A Full Guide to Audits

Audit Background

Auditing Is a process that is completed to ensure, check, and review documents and financial information about a certain person or company. Auditing can happen at any time, but is generally done after questions are raised from a tax return. There are many types of auditing. Auditing can reveal small mistakes done by the accounting department as well as serious illegal acts such as fraud, embezzlement and the hiding of funds.

Audit Commission

The Audit Commission is found in the United Kingdom. It is an independent program which focuses on bettering the economy by ensuring public services serve their communities in an efficient and effective manner. The Audit Commission in the UK looks at auditing, assessments, research, and data matching to allow local companies, governments, and organizations to serve everyone to the best of their abilities.

Audit report

An audit report is the complete documentation an auditor must complete after auditing a company or an individual. This report is then provided to the company or individual as well as any company that may have been affected by the audit. In some cases, the audit report will become public access. This is common for governmental audits. When writing an audit report, the auditor must be able to remain bias to the company as well as state their opinion of the issues at hand.

Compliance auditing

Compliance auditing is done to see if a company is following set guidelines. During a compliance audit, security policies, risk management procedures, and user access controls will be reviewed. Compliance audits are generally accompanied by IT audits which is an audit of technological information. In an IT audit a company’s computer systems and software will be thoroughly reviewed to see if the company has maintained data integrity, operating properly, and safeguarding assets.

IRS audit

An IRS audit is an audit done by the IRS. Generally this occurs after one file their IRS taxes and something seems strange on the tax return. An IRS audit can be as simple as a correspondence audit which is used for small tax returns, or as in depth as a Taxpayer Compliance Measurement Program, which will look through all documents of a company or individual.

Tax audit help

Tax audit help can be especially helpful to someone who is being audited. One in every three audits is done on a face to face basis, therefore added guidance and support may be necessary for individuals to properly gather the needed information for the auditor. By using different tax audit help programs, a person can confidently turn over their documents to an advisor to ensure the audit will be properly filed.

Tax audit vs quality audit vs operation audit

A tax audit is a thorough look at all tax returns and documents that have been submitted. This can help to uncover fraudulent acts or hidden incomes. A quality audit is an examination of the quality of a company or organization to ensure they are telling the truth and acting properly. An operation audit check a company’s internal systems and procedures to ensure that the money they have is being used for company purposes.

Accounting and auditing

Auditing is a branch of accounting. When a person is an auditor they spend much of their time looking over numbers and amounts seeing how they coincide with each other. If an audit is a cost audit, cost accounting will look at the costs of different company procedures such as manufacturing, materials, labor, and office supplies to see if the money was in fact claimed in the proper areas.

Auditing procedures

Auditing procedures have been broken down by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. There is 10 auditing standards that are broken down into three subcategories. These standards help to better understand the world of auditing. The categories include: general standards, standards of field work, and standards or reporting.

External auditing vs internal auditing

External auditing looks at financial statements of a company. The public may rely on external audits because they are to remain unbiased and independent. Internal auditing focuses on the responsibility of the management and how they can improve.

Environmental auditing

Environmental auditing is done when a person gives themselves a home energy audit. These types of audits can help to make their homes more efficient and less costly. Some companies are also partaking in environmental auditing by taking advantage of carbon credits to cut down on the greenhouse gases and lessen their carbon footprint.

Audit work

Audit work can be done for any company, organization, governmental branch, or individual. The two main types of auditing jobs are governmental auditors and internal auditors. Regardless of what type of auditing one chooses to do, computer skills and accounting knowledge play a huge role in the auditing job. Generally, an auditor will begin as an assistant and work their way up to being a full time auditor.

Audit employment

To undergo in a career in auditing, one must assume at least a bachelor’s degree in accounting; however it is recommended by many auditors to also obtain a master’s degree as well as some certifications. Auditing jobs are generally self-employed and are currently on the rise. Salaries of an auditor can range anywhere from $45,000 to $57,000 for less experienced auditors and up to $75,000 for more experienced auditors. It has been said that over a ten year period, from 2008 to 2018, the employment rate for auditors will increase 22 percent

Internal audit

An internal audit looks at business practices, processes and procedures to ensure that they are being met to full capacity. Internal audit work makes note of any issues that are being made in the company and allows suggestions for the management. An internal auditor is seen as part of the company when they are undergoing in an audit therefore any suggestions , recommendations, or comments that they do make must be considered and hold just as much relevance of that of the owner of the company.