Read complete books and articles on: Auditing

Auditing - examination and statement of accounts and of other documents connected with accounts by persons who have had no part in their preparation. Systems of financial inspection have long been used, especially in connection with public accounts. In Italy the elaboration of commerce considerably increased the duties of an auditor in the late Middle Ages, but the auditing of business accounts did not become common until the 19th cent., when there were an increasing number of businesses continually growing in size and complexity. Corporate charters usually came to be granted only on condition that licensed experts conduct annual audits. Such audits are particularly useful to the owners (partners or stockholders); executives (managers, officers, and directors); creditors or prospective creditors (investors, note brokers, and commercial and investment bankers); and receivers, trustees, and creditors' committees of a business. Audits are also useful to the vendors of a firm's merchandise, the owners of patents and other recipients of profit shares or royalties, governmental regulatory bodies, and prospective donors to institutions. An audit settles certain categories of questions. It must determine whether all assets and liabilities shown are actual, and that they are properly incurred, valued, and recorded. A check must be made of the surplus, income, and capital-stock accounts, verified by the examination of the authorizations for stock issues and by comparing the amounts issued with the amounts authorized. Finally, auditing constitutes an independent check on the tendency to overstate assets and understate liabilities. The duties of auditors have even expanded into a comprehensive survey and analysis of the entire conduct of the financial and accounting branches of an enterprise. Thus the auditor needs, in addition to his knowledge of accounting, a broad understanding of business and finance. The accountant records the facts of a business; the auditor must determine whether or not such recording has been done accurately and honestly and then interpret and judge the facts, perhaps adding to his report recommendations for the future conduct of the business. In many countries, auditors are now established as a separate profession, requiring government licensing. In the United States, private audits are usually performed by certified public accountants; auditing of the federal government's accounts is conducted by the General Accounting Office (established 1921). The Internal Revenue Service periodically audits individual and corporate tax returns. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (established 2002) registers and regulates accountants and accounting firms that act as auditors.

See H. F. Stettler, Auditing Principles (3d ed. 1970); A. W. Holmes, Auditing (7th ed. 1971); V. B. Bavishi, International Accounting and Auditing Trends (1989); T. A. Lee, ed., The Evolution of Audit Thought and Practice (1989).

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14 of the Best Books and Articles on: Auditing

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

The Audit Society: Rituals of Verification » Read Now
by Michael Power. 204 pgs.

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Since the early 1980s there has been an explosion of auditing activity in the United Kingdom and North America. In addition to financial audits there are now medical audits, technology audits, value for money audits, environmental audits, quality audits, teaching audits, and many others. Why has...
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Since the early 1980s there has been an explosion of auditing activity in the United Kingdom and North America. In addition to financial audits there are now medical audits, technology audits, value for money audits, environmental audits, quality audits, teaching audits, and many others. Why has this happened? What does it mean when a society invests so heavily in an industry of checking and when more and more individuals find themselves subject to formal scrutiny? The Audit Society argues that the rise of auditing has its roots in political demands for accountability and control. At the heart of a new administrative style internal control systems have begun to play an important public role and individual and organizational performance has been increasingly formalized and made auditable. Michael Power argues that the new demands and expectations of audits live uneasily with their operational capabilities. Not only is the manner in which they produce assurance and accountability open to question but also, by imposing their own values, audits often have unintended and dysfunctional consequences for the audited organization.
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2.

Performance or Compliance? Performance Audit and Public Management in Five Countries » Read Now
by Christopher Pollitt, Xavier Girre, Jeremy Lonsdale. 268 pgs.

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Performance audit, as practised by national audit offices, is a relatively recent and rapidly developing set of activities. Auditors claim to have moved beyond issues of compliance and regularity and to be able directly to investigate the efficiency and effectiveness of public programmes, projects...
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Performance audit, as practised by national audit offices, is a relatively recent and rapidly developing set of activities. Auditors claim to have moved beyond issues of compliance and regularity and to be able directly to investigate the efficiency and effectiveness of public programmes, projects, and institutions. These are developments with considerable implications for both democratic accountablility and managerial efficiency. Until now they have received little independent scrutiny, but in this book an international team of researchers analyses the growth of performance audit in five countries: France, Finland, The Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK. It is argued that audit offices face a series of strategic choices, and that in different countries they have thus far chosen somewhat different trajectories.
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3.

Audit, Accountability, and Government » Read Now
by Kathryn Hollingsworth, Fidelma White. 244 pgs.

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This book explains, from a public law perspective, the constitutional purpose and significance of audit, a topic which has been largely neglected, and casts light on important aspects of accountability in the British system of government. The book suggests that audit, as an accountability mechanism...
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This book explains, from a public law perspective, the constitutional purpose and significance of audit, a topic which has been largely neglected, and casts light on important aspects of accountability in the British system of government. The book suggests that audit, as an accountability mechanism, has been underplayed to date and that greater significance should be attributed to its role in delivering both democratic accountability and, within government, managerial accountability. The focus of the book is central government audit in Britain, but the constitutional role of audit at a local level and at a European Union level is also considered. The book begins by explaining, in a non -technical way, the basic concepts of accounting and audit, and sets audit in its historical context. The different types of audit and the institutional framework within which audit is conducted are then analysed. Any shortcomings in each area are identified and suggestions for change are explored. The constitutional significance of the changes to the role of audit that are currently taking place are analysed, as are the effects of developments, such as the creation of agencies, contracting-out, and more recently, resource accounting and budgeting and devolution, on the constitutional role of audit. The fundamental principles, both institutional and substantive, of public sector audit are identified and new tasks that audit could fulfil at central government level are proposed.
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4.

From Accounting to Accountability: A Centenary History of the Australian National Audit Office » Read Now
by John Wanna, Christine Ryan, Chew Ng. 372 pgs.

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A centenary history of the Australian National Audit Office;
5.

The Priesthood of Industry: The Rise of the Professional Accountant in British Management ("Auditing" begins on p. 97) » Read Now
by Derek Matthews, Malcolm Anderson, John Richard Edwards. 380 pgs.

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The leading professional accounting bodies in Britain today boast more than a quarter of a million qualified members and accountants are moving into top management positions in increasing numbers. Accountants have become the foremost professional grouping in British business management. The...
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The leading professional accounting bodies in Britain today boast more than a quarter of a million qualified members and accountants are moving into top management positions in increasing numbers. Accountants have become the foremost professional grouping in British business management. The Priesthood of Industry documents the rise of the accountancy profession, from the handful of accountants listed in the trade directories of the major cities in the late-eighteenth century to the huge commercially-oriented firms of the late-twentieth century. The authors focus on the individual: the professional accountant, and adopt an economic determinist analysis to explain the rise of public practice and the transfer of staff to industry in increasing numbers. They also consider the routes through which this transfer of skills took place, and identify demand and supply side factors to explain the professional accountant's present hegemony in business management.
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6.

Sociological Perspectives on Modern Accountancy (Chap. 8 "Auditing") » Read Now
by Robin Roslender. 230 pgs.

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Within accountancy in the last few years there have been moves to take on board a wide range of issues relevant to the profession. These include in particular questions of social and behavioural science in relation to management, and to a lesser extent financial accounting. Robin Roslender's text...
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Within accountancy in the last few years there have been moves to take on board a wide range of issues relevant to the profession. These include in particular questions of social and behavioural science in relation to management, and to a lesser extent financial accounting. Robin Roslender's text is the first to draw on developments within the academic discipline and apply their findings in an accessible way for the accounting student. He uses the sociological perspective to analyse the structure and processes of accountancy in an entirely novel way. His book will provide material that is now recognised as being acutely necessary by all parties to accounting education.
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7.

Challenges to Audit Education for the 21st Century: A Survey of Curricula, Course Content, and Delivery Methods, in Issues in Accounting Education » Read Now
by Eric N. Johnson, Jane Baird, Paul Caster. 23 pgs.

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8.

Continuous Auditing: Building Automated Auditing Capability, in Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory » Read Now
by Zabihollah Rezaee, Ahmad Sharbatoghlie, Rick Elam, Peter L. McMickle. 18 pgs.

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9.

Accounting Quality, Auditing, and Corporate Governance, in Accounting Horizons » Read Now
by Eugene A. Imhoff Jr. 12 pgs.

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10.

International Auditing Differences, in Journal of Accountancy » Read Now
by Carol A. Frost, Kurt P. Ramin. 7 pgs.

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11.

Feasibility and Economics of Continuous Assurance, in Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory » Read Now
by Michael G. Alles, Alexander Kogan, Miklos A. Vasarhelyi. 15 pgs.

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12.

Profitability Regulation, Earnings Management, and Modified Audit Opinions: Evidence from China, in Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory » Read Now
by Charles J. P. Chen, Shimin Chen, Xijia Su. 22 pgs.

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13.

Audit Qualification and Timing of Earnings Announcements: Evidence from China, in Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory » Read Now
by In-Mu G. Haw, Kyungjoo Park, Daqing Qi, Woody Wu. 26 pgs.
14.

A Multistage Approach to External Auditors' Evaluation of the Internal Audit Function, in Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory » Read Now
by Ganesh Krishnamoorthy. 28 pgs.

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