An audit is a systematic and independent examination of books, accounts, statutory records, documents and vouchers of an organization to ascertain how far the financial statements as well as non-financial disclosures present a true and fair view of the concern. It also attempts to ensure that the books of accounts are properly maintained by the concern as required by law. Auditing has become such a ubiquitous phenomenon in the corporate and the public sector that academics started identifying an "Audit Society".[1] The auditor perceives and recognises the propositions before him/her for examination, obtains evidence, evaluates the same and formulates an opinion on the basis of his judgement which is communicated through his audit report.[2]
Any subject matter may be audited. Audits provide third party assurance to various stakeholders that the subject matter is free frommaterial misstatement. The term is most frequently applied to audits of the financial information relating to a legal person. Other areas which are commonly audited include: secretarial & compliance audit, internal controls, quality management, project management, water management, and energy conservation.
As a result of an audit, stakeholders may effectively evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and the governance process over the subject matter.
The word audit is derived from a Latin word "audire" which means "to hear".[3][4] During the medieval times when manual book-keeping was prevalent, auditors in Britain used to hear the accounts read out for them and checked that the organisation's personnel were not negligent or fraudulent.[5]
Upon complete: 50%
Deloitte member firms offer services in the following functions, with country-specific variations on their legal implementation (i. e., all operating within a single company or through separate legal entities operating as subsidiaries of an umbrella legal entity for the country). The 2015 revenue shares are listed in parentheses.[4]
- Audit (28%): Provides the organization's traditional accounting and audit services, as well as internal auditing and IT control assurance.[44]
- Consulting (35%): Assists clients by providing services in the areas of enterprise applications, technology integration, strategy & operations, human capital, and short-term outsourcing.[45]
- Financial Advisory (9%): Provides corporate finance services to clients, including dispute, personal and commercial bankruptcy, forensics, e-discovery, document review, advisory, capital projects consulting and valuation services.[46][47]
- Enterprise Risk (10%): Provides offerings in enterprise risk management, information security and privacy, data quality and integrity, project risk and business continuity management.[48]
- Tax (19%): Helps clients increase their net asset value, undertake the transfer pricing and international tax activities of multinational companies, minimize their tax liabilities, implement tax computer systems, and provides advisory of tax implications of various business decisions.[49]