What is an audit and why is it needed?
Maf pels blog
A professional and timely audit of a company provides an opportunity to obtain an independent assessment of the state of the company's financial affairs. This is the basis for making strategic decisions on which the company's future development depends. The Mafpels company's managers offer a history of auditing and an overview of the types of audits.
Depending on who is carrying out the audit, it can be divided into
- Internal. It is carried out regularly by regular employees of the company. This helps to minimise financial losses.
- External. Carried out by independent experts. It is used to improve the company's image and to deal with issues that cannot be dealt with by internal auditors for various reasons.
History of the origins of auditing
The word "audit" is thought to derive from the Latin word "audio", which literally means "he hears". The earliest references to auditing are in the English-speaking world. The first is dated 1130. In the XII century in England there was a procedure called "Michaelmas Audit of the Sum of the Seriff's Account". In the XIV century account books began to appear as exhibits in court. 1720 - the first documented case of an independent audit. By the end of the 16th century, many foreign countries had introduced legal control over books, and the term "auditor" was used to refer to people who audited accounts.
In the Middle Ages, in European trading cities, auditors audited books at the request of traders' counterparties (usually other traders or banks) and certified their accuracy. In the 19th century, the owners of companies were added to the clientele of auditors, which was associated with the active development of joint stock companies and limited liability companies. The owners of these companies were not involved in the day-to-day running of the business and needed to periodically audit the managers they had hired.
In the 20th century, the active development of the stock market created a new category of persons interested in the audit - investors. Since the middle of the XX century, auditors began to expand the scope of their interests. They began to carry out activities not only on confirmation of accounting statements, but also on accounting for third-party organisations. Auditors acted as collegial corporate accountants and lawyers, as well as investment advisors and trustees for their clients.
In the Middle Ages, in European trading cities, auditors audited books at the request of traders' counterparties (usually other traders or banks) and certified their accuracy. In the 19th century, the owners of companies were added to the clientele of auditors, which was associated with the active development of joint stock companies and limited liability companies. The owners of these companies were not involved in the day-to-day running of the business and needed to periodically audit the managers they had hired.
In the 20th century, the active development of the stock market created a new category of persons interested in the audit - investors. Since the middle of the XX century, auditors began to expand the scope of their interests. They began to carry out activities not only on confirmation of accounting statements, but also on accounting for third-party organisations. Auditors acted as collegial corporate accountants and lawyers, as well as investment advisors and trustees for their clients.
Types of audit
Depending on the purpose, the main types of audit are as follows
- Financial - a comprehensive audit of the organisation's economic and financial position, financial reporting, document flow, and analysis and assessment of the company's development prospects.
- Investment - a set of practical and methodical actions and techniques that help an investor to determine the expediency of financial investment in a particular project.
- Technical - determination and clarification of the level of technical equipment of the enterprise, the current state of the object, identification of existing problems, development of measures aimed at solving negative problems in the production sphere.
- Tax - verification of financial statements for compliance with tax legislation.
- Human resources audit - a system of advisory support, analytical assessment and independent expertise of the organisation's human resources potential.
- Reputation Audit - analysis of the information field of the company and its competitors, collection of opinions of potential clients/partners/media in order to identify weaknesses and improve the image.
- Environmental audit - an independent assessment of the company's compliance with environmental legislation or international standards.
- Operational audit - a review of the company's processes and working methods to assess productivity and efficiency.
- Management audit - a review of the company's performance, consisting of a comprehensive study and expert evaluation of the company's management strategy.
An audit is an opportunity to discover all the obstacles to the company's successful development, to assess their degree of complexity and to work out effective ways of eliminating them. The most important thing when carrying out such a serious business is to choose a competent auditor who can be fully trusted.
One of MAFPELS' specialities is auditing. We use advanced audit methods and technologies and provide detailed analysis of financial statements, compliance monitoring and recommendations for optimising business processes. Our team of experts has extensive experience in auditing various industries and is ready to provide our clients with quality services that will help them make informed decisions and achieve their business goals.
One of MAFPELS' specialities is auditing. We use advanced audit methods and technologies and provide detailed analysis of financial statements, compliance monitoring and recommendations for optimising business processes. Our team of experts has extensive experience in auditing various industries and is ready to provide our clients with quality services that will help them make informed decisions and achieve their business goals.
Mafpels management - high quality audits
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