial audit

A financial audit is used to confirm the accuracy of the financial information provided. It can be carried out by the organization itself or with the involvement of independent experts. The results obtained in the process are used to analyze the activities of the accounting and financial services of the company, plan activities, and make a number of strategic decisions.

Experienced managers are not afraid of audit expertise, but it helps them to understand the real state of affairs in the company. Often, a financial audit is carried out before selling an enterprise or attracting investments. In addition, it is recommended to conduct such audits if the company has large debts, there are problems with paying taxes and deductions, before the upcoming state or Rospotrebnadzor audit.

Technological

To reduce costs, increase the competitiveness of an industrial enterprise or a company engaged in the production of products without major production restructuring, a technological audit is used, since it helps to identify possible options for upgrading and efficient use of existing production facilities.

In the course of the auditor's work, a professional analysis and examination of the work of not only individual nodes or processes of the production cycle, but also the entire enterprise as a whole as a single system takes place. Weaknesses in the company's activities are identified, a technical and economic assessment is given, and the possible effect of the implementation of the drafted prescriptions is analyzed.

Personnel audit of the organization

The audit of the personnel is carried out, as a rule, by the organization itself and has the main goal - to decide how the employees of the organization correspond to their position, whether it is necessary to reorganize the state through dismissal or additional recruitment, how optimal is the distribution of labor force.

The main task of the procedure is the timely identification and elimination of problems that exist in the personnel policy of the organization. During the survey, auditors pay attention to the compliance of employees with their positions, evaluate the usefulness of the staff, its interchangeability and efficiency in the use of working time.

Types of audits

In practice, there are different types of audit, depending on what is the basis. It is customary to single out:

• financial;
• tax;
• price;
• economic activity;
• special;
• managerial.

Regarding the object, there are:

• general;
• state;
• insurance;
• exchange;
• investment.

Depending on the time spent:

• operational;
• recurring;
• initial.

Depending on users:

• interior;
• external.

Regarding legal requirements:

• required;
• voluntary.

Mandatory audit

A mandatory audit is carried out annually, but not all organizations fall under this rule. These, for example, include joint-stock companies, banking and credit organizations, developers, and insurers. The procedure is regulated by the state, and is carried out exclusively by audit companies that have the appropriate permission, and in some cases their choice is made exclusively on a tender basis. Evasion of mandatory auditing entails penalties.

Voluntary

Expertise is appointed based on the personal interest of the management or owners of the company. A voluntary audit involves not only a financial audit of the enterprise, but also a number of other surveys, depending on what goals were set. The need for an audit is often associated with a change in management, at the request of credit institutions or investors, during the reorganization or sale of an enterprise, before a state audit.

Who is authorized to inspect

According to Russian legislation, individuals or special firms have the right to engage in audit activities. However, to do this, they must pass the exams and then receive a certificate confirming the right to conduct inspections. Both private traders and organizations should be members of self-regulatory organizations of auditors, of which today there are several throughout Russia.

Requirements for an individual auditor

For those who have decided to engage in auditing activities on an individual basis, it is not enough to get a certificate by passing the appropriate exam. In addition, it is necessary to comply with other requirements, without which it will be impossible to be an auditor:

• have a higher education in economics or law;
• work as a chief accountant or assistant auditor for at least three years.

Requirements for an audit company

As for the requirements for audit organizations, the main one is the presence of at least three employees in the state. In addition, it is required:

• the head of the company must himself be an auditor;
• the organization must be commercial, have any form of ownership, with the exception of an open joint-stock company;
• 51% or more of the authorized capital must belong to auditors or companies engaged in this type of activity.

Stages of an audit

The work of auditors is a painstaking process that takes more than one day, consists of several interrelated and complementary stages, and each of them has a specific goal. It is customary to distinguish five main ones:

• initiation of the procedure by the interested person;
• preparation for the audit;
• planning;
• direct audit;
• summing up the results and announcement of the decision.

Initiation of an audit by the customer

At the initial stage, even before the preparation for the procedure itself, the management of the organization chooses a firm or a private auditor. When the circle of potential executors is determined, the customer company sends each of them a letter of application outlining all the requirements. Preliminary agreement on the terms of the contract in the form of an offer helps subsequently not to waste time on agreeing on certain points. When a response is received from several sources, the company conducts a tender or selects an auditor on its own.

Preparatory stage

After the auditor has been selected, the preparatory stage begins, during which the scope of future work is determined. The time to be spent on the work is determined, what methods will be involved, the number of specialists involved, the depth of rechecking. The whole process takes place in accordance with the rules and standards of the audit and in compliance with all existing regulations.

Audit planning

At the next stage, direct preparation for the procedure itself begins. To do this, a plan is developed, where the deadlines for the execution of work, the planned volumes are necessarily prescribed. In addition to this, a program is drawn up indicating what, how much and in what sequence to be done, because in order to have grounds for conclusions in the main areas of the audit, the auditor must collect relevant evidence. The program is documented, but in the process it can be adjusted.

Conducting an audit

The immediate stage of the auditor's work includes the collection and analysis of data that will be required to evaluate the financial and accounting statements for reliability. During the initial audit, it is necessary to pay attention to the constituent documents of the organization in order to determine whether the information prescribed there corresponds to the activities that the company conducts. When working with clients again, you should study the accounting documents, make a preliminary assessment of the completeness and correctness of the balance sheet and other forms of reporting.

When conducting an audit, various methods are used - from general scientific to our own:

• inspection;
• survey;
• custom scan;
• inventory;
• control launch of raw materials and materials into production;
• expert review;
• poll;
• laboratory analysis of the quality of materials, goods, raw materials and finished products;
• continuous check;
• analysis of the volume of work performed.

An audit involves a series of procedures in accordance with existing standards. These include:

• collection of primary documentation and information provided by third parties;
• determining the level of materiality;
• evaluation of the results of random checks;
• audit risk assessment;
• determination of the compliance of financial transactions with the current accounting and tax legislation.

Registration of results

The final stage of the audit is the preparation of a written report. It represents the opinion of a specialist on the reliability of financial and accounting statements and bringing this information to the head of the organization. The conclusion is not an exclusive evidence base for the absence or presence of data inconsistencies with the real state of affairs, since there is always a risk of data forgery.

The auditor's report consists of two separate documents:

• analytical reference;
• act of final conclusion.

Audit timing

The timing of the examination is strictly individual. They depend both on the amount of forthcoming audit work and the time of its implementation. Regardless of the nature, the audit is carried out once a year. As for the voluntary audit, the deadline for the performance of work is mandatory prescribed in the contract being concluded. It depends on several things:

• how large is the organization;
• presence of departments (branches);
• operating time of the enterprise;
• sample size;
• accounting quality.

With a mandatory audit, no more than two months are given for analysis, but, as practice shows, an audit lasts an average of 1–2 weeks.

Types of audit reports

As noted, based on the results of the analysis-verification, an official document is drawn up, which is called the audit report. It is intended both for use within the organization and for study by other stakeholders. The conclusion can be of three types:

• Unmodified (positive conclusion). Compiled if the provided data is true.
• Modified with a reservation, when there are significant shortcomings that, in general, do not have a sufficient impact on the veracity of the information provided.
• negative report. Compiled in case of significant deficiencies that affect the reliability of the data provided.

The auditor has the right to refuse to give an opinion if he was not provided with exhaustive information, as a result of which he could give an adequate and comprehensive assessment.

The cost of audit services

In order to get information about how much an audit costs, it is necessary to study the offers on the professional services market. In Moscow, as in other cities, prices depend on the amount of work performed, financial indicators, the timing of the audit and other conditions. For regular customers, it will be cheaper to order audit expertise, since a discount is included in the total amount, and some consultations may even be free.