Audit: Adding Value to an Organization's Operations

Introduction

Auditing is an independent, objective assurance & consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes. Auditing is globally recognized. It is counter check to accounting data so that any error, mistake or fraud can be easily detected through the technique of auditing. It is the primary source of advice on efficiency, effectiveness and overall economy of an establishment. Auditing starts its journey where accounting end.

In today’s society the exercise of an auditor’s to the economic and ethical leadership sets the bounding standard or in other words equips an auditor in such a way that recognizes him as a reliable body. With the growing conscious recognition of the importance of financial data in the ordering of everyday business and economic life, the need of basic economic facts is providing a constantly enlarging opportunity for the accounting profession. The auditors' reports have an especial capacity to fulfill the need for reliable and authoritative financial material not only because of the reputation or prestige of the certified statements, but also because of the significance generally attached by the business man to the functions of the auditor and his reports. These functions, and the scope of these reports, have in the past been definitely related to the character of and changes in business activity.

Audits and reviews are basically procedures performed on the financial statements of a company, for the purpose of determining whether the financial statements include any material misstatements. Misstatements are essentially wrong numbers due to numerical errors, fraud, or errors in interpreting the accounting rules. Misstatements are material if they are large enough to make a difference to a user of the