The general
definition of an audit is an evaluation of
a person, organization, system, process, enterprise, project or product. The
term most commonly refers to audits in accounting, but similar concepts also
exist in project management, quality management, and energy conservation.
Audits in
accounting
}Audits are performed
to ascertain the validity and reliability of
information; also to provide an assessment of a system's internal control. The
goal of an audit is to express an opinion on the person / organization / system
(etc.) in question, under evaluation based on work done on a test basis.
Due to
practical constraints, an audit seeks to provide only reasonable assurance that the statements
are free from material error. Hence, statistical sampling is often adopted in
audits. In the case of financial
audits, a set of financial statements are said to be true and
fair when they are free of material misstatements - a concept influenced by
both quantitative
(numerical) and qualitative factors.}Auditing is a vital
part of accounting.
Traditionally, audits were mainly associated with gaining information about
financial systems and the financial records of a company or a business (see financial audit).
However, recent auditing has begun to include non-financial subject areas, such
as safety, security, information systems performance, and environmental
concerns. With nonprofit organizations and government agencies, there has been
an increasing need for performance
audits, examining their success in satisfying mission
objectives. As a result, there are now audit professionals who specialize in security audits, information
systems audits, and environmental audits.}In the US, audits of publicly traded
companies are governed by rules laid down by the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (PCAOB), which was established by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Such an audit is called an integrated audit, where auditors, in addition to an
opinion on the financial statements, must also express an opinion on the effectiveness of a company's internal control over financial
reporting, in accordance with PCAOB Auditing Standard No. 5.
}There are also new
types of integrated auditing becoming available that use unified compliance
material (see the unified compliance section in Regulatory compliance). Due to
the increasing number of regulations and need for operational transparency,
organizations are adopting risk-based audits that can cover multiple
regulations and standards from a single audit event.[citation needed] This is a very new
but necessary approach in some sectors to ensure that all the necessary
governance requirements can be met without duplicating effort from both audit
and audit hosting resources}The purpose of an
assessment is to measure something or calculate a value for it. Although the
process producing an assessment may involve an audit by an independent
professional, its purpose is to provide a measurement rather than to express an
opinion about the fairness of statements or quality of performance.
}As a general rule,
audits should always be an independent evaluation that will include some degree
of quantitative and qualitative analysis whereas an assessment infers a less
independent and more consultative approach.
}Auditors of financial
statements can be classified into two categories:
}External auditor / Statutory auditor is an
independent Public
accounting firm engaged by the client subject to the audit, to
express an opinion on whether the company's financial statements are free
of material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error. For publicly-traded
companies, external auditors may also be required to express an
opinion over the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting.
External auditors may also be engaged to perform other agreed-upon procedures,
related or unrelated to financial statements. Most importantly, external
auditors, though engaged and paid by the company being audited, are regarded as
independent
auditors.
}The most used
external audit standards are the US GAAS of the American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants; and the ISA International
Standards on Auditing developed by the International
Auditing and Assurance Standards Board of the International
Federation of Accountants
}Internal auditors are
employed by the organization they audit. They perform various audit procedures,
primarily related to procedures over the effectiveness of the company's
internal controls over financial reporting. Due to the requirement of Section
404 of the Sarbanes
Oxley Act of 2002 for management to also assess the effectiveness
of their internal controls over financial reporting (as also required of the
external auditor), internal auditors are utilized to make this assessment.
Though internal auditors are not considered independent of the company they
perform audit procedures for, internal auditors of publicly-traded companies
are required to report directly to the board of directors, or a
sub-committee of the board of directors, and not to management, so to
reduce the risk that internal auditors will be pressured to produce favorable
assessments.
}Consultant auditors
are external personnel contracted by the firm to perform an audit following the
firm's auditing
standards. This differs from the external auditor, who follows
their own auditing standards. The level of independence is therefore somewhere
between the internal auditor and the external auditor. The consultant auditor
may work independently, or as part of the audit team that includes internal
auditors. Consultant auditors are used when the firm lacks sufficient expertise
to audit certain areas, or simply for staff augmentation when staff are not
available.
}Quality auditors may
be consultants or employed by the organization.
}Quality audits are
performed to verify conformance to standards through review of objective
evidence. A system of quality audits may verify the effectiveness of a quality
management system. This is part of certifications such as ISO 9001. Quality
audits are essential to verify the existence of objective evidence showing
conformance to required processes, to assess how successfully processes have
been implemented, for judging the effectiveness of achieving any defined target
levels, providing evidence concerning reduction and elimination of problem
areas and are a hands-on management tool for achieving continual improvement in
an organization.
}To benefit the
organization, quality auditing should not only report non-conformances and
corrective actions but also highlight areas of good practice and provide
evidence of conformance. In this way, other departments may share information
and amend their working practices as a result, also enhancing continual
improvement.
}Regular
Health Check Audits: The aim of a regular health check audit is to
understand the current state of a project in order to increase project success.
}Regulatory
Audits: The aim of a regulatory audit is to verify that a
project is compliant with regulations and standards. Best practices of NEMEA
Compliance Center describe that, the regulatory audit must be accurate,
objective, and independent while providing oversight and assurance to the
organization.
}An energy audit is an
inspection, survey and analysis of energy flows
for energy conservation in a
building, process or system to reduce the amount of energy input into the
system without negatively affecting the output(s).
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