auditing standards. International Auditing Standards

12.10.2019

Auditing rules (standards) occupy an important place in the system of normative regulation of audit activity. The implementation of their requirements in practice serves as a certain guarantee of the quality of the check.

The main principles of auditing standards are expressed as follows:

auditing standards formulate uniform basic requirements that determine regulatory requirements to the quality and reliability of the audit and provide a certain level of assurance of the results of the audit, if they are observed. With change economic conditions auditing standards are subject to periodic review to best meet the needs of users of financial statements;
on the basis of audit standards, training programs for the training of auditors are formed, as well as uniform requirements for conducting exams for the right to engage in audit activities;
auditing standards serve as the basis for proving in court the quality of the audit and determining the degree of responsibility of auditors;
standards define general approach to the audit, the scope of the audit, the types of auditors' reports, methodological issues, and basic principles.

The meaning of the standards is essentially that they:

ensure the high quality of the audit;
promote the introduction of new scientific achievements into audit practice;
help users understand the audit process;
create a public image of the profession;
eliminate state control;
help the auditor to negotiate with the client;
provide a link between the individual elements of the audit process.

International Auditing Standards

The creation of a system of international economic relations necessitated the harmonization of audit standards at the international level, which made it possible to expand the circle of users of financial statements, facilitated the comparison of financial performance of companies from different countries and made it possible to assess the competence and professionalism of audit firms.

International Standards on Auditing (ISA) - a reference book for professional auditors, which contains a description of generally accepted auditing methods. Russian practicing auditors can apply international standards in their activities, which will contribute to further integration into the international audit community.

Development professional requirements at the international level, several organizations are involved, incl. The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), established in 1977. The Committee on International Accounting is directly involved in auditing standards. audit practice(KMAP), which will be a standing committee of the IFAC Council.

International Standards on Auditing issued by the Committee should:

promote the development of the profession in those countries where the level of professionalism is below the global level;
to unify, as far as possible, the approach to audit on an international scale.

Status of International Standards on Auditing. ISAs are intended to be used in the audit of financial statements, as well as in the audit of other information and the provision of related services. ISAs contain the basic principles and necessary procedures, ϲᴏᴏᴛʙᴇᴛϲᴛʙ guides presented in the form of explanatory and other material. It is worth saying that in order to ensure the understanding and correct application of the basic principles and necessary procedures, along with the ϲᴏᴏᴛʙᴇᴛϲᴛʙ guidance, it is extremely important to consider the full text of the ISA, including explanatory and other materials contained in them. And only in exceptional cases the auditor can deviate from ISA. With ϶ᴛᴏm, he must be ready to argue for such a digression.

The ISAs do not override local regulations governing the audit of financial or other information in any given country. To the extent that the ISAs ϲᴏᴏᴛʙᴇᴛϲᴛʙ comply with local regulations in a particular case, an audit of financial or other information in each country, conducted in accordance with local regulations, should comply with the ISAs. In the event that local regulations differ or conflict with the ISAs in a particular case, it is essential for IFAC member organizations to comply with the membership obligations stipulated in the IFAC Constitution with respect to those ISAs.

Status It is worth saying - provisions on international auditing practice. It is worth saying that the provisions on international auditing practice (PMAP) are being developed with the aim of providing practical help auditors in meeting standards and ensuring good audit practice.

The approved text of a draft for consideration, standard or regulation is the text published by the IFAC on English language. IFAC member organizations are entitled to translate these documents after obtaining the appropriate permission from the IFAC for the purpose of publishing them in the language of their country. Translation of documents is carried out at the expense of member organizations and must include the name of the organization that prepared it, as well as a reference to the fact that this document will be a translation of the approved text.

The first edition of the ISA in Russian was an important step in the transition of Russian auditors to international standards. At the same time, the ϶ᴛᴏ edition was replete with errors and inaccuracies, which caused criticism from those Russian auditors who were familiar with the English-language primary source. The ISA 1999 edition in Russian was still undergoing the editing procedure when the International Federation of Accountants IFAC released the 2000 edition in English. This circumstance created new objective prerequisites for the discrepancy between the last version ISA and Russian developments based on the official Russian translation of 1999

In the ISA 2001 edition, a number of documents differ significantly from the 1999 edition, in addition, new standards have appeared by this time. Note that the text of the new translation was taken by Russian developers as a basis for the preparation of new Russian federal auditing standards.

In the ISA, all standards are collected in 10 semantic sections: introduction; duties; planning; internal control system; audit evidence; using the results of the work of third parties; audit findings and opinions; special areas of audit; accompanying services; provisions on international audit practice.

Rules (standards) of audit activity in the Russian Federation

At the end of 1993, for the first time in our country, the Provisional Rules for Auditing were adopted in Russian Federation, in ϲᴏᴏᴛʙᴇᴛϲᴛʙ and with others, the Audit Commission under the President of the Russian Federation gradually approved 38 rules (standards), which regulated the activities of auditors in detail.

After the adoption of the Law on Auditing Activities, a legal vacuum formed for some time, since the decisions of some issues were already dictated by the Law. By the way, this problem was settled by the publication of the Federal Auditing Standards, which define the requirements for the procedure for conducting an audit or providing related services.

Federal auditing standards are divided into:

federal regulations(standards) of audit activity;
internal rules(standards) of auditing activities in force in professional audit associations, as well as the rules (standards) of auditing activities of audit organizations and individual auditors.

All federal rules (standards) in Russia can be classified into three groups:

Russian rules (standards) of audit activity, similar in content to the ϲᴏᴏᴛʙᴇᴛϲᴛʙ ISAs;
Russian rules (standards) of auditing activities that differ from ISAs, they will be analogous to them, in any significant moments;
Russian rules (standards) of audit activity and ISAs that have no mutual analogues.

As of August 1, 2006, 23 federal auditing standards have been developed and adopted in the Russian Federation:

"The purpose and basic principles of the audit of financial (accounting) statements";
"Audit documentation";
"Audit planning";
"Materiality in audit";
"Audit evidence";
"Auditor's report on financial (accounting) statements".
"Internal audit quality control";
"Assessment of audit risks and internal control carried out by the audited entity";
"Affiliates";
"Events after the reporting date";
"Applicability of the entity's going concern assumption".
“Agreement on the terms of the audit”;
"The Auditor's Responsibilities to Address Errors and Fraud in the Course of an Audit";
"Taking into account the requirements of regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation during the audit";
“Understanding the activities of the audited entity”;
"Auditor's sample";
“It is worth saying - obtaining audit evidence in specific cases”;
“It is worth saying that the receipt by the auditor of confirming information from external sources»;
"Features of the first check of the audited entity";
"Analytical Procedures";
"Peculiarities of audit estimated values»;
“Disclosure of information obtained as a result of the audit to the management of the audited entity and representatives of its owner”;
"Statements and clarifications of the management of the audited entity."

This list of standards will not be final, as the development of standards in Russia continues, and at the same time the process of making changes and additions to already adopted standards is underway. The adoption at the national level of audit standards, ϲᴏᴏᴛʙᴇᴛϲᴛʙ ISAs, will be an important step towards reforming the Russian audit towards integration with international requirements.

Intracompany auditing standards

Federal auditing standards and the provisions of the Law on Auditing have given greater independence to auditors in solving certain practical problems of auditing. Many issues can be settled by the auditors on their own and fixed by them in the internal audit rules.

Internal audit standards define uniform requirements for the procedure for conducting an audit and its quality, create, if they are observed, an additional level of guarantee of the audit results. Intra-company auditing standards can be divided into two groups: standards of self-regulatory audit associations (accredited) and intra-company standards proper.

Self-regulatory audit associations have the right to develop ϲʙᴏ and standards and teaching materials on the application of federal standards, where they can establish Additional requirements to conduct an audit, but they should not contradict federal auditing standards and the Law on Auditing. Material published on http: // site

Audit organizations and individual auditors have the right to establish own rules(standards) of audit activity, which cannot contradict the federal rules of audit activity and cannot establish requirements lower than those specified in federal standards. These may include instructions adopted and approved by the organization, methodological developments, manuals and other documents that reveal the internal approaches of the company to the implementation of the audit.

Internal standards according to their purpose can be combined into the following groups:

standards containing general provisions on audit;
establishing the procedure for conducting an audit;
establishing the procedure for the formation of conclusions and conclusions of auditors;
specialized standards;
establishing the procedure for providing audit-related services;
for education and training.

Standard - an official state or regulatory technical document of an industry, enterprise, form that establishes the necessary quality characteristics, requirements that this type of product must satisfy.

The standards regulate the professional activities of auditors and are widely recognized throughout the world, as they allow achieving the greatest objectivity in expressing an audit opinion on the compliance of financial statements with generally accepted principles of accounting and financial reporting, and also establish uniform qualitative criteria for comparing audit results. The uniformity of audit activity is its necessary condition due to the variety of methods used in audit practice, and the complexity of their comparison.

Auditing standards define uniform basic rules for the implementation of audits, uniform requirements for the quality and reliability of the audit. The use of auditing standards provides a certain level of guarantee of the reliability of the audit results.

On the basis of auditing standards, programs are formed for the training of auditors, as well as requirements for conducting examinations for the right to engage in auditing activities. Auditing standards are the basis for proving in court the quality of an audit and determining the degree of responsibility of auditors. The standards establish the general approach to auditing, the scope of the audit, the types of auditors' reports, the audit methodology, and the basic principles that all members of this profession must follow, regardless of the environment in which the audit is conducted. An auditor who allows deviations from the standard in his practice should be prepared to explain the reason for this.

Standards play an important role in auditing and audit activities because they:

ensure the high quality of the audit;
help users understand the audit process;
create a public image of the profession;
eliminate state control;
help the auditor to negotiate with the client;
provide a link between the individual elements of the audit process.

Auditing standards are the basis for proving in court the quality of an audit and determining the degree of responsibility of auditors. The standards define the general approach to conducting an audit, the scope of an audit, the types of auditors' reports, methodological issues, and the basic principles that all members of this profession must follow, regardless of the environment in which the audit is conducted. The Russian Auditing Standards have been developed on the basis of the International Standards on Auditing (ISA) issued by the International Federation of Accountants.

The system of standards in a generalized form includes international standards; national standards; internal company standards. Ultimately, the goal of the system of standards is achieved by the formation and application of a package of intra-company standards that detail and regulate uniform requirements for performing audits and issuing audit reports.

The value of the standards system is that it:

ensures the high quality of the audit;
promote the introduction of new scientific achievements into audit practice;
helps users understand the audit process;
provides a link between the individual elements of the audit process;
creates a public image of the profession.

International Auditing Standards

Russian Auditing Standards are based on International Standards (ISA). Several organizations are involved in the development of professional requirements at the international level, incl. The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), established in 1977. Within the framework of IFAC, the International Committee on Auditing Practices (IAPC) deals with auditing standards.

The International Standards on Auditing (IAG) issued by the Committee have a dual purpose:

1) to promote the development of the profession in those countries where the level of professionalism is below the global level;

2) to unify, to the extent possible, the approach to audit on an international scale.

The system of international auditing standards includes more than 45 standards, grouped into several sections. International Auditing Standards are based on the following fundamental principles:

an audit can only be carried out by a person who has an auditor's certificate, i.e. a professional with sufficient work experience who has successfully passed the qualification exams;
the auditor must be independent of the client;
the auditor must comply with the Code of Professional Ethics in his activities;
The auditor should express an opinion in the auditor's report on the reliability of financial statements client.

4. Materiality in audit.

5. Audit evidence.

6. Auditor's report on financial (accounting) statements.

7. Internal quality control of work in the audit.

8. Assessment of audit risks and internal control carried out by the entity being audited.

9. Affiliates.

10. Events after the reporting date.

11. Applicability of the entity's going concern assumption.

The system of rules (standards) of audit activity consists of four interdependent sequential blocks:

1. General standards.

2. Working standards.

3. Reporting standards.

4. Other standards.

General audit standards are fundamental in determining the goal, educational standard, uniform principles for conducting audit in Russia:

a letter of commitment from the audit organization on consent to the audit;
the procedure for concluding contracts for the provision of audit services;
rights and obligations of audit organizations and audited economic entities;
auditor education, etc.

Audit working standards set general rules audits and working conditions for auditors:

audit planning;
audit sample;
audit evidence;
audit documentation;
written information of the auditor to the management of the economic entity on the results of the audit;
primary audit of initial and comparative indicators of financial statements, etc.

Reporting standards define uniform requirements for the preparation and execution of documents based on the results of inspections in order to make information available to users:

the procedure for drawing up an audit report on financial statements;
the date of signing the auditor's report and reflecting in it the events that occurred after the date of preparation and presentation of financial statements;
conclusion of the audit organization on special audit assignments, etc.

Other standards are necessary for conducting an audit, the features of which are different in certain areas of activity:

features of the audit of small economic entities;
audit in terms of computer data processing;
characteristics of the services accompanying the audit and the requirements for them, and more.

Intracompany Auditing Standards

Intracompany standards of an audit organization are understood as documents detailing and regulating uniform requirements for the implementation and execution of an audit, adopted and approved by an audit organization in order to ensure efficiency practical work and its adequacy to the requirements of the rules (standards) of auditing.

The necessity and procedure for the development of intra-company standards is determined by the Federal Law "On Auditing" and the PSAD "Requirements for Internal Standards of Audit Organizations".

According to the normative documents, the audit organization must form a package of internal standards that reflects its own approach to the audits carried out and the conclusions drawn up, based on the generally established principles of organizing and conducting an audit.

When developing internal standards, audit organizations are required to be guided by the current legislative and other regulatory and legal acts of the Russian Federation governing audit activities, as well as take into account the recommendations of professional audit associations.

Internal company standards should not contradict national standards and international standards. Large audit firms have special departments for accounting and audit methodology, whose task is to develop in-house methods for preliminary examination of the state of affairs of the client and the conclusion of contracts, conducting an audit in general and individual accounts and client transactions, preparing an audit report and its execution.

Intracompany standards are individual, author's in each audit firm, their content is classified information. Intracompany standards are a significant set of internal instructions and guidelines that are constantly being adjusted for improvement and due to changes in the environment for their application.

Internal standards of audit organizations are developed taking into account their relevance and priority and must meet the requirements of:

expediency - to be of practical use;
continuity and consistency - each subsequent internal standard should be based on previously adopted ones, ensure consistency and interconnection with other standards;
logical harmony - to ensure clarity of wording, integrity and clarity of presentation;
completeness and detail - fully cover the significant issues of this standard, logically develop and supplement the stated principles and provisions;
unity of the term base - to contain the same interpretation of terms in all standards and documents.

The requirements of the internal standards of audit organizations should regulate the implementation of audit activities in accordance with the basic principles of audit and generally accepted ethical standards.

Intracompany standards of audit organizations should contain specific recommendations that allow auditors in practice to determine a clear procedure for their actions to comply with the requirements of the rules (standards) and to improve the quality of audits.

To perform control functions in the course of the practical implementation of the audit, the audit organization may create an audit quality control service.

The organization has the right to conclude an agreement with its employees obliging employees not to disclose the content of internal standards and not to use them outside the activities of this audit organization.

The value of internal standards lies in the fact that it allows audit organizations to:

more fully comply with the requirements of the rules (standards) of auditing;
make the technology and organization of the audit more rational, reduce the complexity of audit work on inspections of individual sections (using worksheets and questionnaires, other technical documents), provide additional control over the work of auditor's assistants;
to promote the introduction of scientific achievements and new technologies into audit practice, to strengthen the public prestige of the profession;
ensure high quality of audit work and help reduce audit risk;
detail the professional conduct of the auditor in accordance with the ethical standards of the audit.

Internal standards formulate uniform basic requirements for the procedure for conducting an audit, for the quality and reliability of an audit, and, if they are observed, create an additional level of guarantee for the results of an audit. The presence of a system of intra-company standards and its methodological support is a necessary indicator of the professionalism of the audit organization.

Source - Fundamentals of Auditing: tutorial/ N. A. Bogdanova, M. A. Ryabova. - Ulyanovsk: UlGTU, 2009. - 229 p.

Federal Rules (Standards) of Auditing Activities (PSAD)- professional standards for the implementation of audit activities in the Russian Federation, developed by the Ministry of Finance. The standards of the first stage were approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 23, 2002; currently there are 29 (the 5th, 6th, 13th, 14th and 15th out of 34 have expired) standards (PSAD) plus 9 federal auditing standards (FSAD). They are based on the official translation of International Standards on Auditing.

There are currently 29 standards in force. The list ends with number 34, but the fifth, sixth, thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth standards are no longer valid.

List of standards

1. The purpose and basic principles of the audit of financial (accounting) statements. (based on ISA 200)

5. Audit Evidence. (No longer valid) (ISA 500)

6. Auditor's report on financial (accounting) statements. (Voided) (ISA 700)

7. Quality control of the audit assignments. (ISA 220)

8. Understanding the activities of the audited entity, the environment in which it is carried out, and assessing the risks of material misstatement of the audited financial (accounting) statements. (ISA 400)

10. Events after the reporting date. (ISA 560)

12. Agreeing the terms of the audit. (ISA 210)

13. Auditor's Responsibilities to Address Errors and Fraud in an Audit. (Voided) (ISA 240)

14. Accounting for the requirements of regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation during the audit. (Voided) (ISA 250)

15. Understanding the activities of the entity being audited. (Voided) (ISA 310)

17. Obtaining audit evidence in specific cases. (ISA 501)

18. Receipt by the auditor of confirming information from external sources. (ISA 505)

19. Features of the first check of the audited entity. (ISA 510)

21. Features of the audit of estimated values. (ISA 540)

22. Communication of information obtained as a result of the audit to the management of the audited entity and representatives of its owner. (ISA 260)

23. Statements and clarifications of the management of the audited entity. (ISA 580)

24. Basic principles of federal rules (standards) of audit activity related to services that can be provided by audit organizations and auditors. (ISA 120)

25. Accounting for the characteristics of the audited entity, the financial (accounting) statements of which are prepared by a specialized organization. (ISA 402)

26. Comparable data in financial (accounting) statements. (ISA 710)

28. Using the work of another auditor. (ISA 600)

29. Reviewing the work of internal audit. (ISA 610)

30. Compliance with agreed-upon procedures for financial information. (ISA 920)

31. Compilation of financial information. (ISA 930)

32. Use by the auditor of results of work of the expert. (ISA 620)

33. Review of financial (accounting) statements. (ISA 910)

34. Quality control of services in audit organizations. (ISA 220)

Federal Auditing Standards (FSAD)

1. Auditor's report on the accounting (financial) statements and the formation of an opinion on its reliability (FSAD 1/2010)

2. Modified opinion in the auditor's report (FSAD 2/2010)

3. Additional information in the auditor's report (FSAD 3/2010)

4. Principles for the implementation of external quality control of the work of audit organizations, individual auditors and requirements for the organization of this control (FSAD 4/2010)

5. Auditor's Responsibilities to Address Fraud in an Audit (FSAD 5/2010)

6. Responsibilities of the auditor to review compliance by the audited entity with the requirements of regulatory legal acts during the audit (FSAD 6/2010)

7. Audit evidence (FSAD 7/2011)

8. Peculiarities of the audit of financial statements prepared according to special rules(FSAD 8/2011)

9. Features of the audit of a separate part of the reporting (FSAD 9/2011)

Notes

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what the "Federal Rules (Standards) for Auditing" is in other dictionaries:

Professional Standards for Auditing- To) professional standards federal rules (standards) of auditing activities, internal rules (standards) of auditing activities in force in professional audit associations, rules (standards) of auditing activities ... Official terminology

REGULATION OF AUDITING ACTIVITIES- (English auditing regulation) - a system of measures for the formation and development of the market for audit services, as well as for the protection of the mutual interests of the state, economic entities, auditors and audit firms. In some countries, audit activities ... ...

REGULATIONS- (STANDARDS) FOR AUDITING ACTIVITIES uniform requirements for the procedure for carrying out audit activities, the design and assessment of the quality of audit and related services, as well as for the procedure for training auditors and assessing their qualifications. ... ... Encyclopedia of Russian and International Taxation

Rules- (standards) of audit activity Uniform requirements for the procedure for the implementation of audit activities, the design and assessment of the quality of an audit and related services, as well as for the procedure for training auditors and assessing their qualifications. Rules… … Vocabulary: accounting, taxes, business law

AUDITING RULES- (STANDARDS) (English audit rules and standards) - a document regulating the uniform requirements for the implementation of audits and the preparation of materials on them, as well as for the provision of related services, assessment of the quality of the audit, the procedure ... ... Financial and Credit Encyclopedic Dictionary

Audit- (Audit) An independent audit to express an opinion on the authenticity An audit of a phenomenon or activity performed by an independent expert Contents Contents Definition Audit history in ancient world Development of audit in Development ... ... Encyclopedia of the investor

This term has other meanings, see Logging. Audit Types of audit Internal audit External audit Tax ... Wikipedia

Audit Types of audit Internal audit External audit Tax audit Environmental audit Social audit ... Wikipedia

Ministry of Finance- (Ministry of Finance) Definition of the Ministry of Finance, rights and tasks of the Ministry of Finance Information on the definition of the Ministry of Finance, rights and tasks of the Ministry of Finance Contents Contents Definition of Law The main tasks of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation ... Encyclopedia of the investor

financial regulator- (Financial regulator) A financial regulator is a body that supervises, regulates and controls the circulation of financial instruments Financial market regulators - the concept, goals of activities and the role of financial regulators, the most famous ... ... Encyclopedia of the investor

Books

Auditing Standards. Collection of normative acts, . This publication contains federal standards of audit activity, rules of audit activity. The Federal Law “On Auditing” and the Code of Professional Ethics…

In world practice, it is accepted that the requirements for the organization and conduct of an audit, the provision of audit services are fixed in the so-called auditing standards. Auditing standards establish not only uniform basic rules for conducting and uniform requirements for the quality and reliability of the audit, but also determine the scope of audit activities, methodology issues, types of auditors' reports, basic principles that auditors must follow. The use of auditing standards allows you to provide a certain level of assurance of the reliability of the results of the audit.

As economic conditions change, auditing standards are reviewed periodically to best meet the needs of users of financial statements.

Currently, there is a system of auditing standards, within which the standards are divided into international and national.

International Auditing Standards (ISA) are developed, implemented and promoted by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) - an international professional accounting and auditing organization that unites members of more than 160 national accounting and auditing organizations from 125 countries, including Russia. Such standards define the fundamental methods of audit, ensure its compliance with the growing numerous requirements in the field of international auditing.

The main goal of the International Federation of Accountants is to create a global system of standards, which includes the following main elements:

- IFAC Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants;
- international auditing standards;
- international standards of education;
- International Public Sector Auditing Standards.

The Russian Federation in the International Federation of Accountants is represented by two associations: Non-profit partnership "Institute of Professional Auditors" (full member of the organization) and Non-profit partnership "Russian Board of Auditors" (observer member of the organization).

The main task of the functioning of these associations is the comprehensive promotion of the implementation and application of International Auditing Standards in our country.

It should be noted that international standards do not take precedence over national standards.

Russia has developed and applies a system of auditing standards developed on the basis of the International Auditing Standards. This system is represented by the following three areas.

1. Federal standards of audit activity. They are regulatory documents that regulate the requirements for the procedure for the implementation, execution and assessment of the quality of an audit and related services, as well as for the procedure for training auditors and assessing their qualifications. These standards are approved by the Government of the Russian Federation and are mandatory for audit organizations and auditors, as well as for audited entities, with the exception of provisions that are advisory in nature.

Federal auditing standards as a legal category first appeared in our country in the Federal Law of August 7, 2001 No. 119-FZ “On Auditing”. Before their appearance in our country, only the Rules (Standards) of Auditing Activities of the First Generation (PSAD) were applied, which were subject to mandatory application until September 2002. The transition from them to federal standards largely led to the fact that they were not legal acts.

From September 2002 to January 2009, the development and approval by the Government of the Russian Federation of second-generation federal standards (FPSAD) took place. During this period, there was a gradual replacement of the standards of the first generation with the second generation, but it was never fully implemented.

From January 2009 to the present, in accordance with federal law dated December 30, 2008 (as amended on December 1, 2014) No. 307-FZ “On Auditing Activities” The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation is developing and approving third-generation federal standards (FSAD). These standards should gradually replace the first and second generation standards.

At the moment, federal standards of the second and third generation are subject to mandatory application, and the standards of the first generation are advisory in nature.

2. Internal standards of audit activity of self-regulatory organizations of auditors (SRO). Such standards developed by SROs for their members must necessarily define requirements for audit procedures that are additional to those established by federal standards, if this is due to the specifics of the audit or the specifics of the provision of services related to the audit. In addition, these standards cannot contradict federal standards and should not create obstacles for audit organizations and auditors engaged in audit activities.

In addition to auditing standards, each self-regulatory organization adopts a code of professional ethics for auditors, which is a set of rules of conduct that audit organizations and auditors must comply with in the process of auditing. This code must be approved by the Audit Council under the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.

Currently, codes of ethics are being developed on the basis of the so-called model document - the "Code of Ethics for Auditors of Russia" (approved by the Audit Council on May 31, 2007, protocol No. 56), which, in turn, is based on the "Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants" as amended in 2006, adopted by the International Federation of Accountants. Also, self-regulatory organizations of auditors develop and approve on a mandatory basis for their members the Rules for the independence of auditors and audit organizations, which are also subject to approval by the Audit Council.

3. Internal (intracompany) standards of audit organizations and individual auditors are documents adopted and approved by an audit organization that detail and regulate uniform requirements for the implementation and execution of an audit in order to ensure its effectiveness. Such standards are recommended to be developed on the basis of the requirements of the PSAD “Requirements for internal standards of audit organizations”. To date, almost all audit organizations have packages of internal audit standards.

Intracompany standards are based on the current legislative and regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation that regulate auditing activities, and also take into account the recommendations of SRO auditors.

When developing internal standards, it is necessary to take into account a number of the following requirements:

- expediency, i.e. standards should be of practical use.
- continuity and consistency - ensuring consistency and interconnection with other standards, relying on previously adopted standards of each subsequent standard.
- logical harmony, which implies ensuring the clarity, integrity and clarity of the presentation of the wording.
- completeness and detail - logically supplement and develop the principles and provisions and fully cover the important issues of this standard.
- a single terminological base that allows to have the same interpretation of terms in all standards and documents.

The audit organization independently establishes the list, terms, procedure for the development and implementation of internal standards.

Such standards may include accepted and duly approved standards, instructions, methodological developments and manuals and other documents that reveal internal approaches to the implementation of audit activities. In addition to them, applications can be developed that perform an auxiliary role and clarify certain provisions of internal standards.

Intracompany standards are part of the internal control system and organizational and administrative documentation. They are mandatory approved by the order of the head of the audit organization, and in cases where it is provided - by the Board of Founders or other authorized body.

Therefore, we can conclude that the presence of a system of internal standards is a necessary indicator of the professionalism of an audit organization.

With the development of the market and integration processes in the economies of different countries, as well as the transformation of audit organizations into large international groups, it became necessary to unify auditing on an international scale. It became obvious that there is a need to develop uniform professional requirements, the expediency of which is confirmed by the experience of auditors in different countries.

Auditing Standards formulate uniform basic requirements for the quality and reliability of the audit and provide a certain level of assurance of the results of the audit if they are observed.

The main purpose of auditing standards is to provide all auditors and users of audit services with a uniform understanding of the basic principles of audit, the rights and obligations of auditors, methods and techniques for forming and expressing an independent audit opinion. On their basis, curricula for the training of auditors are formed. The standards also serve as the basis for assessing the quality of the audit and determining the degree of responsibility of auditors in case of dishonest performance of the audit.

The introduction of standards into audit practice helps to ensure the high quality of audits, the application of uniform requirements in the implementation of statutory audits, the use of scientific achievements in the process of audits, the understanding by users of financial information of the essence and methods of audit, ensuring comparability of performance indicators of individual auditors.

The Committee on International Auditing Practice of the International Federation of Accountants is engaged in the development of such professional standards at the international level. He published International Standards on Auditing, titles and a brief description of which are given in Annex 2. These standards contain the basic principles and necessary procedures, as well as relevant recommendations, presented in the form of explanatory material, providing guidance on their application.

The International Standards on Auditing are based on the following conceptual provisions:

Financial statements are the main source of information for external users. It must be prepared in accordance with International and (or) national financial reporting standards;

The concepts of the audit of financial statements and related services are delimited. At the same time, services related to the audit include: review, agreed procedures and preparation of information. Services for taxation, consulting, advice on accounting and financial matters are not considered as related;

The auditor's expression of an opinion on the reliability of statements made by one party and intended for use by another party is treated as assurance. The level of confidence of the auditor is determined on the basis of the results of procedures performed by him. The auditor provides a high, but not absolute, level of assurance that the information being audited is free from material misstatement;

When conducting an audit, absolute confidence in the reliability of financial statements is unattainable due to the existence of the following factors: the need for the auditor to make judgments; the use of testing, the presence of restrictions; inherent in any accounting and internal control systems; predominantly persuasive nature of most of the evidence available to the auditor;

The auditor formulates an opinion on the reliability of financial information in the report. In the absence of such a report, third parties cannot hold the auditor responsible for the financial information.

International auditing standards contribute to the development of the profession in those countries where the level of professionalism is below the world level, as well as the integration of national audit into international economic relations. However, they are used differently in different countries due to the wide variety of national accounting systems, economic and political conditions, and historical traditions.

In the most developed countries that have national auditing standards (USA, Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France), international standards are simply taken into account. For example, the American Institute of Chartered Public Accountants has prepared Generally Accepted Auditing Standards and Statements of Auditing Standards that are effectively used by US auditors.

In countries where it is decided not to develop their own standards (Cyprus, Malaysia, Nigeria, etc.), international standards are adopted as national ones.

In other countries (Australia, Brazil, India, Russia, etc.), international standards are used as a basis for creating their own similar standards.

Participates in the development of audit standards in Russia based on international standards whole line state, public organizations, scientific institutions, universities, audit organizations, domestic and foreign experts and auditors. These are the Audit Commission under the President of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the Research Financial Institute of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, Moscow State University, All-Russian Correspondence Institute of Finance and Economics, Audit Chamber of Russia, Russian Board of Auditors, Union of Professional Auditing Organizations, audit organizations "FBK", "Soyuz-Audit", "Interaudit", etc.

All standards are reviewed and approved (received approval) at meetings of the Commission for Auditing Activities under the President of the Russian Federation. It is envisaged to prepare more than 50 rules (standards) of audit activity. The approximate structure of the standard includes the following sections:

General provisions - the purpose and objectives of the standard are formulated, the object

standardization and scope;

Basic concepts and definitions - contains definitions of audit terms and their brief description;

The essence of the standard - the problem that needs to be solved is substantiated, its analysis is carried out and methods for solving it are given;

Practical applications - reflect various schemes, tables, sample documents that allow illustrating the recommendations of the standards.

The economic literature describes two classifications of domestic audit rules (standards). The first classification includes three main groups:

The general rules (standards) of the audit are a set of professional requirements regarding the qualifications of the auditor, the independence of the auditor's point of view on all issues related to the work performed, etc.

The rules (standards) for conducting an audit reveal provisions on the need to plan the work of an auditor, study and evaluate accounting systems, internal control, obtain evidence, etc.

The rules (standards) for drawing up a report provide an indication of which reports the auditors draw up and submit to users of financial statements upon completion of the audit, reflect the composition and content of the reports, the procedure for their presentation, as well as the delineation of responsibilities of auditors and audited entities (see Appendix 3).

The second classification is built similarly to the classification of the International Auditing Standards and contains eleven groups of standards (see Appendix 4).

Russian auditing standards (as well as international ones) define only a general approach to auditing, the scope of the audit, types of reports, methodology issues, and See also the basic principles to be followed by auditors. However, they do not regulate specific actions, techniques, procedures used in the process of conducting an audit, which may be different and the rationality of which is determined by the audit organization (auditor) itself. Internal auditing standards serve this purpose.

In accordance with the rule (standard) of audit activity "Requirements for internal standards of audit organizations", internal standards of an audit organization are documents detailing and establishing uniform requirements for the implementation and execution of an audit, adopted and approved by the audit organization. organization in order to ensure the effectiveness of practical work and its adequacy to the rules (standards) of auditing.

Internal standards regulate the activities of auditors within a particular audit organization and provide additional grounds for resolving real and potential conflicts between employees and the administration of an audit organization, between an audit organization and regulatory authorities, between an audit organization and an audited entity, between an audit organization and organizations protecting the public interest, as well as between the auditors themselves.

Internal standards are part of the organizational and administrative documentation and the internal control system of the audit organization and must meet the following requirements:

Expediency - to have a practical benefit;

Continuity and consistency - each subsequent internal standard should be based on previously adopted ones, ensure consistency and interconnection with other standards;

Logical harmony - to ensure clarity of wording, integrity and clarity of presentation;

Completeness and detail - fully cover the significant issues of this standard, logically develop and supplement the stated principles and provisions;

Term base unity - contain the same interpretation of terms in all standards and documents.

Such standards take into account the specifics of the work of the audit organization and disclose the content of specific procedures for conducting verification, collecting audit evidence, documenting it, customer relationship policies, internal control and internal reporting of the audit organization, the rights and obligations of employees, requirements for the level of their education and qualifications, etc. In many ways, internal standards are designed to serve as clear guidelines for auditors and other employees of the audit organization. When conducting inspections, this to a certain extent facilitates the collection of the necessary evidence, reduces the time of verification, and reduces the risk of errors when formulating a conclusion. There is an opportunity to increase the volume and improve the quality of the work performed, to use auditors-assistant for audits more widely, to make the audit organization technology more modern and rational.

At the same time, the standards should not be too detailed, hamper the initiative of the auditors, as this can turn the audit into a mechanical collection of information, not supported by professional judgments. Therefore, the preparation of internal audit standards is a laborious process that requires significant scientific knowledge, generalizations of both the provisions of normative acts and the practical experience of the work of auditors.

The internal standard of an audit organization, as a rule, has the following structure:

General provisions - the need for an internal standard, description of the object of standardization, definition of its basic terms and concepts, scope;

The purpose and objectives of the standard - the purpose of the standard and specific problems, the solution of which is ensured by its application;

Determination of the main principles and methods - a description of the approaches of the audit organization, accepted methodologies and techniques for solving problems addressed by the standard:

Registration - a list of documents that the auditor must draw up in accordance with the requirements of the standard;

A list of regulations that auditors must follow when fulfilling the requirements of the internal standard (if necessary).

The internal standards of an audit organization, according to their purpose, can be combined into several groups (see Table 2.1.).

Name of groups of internal standards	Name of types of internal standards

1. Standards containing general provisions on auditing	1.1. Standards that describe the concept and approach to the development of internal standards, including the standard that defines their structure 1.2. Standards regulating the ethics of the auditor's behavior, supplementing and specifying the current regulatory documents in the field of auditing 1.3. Standards for the internal structure and organization of the activities of an audit organization 1.4. Standards governing the procedure for the implementation of internal quality control of the audit, as well as the responsibility of auditors
2. Standards establishing the procedure for conducting an audit	2.1. Auditor Responsibility Standards 2.2. Audit Planning Standards 2.3. Standards governing the study and evaluation of internal control 2.4. Standards for Obtaining Audit Evidence 2.5. Standards governing the use of the work of third parties 2.6. Standards governing the use of computers in auditing
3. Standards establishing the procedure for the formation of conclusions and conclusions of auditors	3.1. Standards describing the concept and approach to the procedure for drawing up audit reports 3.2. Standards governing the preparation of written information by the auditor to the management of an economic entity based on the results of the audit 3.3. Standards governing the preparation of other audit reports, including additional information contained in documents related to financial statements

Continuation

4. Specialized standards

4.1. Standards reflecting specific aspects of the audit of credit institutions

4.2. Standards reflecting specific aspects of the audit of insurance organizations and mutual insurance companies 4.3 Standards reflecting specific aspects of the audit of stock exchanges, extra-budgetary funds and investment institutions

4.4. Standards reflecting industry specifics conducting an audit of other economic entities

5. Standards establishing the procedure for providing audit-related services

5.1. Standards Governing the Preparation of Auditor's Reports on Special Audit Engagements

5.2. Standards that describe the study of pro forma financial information

6. Standards for education and training

6.1. Standards that set requirements for education and professional level auditors

6.2. Standards that determine the procedure for training and advanced training of personnel

The developed internal standards are considered and adopted by the Methodological Council of the audit organization with subsequent approval by its head, and in cases provided for by the constituent documents of the audit organization, by the board of founders or other authorized body.

Standards must contain the following details: number (ordinal or serial code of the standard); date of entry into force; name of the standard; date and indication of the person who approved the standard; continuity (links to previously adopted normative documents rules that are associated with this standard); scope (list of objects to which this standard applies (or does not apply).

In addition to internal standards, applications (instructions, regulations, methods, questionnaires, computer programs, worksheets, etc.) can be developed that play an auxiliary role and provide additional clarifications of individual provisions of internal standards. Control over compliance with the requirements of internal standards should be carried out at all levels of management of the audit organization.