注册会计师审计

拜因顿J R

美国注册会计师协会

独立审计的财务报表是最好的知名会计师事务所提供的服务之一，然而，它也是最不被理解的项目。
那些投资超过47万，公开举行的美国公司本身的股份超过14600的投资者的这些公司需要发行的财务报表。从事注册会计师给予保证财务报表符合一般公认会计原则进而添加信誉，对管理的财务进行交涉。独立审计的概念已经在越来越多成为的股东愿意投资并且在这个国家的企业的未来的关键要素。

会计师事务所已获得的专业知识，需要符合下列要求公司的财务报表的整体公平的专业意见：获得至少大专程度或同等程度的认可;通过严格的，正式的国家考试;并取得资格的注册会计师证书和国家许可证的具体经验。注册会计师的独立性，客观性和完整性是会计专业的基本原理的进一步指导。

之前，投资者或者其他利害关系人都能够依靠核数师的报告来决定投资多少，但是他们必须先获得的一般理解的审计是什么和它不是什么。

一、什么是审计
基于审计的财务资料后，准备由核数师，但不管理。
核数师不会表达对可取的投资或贷款公司的管理能力的判断，但必须确保员工是诚实的和主管。
注册会计师采用先进的测试技术和专业判断，在既定标准的参数，以达到按照一般公认会计原则的财务报表的整体公平知情意见的要求。
虽然审计的目的不是为了发现所有欺诈，但是审计师需要设计审核，以提供合理的保证，在财务报表中存在的重大错误或违规行为被发现。

二、审计的特点
对于注册会计师来说审查财务报表中记录的所有交易几乎是不可能的。核数师通常根据他或她的意见，选择测试使用采样技术。审计提供保证财务报表重大错报，而不是绝对精度的保证，通常是基于经济和合理的水平。
对于之前形成的意见，审计师必须考虑公司的内部控制结构，分为控制环境，会计制度和控制程序。核数师使用这方面的知识，在财务报表重大错报风险的识别和设计程序，以降低风险。
核数师在所有审计的规划和最后审查阶段也需要使用的分析方法，这是对于财务信息的评价。
此外，审计师有义务考虑是否对总体审计结果提出了有关该公司的能力留在企业的重大疑问。如果有疑问，该公司可以继续为“持续经营”，说明这段期间内的审计报告中必须包括。

三、审计员的标准报告
当审核完成后，核数师发出的一份报告，指出注册会计师的责任，执行工作的性质，得出的结论达成。
标准核数师的报告分为三段：引言段，范围段，意见段。入门款的是区别管理的责任，为区分财务报表的核数师的责任，以表达对他们的看法。
范围段明确指出，计划和执行审计，以获取有关财务报表是否无重大错误或违规的合理保证。它还为形成核数师作为一个整体的财务报表发表意见的审计和状态的简要说明提供了参考。

四、 意见段提出的核数师的结论
1.最近的专业发展
质量控制是审计的重要组成部分，它有助于确保注册会计师的做法是否遵循适当的标准。自1988年一来，AICPA的成员投票的会计和审计实务的需要定期的独立审查。
1988年4月，中注协审计准则委员会回应市民的关注和有关审计和审计师发出九个新审计准则报表的误解。其中大部分的标准是有效的，1989年1月1日或以后开始的财务报表期间的审计，旨在提高核数师的性能及核数师通信。
规范修订的核数师报告的标准是新的标准之一，以划分为核数师的责任和核数师做的工作，并保证核数师提供更清晰的描述。这是四十年来在核数师的报告标准的最重大的变化。
其他新的标准包括支付欺诈和非法行为的检测等，是为了更有效的进行审计，并改进内部沟通。
2.总结
审计报告是为了沟通的核数师的责任和得出的结论。该报告载于标准化的措辞，有特定的含义。某些特殊情况下，核数师可能会修改报告。在这种情况下，应当对任何修改的原因进行说明。当存在错误追究注册会计师的责任是，这些报告中他们的意见便是证据，这也进而影响着他们的职业操守和声誉。
3.审计的目的
审计的主要目标是为由管理层编制的相当符合一般公认会计原则财务报表和不包含重大错报提供合理保证。这些措施包括金融的错误，无意的失实陈述或遗漏报表和违规行为，故意虚报或遗漏。 （虚报被认为是物质，如果他们是足以让在一个合理的财务报表使用者决策的差异。）
是为注册会计师的意见的形式和获得潜在的财务状况提供保证，是公司经营成果和现金流量的测试数据。要做到这一点，应当以注册会计师审计准则审计准则委员会美国注册会计师协会（AICPA的）发出的声明作为指导。此外，主观专业判断也是参与手段之一。
4.核数师形成的专业意见包含以下几种类型：

不合格（影响审计工作，并没有很大的局限性，无重大缺陷存在的财务报表）
合格（核数师的工作范围已大幅限制，或有一个普遍接受的会计原则的材料出发）
声明（限制在审计的范围是如此普遍，审计师不能形成上演示的公正性的意见）
不利（偏离一般公认会计原则，财务报表不公平目前该公司的财务状况是如此显着）
基本的一点是要记住，看来是只是一个民意调查显示，专业判断，并不能保证，已管理的财务报表。任何用户必须仔细审核的财务报表和所有相关的注脚，除了核数师的报告。

A CPA is An Auditor

Byington J R

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Independent auditing of financial statements is one of the best known services that certified public accountants provide; however, it is also the least understood.

Over 47 million investors own shares in more than 14,600 publicly held U.S. companies. Such companies are required to issue financial statements. CPAs are engaged to add credibility to management's financial representations by giving assurance that the financial statements conform to generally accepted accounting principles. The concept of the independent audit has been a key element in the growing number of shareholders willing to invest in the future of this nation's businesses.

CPAs have acquired the expertise to give a professional opinion on the overall fairness of a company's financial statements from having met the following requirements: obtained at least a college degree or its equivalent; passed a rigorous two-and-a-half day national examination; and obtained specific experience to qualify for the CPA certificate and a state license. CPAs are further guided by the accounting profession's basic tenets of independence, objectivity, and integrity.

Before investors or other interested parties can determine how much they are able to rely on the auditor's report, they must first gain a general understanding of what an audit is and what it is not.

What an Audit is Not

The financial information upon which the audit is based is prepared not by the auditor, but by management.

An auditor does not express a judgment on the competence of management, advise on the desirability of investing in or lending to a company, nor assure that employees are honest and competent.

The CPA uses sophisticated testing techniques and professional judgment, within the parameters of established standards, to reach an informed opinion on the overall fairness of the financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Although the purpose of an audit is not to uncover all fraud, the auditor is required to design the audit to provide reasonable assurance that material errors or irregularities that exist in the financial statements are detected.

Characteristics of an Audit

It is virtually impossible for a CPA to examine all transactions recorded in financial statements. The auditor bases his or her opinion on selective testing using sampling techniques. Audits provide an economical and reasonable level of assurance that the financial statements are free of material misstatements, rather than a guarantee of absolute accuracy.

Before forming an opinion, the auditor must consider the company's internal control structure, which is divided into the control environment, accounting system, and control procedures. The auditor uses this knowledge to identify the risk of misstatement in the financial statements and then designs procedures to reduce that risk.

The auditor also is required to use analytical procedures, which are evaluations of financial information, in the planning and final review stages of all audits.

In addition, the auditor is obligated to consider whether the overall audit results raise substantial doubt about the company's ability to stay in business. If there is doubt that the company can continue as a "going concern", an explanatory paragraph must be included in the audit report.

The Auditor's Standard Report

When an audit is completed, the auditor issues a report that states the CPA's responsibility, the nature of the work performed, and the conclusions reached.

The auditor's standard report consists of three paragraphs: an introductory paragraph, a scope paragraph, and an opinion paragraph. The introductory paragraph differentiates management's responsibilities for the financial statements from the auditor's responsibility to express an opinion on them.

The scope paragraph explicitly states that the audit was planned and performed to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material errors or irregularities. It also provides a brief description of what is involved in an audit and states that the auditor formed an opinion on the financial statements taken as a whole.

The third or opinion paragraph presents the auditor's conclusions.

Recent Professional Developments

Quality control is a vital part of a CPA's practice in that it helps ensure that appropriate standards are followed. In 1988, AICPA members voted to require regular independent reviews of their accounting and auditing practices.

In April 1988, the AICPA Auditing Standards Board responded to the public's concerns and misperceptions about what an audit is and what auditors do by issuing nine new statements on auditing standards. These standards, most of which are effective for audits of financial statements periods beginning on or after January 1, 1989, are designed to improve auditor performance and auditor communications.

One of the new standards revised the auditor's standard report so that it gives clearer descriptions of the auditor's responsibility, the work the auditor does, and the assurance the auditor provides. This is the most substantial change in the auditor's standard report in forty years.

Other new standards cover the detection of fraud and illegal acts, more effective audits, and improved internal communications.

In Summary

The auditor's report is intended to communicate the auditor's responsibility and conclusions reached. The report is set forth in standardized wording that has a specific meaning. At times, because of particular circumstances, the auditor may modify the report. In such cases, the reasons for any modification are noted. When CPAs affix their names to these reports, their opinions are not to be treated lightly. Their professional integrity and reputation are at stake.

The Purpose of an Audit

The primary objective of an audit is to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements prepared by management are fairly presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles and do not contain material misstatements. These include errors-unintentional misstatements or omissions in financial statements-and irregularities-intentional misstatements or omissions. (Misstatements are considered material if they are significant enough to make a difference in the decisions of a reasonable financial statement user.)

This assurance, in the form of the CPA's opinion, is obtained by testing the data underlying financial position, results of operations, and cash flows. To do this, the CPA is guided by statements on auditing standards issued by the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). Also, subjective professional judgment is involved.

The auditor then forms one of the following types of professional opinions:

∙ Unqualified (no significant limitations affected audit performance and no material deficiencies exist in the financial statements)

∙ Qualified (the scope of the auditor's work is significantly restricted, or there is a material departure from generally accepted accounting principles)

∙ Disclaimer (restrictions in the audit's scope are so pervasive that the auditor cannot form an opinion on the fairness of the presentation)

∙ Adverse (departures from generally accepted accounting principles are so significant that the financial statements do not fairly present the company's financial position)

The basic point to remember is that an opinion is just that-an opinion indicating that a professional judgment, not a guarantee, has been given on management's financial statements. Any user must carefully review such financial statements and all related footnotes, in addition to the auditor's report.

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