The staff of the managerial level of any company is recruited with special demand, and most often, apart from the diploma of higher education, the applicant is required to have a length of service and experience. However, even such strict selection does not give the head full confidence in the correct conduct of the financial affairs of the enterprise. After all, the legislative acts are constantly making adjustments, it is sometimes impossible to keep track of which, without being distracted from immediate daily duties. Help in such situations can be experienced independent auditors. These specialists for a minimum period of time will not only test the activities of the enterprise, but also give professional advice aimed at improving management processes. To be convinced of this, it is necessary to learn in more detail who the auditor is and what his immediate duties are.
Excursion to the history
The word "auditor" comes from the Latin auditor - the listener. Therefore, in the XVII-XVIII centuries it was applied to all students who had the right to listen to the lesson of another student and give him an assessment. A little later this definition began to correspond to a post that could only be received by people who have respect and vast experience in a certain type of activity. At that time, the auditor's activity was reduced to the verification of more managerial than financial matters. In other words, it was an independent manager who helped the owner of the enterprise to establish work. But already pre-revolutionary Russia interpreted the concept of "auditor" in a completely different way and called them military lawyers, secretaries in military courts that performed prosecutorial duties. To date, the profession has more precise boundaries of activities, the basis of which is the audit of documentary turnover of enterprises and advisory assistance in the adjustment of accounting and tax accounting.
The main conditions of the auditor's activity
Today, the profession of the auditor is received by students in many higher educational institutions of the Russian Federation. However, the diploma of a specialist is only the first stage of professional development, since according to the current legislation only self-regulating organizations or IPs can be engaged in audit activity. In addition, all those who decided to link their activities with inspections and assistance to enterprises, from 2010, must be entered in the state register, pass certification and pass the qualification examinations of the Single Attestation Commission. Only after this long journey a graduate can safely call himself an "accountant-auditor". In addition, for certification, it will be necessary to regularly attend refresher courses, regardless of the field in which the activity is carried out, be it a PI or state control bodies. Having taken up his position legally, an expert is obliged to make Federal Law No. 307-FZ "On Auditing Activity" of December 30, 2008, which clearly explains who the auditor is and what his duties are.
What a Professional Should Know
The auditor should know all the nuances of not only accounting, management, but also tax accounting. Moreover, he must understand how business plans are built and implemented, how the work is done and where to look for weaknesses in its organization. After all, without these basics, it is impossible to verify even the current documentation, not to mention individual items of the balance sheet or the distribution of funding. In addition, in the course of the auditor's work, knowledge in such areas as internal control, corporate governance and economic analysis, statistics, risk management and strategic planning are very important. Possessing these skills and knowing how to apply them in practice, a professional will be able not only to identify errors, but also to choose the most rational way to correct them. Many, not knowing who the auditor is, consider his work simple and insignificant. However, such speculation has nothing to do with the truth. Auditing is a difficult job that requires constant attention, knowledge, does not tolerate laziness and inattention.
Is it easy to be an auditor?
In the West, audit organizations have existed for a long time, and almost all private enterprises use their services. In our country, where not everyone knows who the auditor is, it is not easy for representatives of this profession. Most managers are not yet ready to overcome stereotypes and trust an independent experienced specialist. More and the legislation changes with enviable activity, new laws often come into force and amendments to existing ones are adopted. Therefore, in order to comply with the auditor's title, it is necessary to constantly work on yourself: to improve one's skills, to replenish the knowledge and correctly use all this in practice.