Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from April 1, 2011

FUNDAMENTAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

soft skills Ethics is concerned with behaviour, and trying to ensure that auditors do "the right thing" [. FUNDAMENTAL ETHICAL PRINCIPLES ] .. whatever that is! As such, it is a difficult area to have rules , as it would usually be possible to imagine a situation where the rules would lead to the wrong answer. Typically therefore, ethics is about guidance , relying on the professionalism of auditors to apply this guidance in an appropriate manner when faced with difficult situations. Guidance is contained in the ACCA Code of Conduct ... but if every Institute had its own ethical code, there would be several codes in the UK alone, and hundreds around the World! An International Code of Ethics has been developed by IFAC, in the hope of providing countries with a starting point for developing their own Codes – and to try to create some consistency in guidance around the World. In the UK, the Auditing Practices Board has created a series of Ethical Standards based on the IFAC Cod

AUDITING STANDARDS AND QUALITY CONTROL

soft skills Just as there are accounting standards, there are also audit standards to give auditors guidance (and in some cases rules) as to how they should perform their audit work. Many countries have their own national audit standards – e.g. In the UK, the Auditing Practices Board set them. There are also International Standards on Auditing (ISAs), which are set by the International Audit & Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), part of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). For countries without their own audit standards, the ISAs provide a set of standards that can be adopted, or altered based on national requirements. Quality control is partly achieved by having audit standards to follow ... however it is also achieved by the RSBs (e.g. ACCA) checking the audit work of their members, and handling complaints. The RSBs also have rules to ensure their members are keeping up to date with technical changes. AUDITING STANDARDS AND QUALITY CONTROL

POINTMENT OF EXTERNAL AUDITORS,leaves... Audit Committee,RESIGN REMOVE

soft skills APPOINTMENT OF EXTERNAL AUDITORS { IPOINTMENT OF EXTERNAL AUDITORS,leaves... Audit Committee,RESIGN REMOVE }n most countries, the auditors are reporting to the shareholders, so are appointed by the shareholders. The Board of Directors will propose a Firm and this will then be voted on by the shareholders. Usually, they are appointed on an annual basis at the AGM. If auditors are needed mid-year (e.g. because the previous Firm resigned) then it is often possible for the Board of Directors to appoint a Firm up till the next AGM. In most large companies, there will be a specialist Board Committee that will recommend a Firm to the main Board – this committee is called the Audit Committee . When the external auditor leaves... Sometimes it is necessary for the auditors to RESIGN . If an auditor resigns, they may wish to speak to the shareholders to explain their reasons. Therefore, the law allows them to require the company to call a General Meeting (GM), or to require the compa