Professional values and ethics in auditing. Course: Moral and ethical foundations of the professional activity of auditors - Features of the ethics of the auditor. From audit history

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Features of the auditor's ethics

Features of the ethics of the auditor due to the nature and content of the audit activity, its very essence. IN Russian Federation financial control carried out in the form of state financial control and audit activities. State financial control is carried out both on the scale of the Russian Federation and in the constituent entities of Russia. In addition, at the level local government municipal financial control. Auditing activity (audit) in Russia is an entrepreneurial activity for independent verification of accounting and financial (accounting) statements of organizations and individual entrepreneurs(audited persons).

The auditor differs from the auditor in its essence, in the approach to checking the documentation, in the relationship with the client, in the conclusions drawn from the results of the audit, etc. In a word, audit is much broader than such concepts as revision and control. It provides not only verification of the reliability of financial indicators, but, no less important, the development of proposals for optimizing economic activity in order to rationalize costs and increase profits. Auditing activity, in addition to inspections, involves the provision of various types of services: maintaining and restoring accounting, consulting on accounting, taxation, training, etc.

A well-known American specialist in the field of theory and practice of audit prof. J. Robertson emphasizes that an audit is an activity aimed at reducing business risk. In his opinion, the audit contributes to the reduction to an acceptable level of information risk for users of financial statements. You can roughly calculate (predict) this risk and determine the likelihood of favorable events. At the same time, the entrepreneurial risk of a company (firm, organization) does not directly affect auditors.

Audit differs from forensic accounting expertise. The difference lies in the fact that an audit is an independent verification, and a forensic accounting examination is carried out by decision of the judiciary. The specificity of forensic accounting expertise is manifested in its procedural and legal form, which provides a source of evidence in the application of expert knowledge in the field accounting in the course of a judicial investigation of committed business transactions. The audit exists regardless of the presence or absence of a criminal or civil process, while forensic accounting expertise cannot exist outside of a criminal or arbitration case, since it is a procedural legal form (the legal side of this type of expertise). This difference leaves an imprint on the nature of the relationship between the norms of law and professional ethics in the activities of the auditor, makes this activity especially high moral requirements.

An auditor may be involved as an expert accountant during a forensic accounting examination. An expert, as an independent procedural figure, as a qualified specialist in the field of accounting and control, independently determines research methods, since he is responsible for the validity of his conclusions. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation does not provide for any restrictions for specialist auditors in the performance of their professional duties. Criminal Code- a systematized legislative act that determines which socially dangerous acts are criminal and establishes penalties for their commission.

The goals and objectives of audit activities are very multifaceted. The general classification of auditor activity can be presented on fig. 1.

Based on the above classification, it is advisable to consider the goals and objectives of auditing, as well as the rights, obligations, ethics and responsibilities of auditing. The advantage in this respect belongs to the external audit. Its purpose and main tasks are defined in the Federal Law "On Auditing and Russian rules(standards) of audit activity”. The main goal of an external audit is to provide objective, real and accurate information about the audited object.

Rice. 1. General classification of audit activities

Achievement main goal contribute to the current requirements for auditing. First of all, it is the independence and objectivity in conducting audits, as well as the confidentiality, professionalism, competence and integrity of the auditor. He uses the methods of statistics and economic analysis, applies new information technologies. The auditor must be able to make competent decisions, give rational recommendations based on the audit data. The goodwill and loyalty of the auditor in relation to clients, responsibility for the consequences of recommendations and conclusions is a prerequisite for his activities. Always and everywhere he is obliged to take care of the growth of the authority of the audit profession. All these requirements determine the features and norms of the auditor's behavior.

Auditor Independence– the requirement that the auditor is not an employee public institution and is not subject to the control and audit body. He strictly observes the standards of a professional audit association (association), having no property claims or other personal interests against the audited enterprises. Its objectivity is also ensured by high professional training, practical experience, deep knowledge of the latest methodological and other specialized literature.

Audit Privacy- the requirement according to which the auditor cannot and should not provide anyone with any information about the economic activity of the object being checked by him. In the case of divulging the secrets of his clients, he inflicts moral damage on himself and is liable under the law, and if this is provided for by the contract, then material sanctions are applied to him.

The auditor is obliged to have the necessary professional qualifications, take care of maintaining it at the proper level, and strictly comply with the requirements of regulatory documents. professionalism and ethical requirements do not allow him to provide services in those areas of the economy in which he does not have sufficient professional knowledge.

The use of statistical and economic analysis methods allows organizing the analysis of the conducted inspections at a high scientific level, obtaining more objective and reliable data for decision-making. The same can be said about new information technologies. There is a widespread use of computer technology for the organization of audit activities during the audit, in the analysis of reporting, as well as for maintaining and restoring accounting.

Based on the results of the audit, the auditor can draw the necessary rational conclusions that will help the client in organizing work, in accounting, in analyzing business activities.

The responsibility of the auditor the requirement that the auditor is responsible for his opinion on the financial statements of the entity being audited, including ethical responsibility. The management of the audited enterprise is responsible for the condition and content of such reports.

Since auditing is an entrepreneurial activity aimed at making a profit, auditors should apply such verification methods that would minimize the time for conducting an audit without compromising quality.

An external audit is carried out on a contractual basis by audit firms in order to objectively assess the state of affairs in the field of accounting and financial reporting of an economic entity. Enterprises, financial institutions, insurance companies, investment funds, unitary enterprises, exchanges, off-budget funds, etc.

Internal audit is an independent activity of checking and evaluating the work of the company in the interests of its leaders. Target internal audit- help the employees of the organization perform their functions effectively. This work is carried out by auditors working directly in the firm. IN small organizations may not have full-time auditors. In this case, the internal audit can be entrusted to the audit commission or an audit firm on a contractual basis.

An audit can be proactive (voluntary) when it is carried out by decision of the company's management or its founders, or mandatory if its conduct is due to a direct indication in a federal law or a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation.

The main goal of an initiative audit is to identify shortcomings in accounting, reporting, taxation; analyze financial condition economic object and help him in the organization of accounting and reporting. It is usually carried out by decision of the management of the economic entity. The goals of an initiative audit can be very different: control over the state of accounting in general or its individual sections; study of financial statements; organization of office work on accounting; assessment of the applied means and methods of accounting automation; assessment of the status of tax settlements, etc.

There are several reasons for conducting a proactive audit. Thus, many enterprises, especially ex-state ones, which were previously subjected to careful internal control, having gone through the procedure of privatization and corporatization in recent years and turned into joint-stock companies, have lost their usual control by special bodies. An important reason is the turnover of accounting staff, generated by many circumstances. Among them are insufficiently high pay, the unwillingness of the management of new economic structures accept the chief accountant as one of the main controllers of the legality of business transactions, etc. This is added low qualification accounting personnel in some enterprises, especially in newly formed ones. It is no coincidence that the heads of enterprises and organizations facing such problems themselves turn to audit firms with requests for help. All this gives rise to a whole range of moral and ethical problems for the auditor.

Russian Code of Auditors- a legislative act containing generalized ethical standards professional conduct of independent auditors, which determines the moral values of the audit community. Compliance with universal and professional ethical standards is an indispensable duty and the highest duty of every auditor, manager and employee of an audit firm. This is guaranteed by the high moral character and professional responsibility of auditors, the objective need to maintain in public opinion respect and trust in the audit profession.

Violators of ethical standards of professional conduct show disrespect for the entire audit community and inflict moral and material damage. The auditing community as a whole and each auditor individually condemn the unethical behavior of individual auditors and demand their punishment up to and including exclusion from their environment, deprivation of their qualification certificate and license to conduct auditing activities. Each auditor who is criticized by his colleagues regarding the violation of the ethics of professional conduct has the right to an objective public investigation of deviations from the norms provided for by the Code. At the request of a particular violator, the investigation can be conducted confidentially.

According to Russian laws, there is a certain list of rules, norms, restrictions that professional inspectors are guided by:

honesty, conscientiousness;
independence, lack of personal interest;
competence, professional approach;
confidentiality, maintaining the secrecy of verification;
professionalism - objectivity, education, skepticism.

The fundamental ethical principles of auditing are set out in the company's charter, as well as in the documents of associations and self-regulatory organizations. In today's business climate, it is important to maintain high personal qualities that guarantee customers receive a full result based on real facts.

For the most part, the ethical standards of auditors' behavior are determined not so much by regulations, but by the structure of the company, personal ideas about nobility and professionalism.

Audit Code: main conditions

When ordering an audit of assets and finances, the owners of enterprises, companies, firms, pay attention to the basic rules for the work of auditors. This is the preservation of the secrecy of information, independence, professional skepticism and training of specialists. Each item is designed to guarantee high quality conducted research:

confidentiality - aims to ensure that the results of the audit are kept from the public and government agencies unless otherwise indicated for verification purposes. For most owners, data on the financial, property, commodity position of the company is a secret that should be kept;
non-engagement is a clause that prohibits auditors from participating in an audit if they have a personal or property interest in the company in question. The same goes for their relatives. In fact, only a service contract should bind a specialist and a customer;
skepticism and objectivity - the combination of these points is justified by the fact that the verifier must always perceive information from different angles in order to get the maximum result, to guarantee the accuracy of his work;
preparedness of the auditor - the specialist must have the necessary theoretical and practical skills; know Russian, international legislation; use new legislative acts, accounting rules.

Professional Ethics of Auditing at Hold-Invest-Audit

The company, which has been operating in the domestic market for more than ten years, guarantees compliance with all rules, ethical and professional standards during the audit at the enterprise. The rules of work are clearly spelled out in the charter of the company and must be specified when concluding contracts. The customer always knows that he can entrust any information to the specialists of Hold-Invest-Audit.

Because in modern society The activity of auditors is given a very important role, it is necessary to maintain in public opinion respect and trust in the audit profession. To maintain the high moral character and professional responsibility of auditors by the International Federation of Accountants (International Federation of Accountants, I FAC) The Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants has been developed and is constantly being improved. The version of the Code, which was published in 2010, is currently in force. In addition, a new edition of the Code, which comes into force in 2014. Based on IFAC Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants was developed in Russia Code of Professional Ethics for Auditors approved by the Audit Board on March 22, 2012.

The ethics of professional behavior of auditors is determined by the moral, moral values that the audit community approves and supports in its environment, ready to protect them from possible violations and encroachments. Compliance with universal and professional ethical standards is an indispensable duty and the highest duty of every auditor - from a manager to an ordinary employee of an audit firm.

The unethical behavior of individual auditors deserves to be blamed and punished, up to and including exclusion from self-regulatory organization, deprivation of a qualification certificate and a license to conduct audit activities.

The Russian Code of Professional Ethics for Auditors emphasizes the distinctive feature of the audit profession, which is the recognition and acceptance of the obligation to act in public interests. Therefore, the auditor's responsibility is not limited to meeting the needs of an individual client or employer. Acting in the public interest, the auditor must comply with and obey the standards of professional ethics of the auditor.

The Code is a set of standards for the professional ethics of the auditor, i.e. established and widely used in the conduct of auditing rules of conduct for the auditor and the audit organization that are not provided for by law. Since it is not possible to determine the standards of professional ethics for all situations and circumstances that the auditor may encounter in the conduct of audit activities, the Code contains only basic standards.

This approach defines the structure of the Code.

1. The first part of the Code contains the main principles of the professional ethics of the auditor and guidance on the application of these principles in practice, i.e. describes the behavior model of the auditor and the audit organization.
2. The second part of the Code establishes the procedure for applying this model of behavior in specific situations. It provides examples of safeguards against threats that violate the fundamental principles, as well as examples of situations in which it is not possible to take sufficient safeguards against threats and therefore actions or attitudes that give rise to such threats must be avoided.
3. The auditor should not engage in activities that have or may have Negative influence on his integrity, objectivity and the reputation of the profession and, as a result, become incompatible with the provision of professional services.

Behavior Model auditor and audit organization includes:

the basic principles of conduct to be observed by the auditor;
a description of the behavior-based approach;
a description of the main threats and related precautions;
the auditor's actions to resolve ethical conflicts arising from the application of the basic principles of conduct. The auditor must comply with the following basic principles of conduct:
honesty;
objectivity;
professional competence and due diligence;
confidentiality;
professional behaviour.

These principles are discussed in detail in Chap. 1.

The Code sets out a conceptual an approach, based on the auditor's behavior model, which states that all situations that lead to threats of violation of the basic principles of behavior cannot be described, just as it is impossible to determine the response to emerging threats. Thus, the public interest is served by a model that requires the auditor not only to follow a predetermined set of rules that can be challenged, but to identify, evaluate and respond to threats to violate the fundamental principles.

If the identified threat is not clearly insignificant, then the auditor should take precautionary measures to eliminate such a threat or reduce it to an acceptable level where compliance with the fundamental principles is not compromised. In assessing the significance of a threat, the auditor should consider both quantitative and qualitative factors. If the auditor fails to take appropriate precautions, he must refuse to provide the professional services required of him, or stop providing them, or, if necessary, refuse to perform his duties to the client.

The Code addresses the main threats violations of the principles behavior of auditors, subdivided into the following categories:

self-interest threats that may arise from the financial or other interests of the auditor and improperly influence his judgment or conduct;
self-control that may arise in cases where the auditor, when forming a judgment in the course of performing a current assignment, will peremptorily rely on a judgment previously made by him or another employee of the audit organization, or on services previously rendered by him or another employee of the audit organization;
intercessions that may arise in cases where, by promoting any opinion of the client or the audit organization, the auditor reaches a certain limit beyond which his objectivity may be questioned;
close acquaintance, which may arise as a result of a long and (or) close relationship with a client, when the auditor is overly imbued with his interests or is determined to agree with his actions in everything;
intimidation that may arise when threats (real or perceived as such) are used to prevent the auditor from acting objectively.

However, this list of threats is not exhaustive. The auditor may find that certain special circumstances give rise to unique threats of violating one or more fundamental principles. Such unique threats cannot be classified.

Precautions established by the audit profession, regulatory legal acts, are, in particular:

educational requirements, vocational training and experience necessary to engage in professional activities;
the requirement for continuous professional development;
guidance on corporate behavior (management);
professional standards(standards of auditor activity);
procedures for monitoring and disciplinary action by the audit profession and authorized state bodies;
external reviews by authorized third parties of reports, documents, communications and other information prepared by the auditor.

Introduction

The object of the work is the system of ethics of auditors.

The subject of the study is the activity of the system of codes of ethics for professional accountants and auditors.

The purpose of the work is to study the professional ethics of professional accountants and auditors from the Russian and foreign points of view.

Analysis of the topics of the Codes of Ethics for professional accountants and auditors is quite relevant and is of scientific and practical interest.

The profession of a professional accountant is a public interest profession, which implies the recognition and acceptance of a duty to act in the public interest. In relation to the professional accounting community, society includes clients, employers, employees, professional associations of accountants, the financial community, and others who rely on the objectivity, independence, integrity of professional accountants to ensure the orderly conduct of business. Therefore, the responsibility of a professional accountant is not limited to meeting the needs of an individual client or employer. When acting in the public interest, a professional accountant must comply with and comply with the requirements of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants and Auditors.

Norms of behavior of accountants. For the first time, the provisions of professional accounting ethics were developed in the USA in 1987. The American Association of Accountants adopted a code of ethics for accountants, which is updated from time to time. Its main provisions:

1) an accountant, before taking a place, must carefully study the work of the predecessor;

2) if the predecessor is no longer working, he should be contacted with a written request;

3) if it follows from the preliminary acquaintance with the cases that the employer violates or may violate the current legislation, the accountant must refuse the offer (work);

4) the accountant has no right to demand from the administration knowledge and understanding of what he is doing;

5) an accountant cannot himself demand a promotion;

6) the employer's profits cannot include a share for the chief accountant, i.e. an accountant cannot receive a bonus or additional payment for financial results that he himself has deduced;

7) the accountant should not advise the employer how to commit and hide the traces of his crime;

8) the employer and the accountant are jointly and severally liable for the misrepresentation of reporting;

9) an accountant is obliged to regularly improve his professional qualifications, etc. It is believed that the presence of a code strengthens the status of an accountant and increases the demand from employers for his work.

Auditing has become a prominent phenomenon in modern economic life. Qualified auditors are relatively highly paid professionals. The auditor bases his activity on the trust of clients and users in him financial statements. The organization selects and invites a qualified, objective auditor who enjoys the trust of shareholders and all other persons interested in accounting information. A number of mandatory requirements and restrictions in the activities of the auditor is determined in legislative acts. They constitute the legal foundations of the audit profession.

The community of auditors and their organizations, united by the Audit Chamber of Russia, is called upon to improve auditing in the country, nurture high moral qualities in auditors and consultants, and strictly monitor the observance by auditors of not only legal, but also ethical standards of professional and human behavior.

1 The origin of professional ethics

To find out the origin of professional ethics is to trace the relationship of moral requirements with the division of social labor and the emergence of a profession. Aristotle, then Comte, Durkheim paid attention to these questions many years ago. They talked about the relationship between the division of social labor and the moral principles of society. For the first time the materialistic substantiation of these problems was given by K. Marx and F. Engels.

The emergence of the first professional and ethical codes refers to the period of the division of labor in the conditions of the formation of medieval workshops in the 11th-12th centuries. It was then that for the first time they state the presence in the shop charters of a number of moral requirements in relation to the profession, the nature of work, and partners in work.

However, a number of professions that are of vital importance for all members of society arose in ancient times, and therefore, such professional and ethical codes as the Hippocratic Oath, the moral regulations of priests who performed judicial functions, are known much earlier.

The appearance of professional ethics in time preceded the creation of scientific ethical teachings, theories about it. Everyday experience, the need to regulate the relationship of people of a particular profession led to the realization and formalization of certain requirements of professional ethics. Professional ethics, having arisen as a manifestation of everyday moral consciousness, then developed on the basis of a generalized practice of the behavior of representatives of each professional group. These generalizations were contained both in written and unwritten codes of conduct and in the form of theoretical conclusions. Thus, this indicates a transition from ordinary consciousness to theoretical consciousness in the sphere of professional morality. Public opinion plays an important role in the formation and assimilation of the norms of professional ethics. The norms of professional morality do not immediately become universally recognized, this is sometimes associated with a struggle of opinions. The relationship between professional ethics and public consciousness also exists in the form of tradition. Different types of professional ethics have their own traditions, which indicates the continuity of the basic ethical standards developed by representatives of a particular profession over the centuries. Professionalism as a moral personality trait.

1.1 Professionalism as a moral personality trait

Professional ethics is a set of moral norms that determine a person's attitude to his professional duty.

The moral relations of people in the labor sphere are regulated by professional ethics. Society can function normally and develop only as a result of a continuous process of production of material and valuables.

Professional ethics studies:

relationship labor collectives and each specialist separately;

moral qualities, the personality of a specialist, which provide

the best performance of professional duty;

relationships within professional teams, and those

specific moral standards inherent in this profession;

features of professional education.

Professionalism and attitude to work are important characteristics of the moral character of a person. They are of paramount importance in the personal characteristics of the individual, but at various stages of historical development, their content and assessment varied significantly. In a class society, they were determined by the social inequality of the types of labor, the opposite of mental and physical labor, the presence of privileged and unprivileged professions. The class character of morality in the sphere of work is evidenced by a work written in the first third of the 2nd century BC. the Christian biblical book "The Wisdom of Jesus, the son of Sirach", in which there is a lesson on how to treat a slave: "feed, stick and burden - for the donkey; bread, punishment and deed - for the slave. Keep the slave busy and you will have peace loosen his hands and he will seek freedom. In Ancient Greece physical work in terms of value and significance was at the lowest rating. And in a feudal society, religion considered labor as a punishment for original sin, and paradise was presented as eternal life without labor.

The situations in which people find themselves in the process of performing their professional tasks have a strong influence on the formation of professional ethics. In the process of labor, certain moral relations develop between people. They have a number of elements inherent in all types of professional ethics.

First, it is the attitude to social labor, to the participants in the labor process.

Secondly, these are the moral relations that arise in the area of direct contact between the interests of professional groups with each other and with society.

Professional ethics is not a consequence of inequality in the degree of morality of various professional groups. It's just that society shows increased moral requirements for certain types of professional activity. Basically, these are such professional areas in which the labor process itself requires the coordination of actions of all its participants. Particular attention is paid to the moral qualities of workers in the field that are associated with the right to dispose of people's lives, here we are talking not only about the level of morality, but also, first of all, about the proper performance of their professional duties. The labor activity of people in these professions, more than any other, is not amenable to preliminary regulation, does not fit within the framework of official instructions. It is inherently creative. The peculiarities of the work of these professional groups complicate moral relations and a new element is added to them: interaction with people - objects of activity. This is where moral responsibility becomes crucial. Society considers the moral qualities of an employee as one of the leading elements of his professional suitability. General moral norms should be specified in the labor activity of a person, taking into account the specifics of his profession.

Thus, professional morality should be considered in unity with the generally accepted system of morality. Violation of the work ethic is accompanied by the destruction of general moral principles, and vice versa. The irresponsible attitude of an employee to professional duties poses a danger to others, harms society, and can ultimately lead to the degradation of the individual himself.

In modern society, the personal qualities of an individual begin with his business characteristics, attitude to work, level of professional suitability. All this determines the exceptional relevance of the issues that make up the content of professional ethics. Genuine professionalism is based on such moral norms as duty, honesty, exactingness towards oneself and one's colleagues, responsibility for the results of one's work.

2 From audit history

The profession of an independent accountant-auditor arose in the 19th century. in joint stock companies in Europe. This was due to the need for an objective assessment of the reporting of a joint-stock company, obtaining reliable data on the financial position of the enterprise. These objective data could only be given by a specialist independent of the firm. It can be noted that accountants-auditors appeared in Great Britain in the middle of the 19th century, where the law on mandatory audit was passed in 1862, in France - in 1867, in the USA - in 1937.

Until the beginning of the 20th century. an independent audit in the United States of America was based on the English model, which provides for detailed studies of balance sheet data. In this regard, R. Montgomery called the American audit of this early stage an "accounting audit", noting that three-quarters of the auditor's working time was spent on calculations and compiling accounting books. The first official regulation on auditing in the United States was published in 1917 and dealt with the "audit of balance sheets." This ruling was prepared by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (now the American Institute of Chartered Public Accountants - AICPA).

The standardization of auditing in the United States began in 1939, when the AICPA established the Audit Procedures Committee and it issued the Audit Procedure Regulations. Until 1972, 54 Regulations were issued by this Committee. The Committee then became the Auditing Standards Executive Committee (later renamed the Auditing Standards Board). The Board summarized all the Regulations and brought them together in the form of the Audit Procedure Regulation, which is currently in force.

In 1880 the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales was founded. One hundred years later, it already had 76,000 members. This institute does a lot of methodological work, develops accounting and auditing standards, publishes the journal Accountants, which publishes a variety of audit materials.

In Germany, the first attempt to introduce an audit was made in 1870, when an addition to the law on joint-stock companies obliged the supervisory boards of these companies to check the main reporting forms - the balance sheet and the profit distribution report - and report the results of the check at general meetings of shareholders.

The methodology for organizing an external audit was formulated more clearly in the regulations regarding joint-stock companies in 1931. In 1932, the Institute of Auditors was established in Germany, which existed until 1941. After the end of World War II, the Institute of Auditors was formed in Düsseldorf, which was renamed in 1954 at the German Institute of Auditors. It has gained high prestige and is essentially an all-German organization.

Currently, the Institute of Auditors includes more than 6,000 auditors and 700 audit organizations. The main condition for membership is voluntary but strict adherence to professional rules, including ethical standards.

State influence on audit activity in Germany is determined by the fact that all auditors and audit firms must be members of the Audit Chamber of Germany.

In France, there are two main organizations involved in auditing activities: the Chamber of Expert Accountants and National company account commissioners. The main difference between accountants and account commissioners is that the former are invited to conduct audits of accounting and reporting in joint-stock companies, while the latter are appointed on a mandatory basis in accordance with the existing legislation on joint-stock companies. Accounts commissioners carry out the most responsible checks; the profession of an expert accountant is not so strictly regulated by government bodies.

In Italy, statutory audit activities may be carried out in accordance with the Decree of the Government of 1992 only by persons entered in a special nominal register, which is under the control of the Ministry of Justice. Only auditors who have passed exams in accounting, law, computer technology and informatics can get into this register. Applicants for the title of auditor can be specialists with higher economic, legal and commercial education with at least three years of practical experience.

In 1983, the Audit Administration was established in China and the first audit firms emerged, which have now reached a fairly high level of development.

Audit is becoming more and more widespread in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Ukraine have adopted laws on auditing. In the CIS, the process of attestation of auditors and the issuance of licenses has been established, both for audit firms and for auditors working as entrepreneurs.

In Russia, audit activity and the profession of an auditor in their modern form appeared relatively recently in connection with the economic transformations in the country. Meanwhile, as noted by a well-known specialist in the field of audit, control and revision, prof. Yu.A. Danilevsky, attempts to create an audit institution in Russia were made in 1889, 1912 and 1928, but they all ended in failure. The fourth attempt, undertaken in the late 80s of the last century, proved to be the most successful, as practice has shown.

2.1 Formation and development of audit in Russia

The first stage (1987-1993) was characterized, on the one hand, by the directive nature of the creation of audit organizations (1987 - the creation of the first audit organization "Interaudit"), on the other hand, by the spontaneous nature of the emergence of audit activity (training, disorderly issuance of the first certificates and licenses during the period 1990-1993).

Second stage (December 1993 until the adoption federal law“On Auditing Activities” - August 2001) - the period of formation of the Russian audit, in the process of which the Provisional Rules for Auditing Activities, approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of December 22, 1993 No. 2263, played an important role, Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 6, 1996 No. 482 “On Approval of Normative Documents for the Regulation of Auditing Activities” and a number of other documents.

The work on attestation of auditors and licensing of audit activities was started and carried out, audit public associations and audit firms were created, work began on conducting mandatory audits and providing audit-related services.

For the period 1994-2001. The Central Attestation and Licensing Audit Commission (CALAC) of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation issued 23,600 licenses to licensees (including 14,700 audit organizations and 8,900 individual auditors). The number of valid licenses was about 8,900, including 7,700 for general audit, 266 for audit of investment institutions, audit of insurers. During the same period, the CALAC of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation approved almost 36,500 auditor qualification certificates for issuance. The number of valid qualification certificates was 249,001.

For the period 1996-2000. 37 rules (standards) of audit activity and one method of audit activity were developed and approved by the Audit Commission under the President of the Russian Federation, which formed the methodological basis of the Russian audit.

The third stage of audit activity in Russia began after the adoption of the Federal Law "On Auditing" (dated August 7, 2001 No. 119-FZ as amended by Federal Law dated December 14, 2001 No. 164-FZ). The adoption of the Federal Law confirmed the final formation of audit in Russia, made it possible to adopt a number of legal acts to regulate audit activities in Russia, to take a step towards integrating Russian audit into the international audit system.

2.2 Auditor integrity

The ethics of the auditor is a system of norms of moral behavior of the auditor, the audit organization during the audit, the provision of services related to the audit. Such a concept as medical ethics has long been known, and the functions of an auditor can be compared with the functions of a doctor, only the object of the beneficial influence of the auditor is not a person, but an enterprise (organization).

In October 1996, the Presidium of the Audit Chamber of Russia approved the Code

professional ethics of auditors united by the chamber. It is approved by the general

The Code of Professional Ethics for Auditors first appeared in Russian history. The very procedure of its application is unique and unusual. Auditors undertake to voluntarily and in good faith observe the established standards of professional conduct. Therefore, they must not only be known, but also understood. The Code specifies the following ethical standards:

Generally accepted moral norms and principles

public interest

Objectivity and attentiveness of the auditor

Auditor Competence

Client Confidential Information

Tax relations

Professional service fee

Relationships between auditors

Employee relations with the audit firm

Auditor inconsistent actions

Audit services in other states

I consider it appropriate to comment on certain norms contained in the Code.

The Code of Ethics of Auditors summarizes the ethical standards of professional behavior of independent auditors, defines the moral, moral values that the audit community asserts in its environment, ready to protect them from all possible violations and encroachments. Compliance with universal and professional ethical standards is an indispensable duty and the highest duty of every auditor, manager and employee of an audit firm.

The Code of Ethics contains the following requirements.

Auditors are obliged to adhere to universal moral rules and moral norms in their actions and decisions, to live and work according to their conscience; observe the rules of the norm of general morality, truthfulness and honesty in actions and decisions, independence and objectivity in judgments and conclusions, intransigence to injustice.

Compliance with the public interest.

The external auditor is obliged to act in the interests of society and all users of financial statements, and not just the customer. Defending the interests of the client in tax, judicial and other authorities, as well as in his relationship with other legal entities and individuals, the auditor must be convinced that the protected interests arose on legal and fair grounds. As soon as the auditor becomes aware that the protected interests of the client arose in violation of the law or justice, he is obliged to refuse protection.

auditor objectivity.

Auditors should not present facts knowingly inaccurate or biased.

When providing any professional services, auditors are required to objectively consider all emerging situations and real facts, not to allow personal bias, prejudice or outside pressure to affect the objectivity of their judgments.

The auditor should avoid relationships with persons that could affect the objectivity of his judgments and conclusions, or immediately terminate them, indicating the inadmissibility of pressure on the auditor in any form.

Auditor attention.

When performing professional services, maximum care should be taken. Auditors must be attentive and serious about their duties, comply with approved auditing standards, adequately plan and control work, and check subordinate specialists.

auditor independence.

Auditors are required to refuse to provide professional services if there are reasonable doubts about their independence from the client organization and its officers in all respects. In an opinion or other document drawn up as a result of the services rendered, the auditor must consciously declare his independence in relation to the client.

The main circumstances that may impair the independence of the auditor or give rise to doubts about his actual independence:

1) forthcoming (possible) or ongoing judicial (arbitration) cases with

client organization;

2) financial participation of the auditor in the affairs of the client's organization in any form;

3) financial and property dependence of the auditor on the client (for example,

joint participation in investments);

4) indirect financial participation (financial dependence) in the organization

client through relatives, employees of the company, through the main and subsidiaries, etc.;

5) family and friendly relations with directors and higher

management personnel of the client;

6) excessive hospitality of the client, as well as receiving goods from him and

services at prices significantly reduced relative to real market prices;

7) participation of the auditor (heads of audit firms) in any bodies

management of the client's organization, its main and subsidiaries;

audit firms) on financial investments in organizations in which they themselves have any financial interests;

9) the previous work of the auditor in the organization of the client or in the management

organizations in any positions;

10) proposals from the client to appoint an auditor to the management and other

position in the client's organization.

Under the above circumstances, independence is considered violated if they arose, continued to exist or were terminated in the period for which professional audit services are to be performed.

The main circumstances that may damage the independence of an audit firm or give rise to doubts about its actual independence:

1) if the audit organization participates in financial and industrial

a group, in a group of credit institutions or a holding and provides professional auditing services to organizations included in this financial-industrial or banking group (holding);

2) if the audit organization arose on the basis of structural unit

former or current ministry (committee) or with the direct or indirect participation of a former or current ministry (committee) and provides services to organizations previously or currently subordinate to this ministry (committee);

3) if the audit organization arose with direct or indirect participation

banks, insurance companies or investment institutions and provides services to organizations whose shares are owned, acquired or acquired by the above structures during the period for which the audit firm must provide services.

In cases where the auditor performs other services on behalf of the client (consulting, reporting, accounting, etc.), it is necessary to ensure that they do not violate the independence of the auditor. Auditor independence is ensured when:

1) auditor's advice does not develop into management services

organization;

2) there are no reasons and situations affecting the objectivity of the auditor's judgments;

3) personnel involved in accounting and compiling

reporting, is not involved in the audit of the client organization;

4) responsibility for the content of accounting and reporting

assumed by the client organization.

Professional competence of the auditor.

Auditors are required to provide a sufficient professional level of audit services required by the client.

Assuming an obligation to provide certain professional services, the auditor must be confident in his competence in this area, possess the necessary amount of knowledge and skills in order to conscientiously and professionally fulfill obligations, guarantee the client audit services based on modern techniques using all, including the latest, regulations.

The auditor is obliged to refrain from providing professional services that go beyond his competence, as well as those that do not correspond to his qualification certificate.

The audit firm can attract competent professionals to assist the auditor in solving specific tasks.

The professional competence of the auditor is based on general and special higher education, passing certification exams, confirmed by the relevant diplomas and certificates, as well as the experience of continuous practical work on the provision of professional audit services together with other specialists of this profile and professional level.

The auditor is obliged to constantly update his professional knowledge in the field of accounting, taxation, financial activities and civil law, organization and methods of auditing, legislation, Russian and international norms and standards of accounting and auditing.

To ensure the quality of professional services, the auditor must strictly follow Russian and international auditing standards.

Client confidential information.

The auditor is obliged to keep secret confidential information about the affairs of clients obtained in the provision of professional services without limitation in time and regardless of the continuation or termination of direct relations with them.

The auditor should not use confidential information of the client, which became known to him in the performance of professional services, for his own benefit or for the benefit of any third party, and also to the detriment of the client's interests.

Publication or other disclosure of clients' confidential information is not a violation of professional ethics in the following cases:

1) when it is done with the permission of the client, and also taking into account the interests of all

parties that may be affected:

2) when it is provided for by legislative acts or decisions

judiciary;

3) to protect the professional interests of auditors during the official

investigations or private proceedings conducted by managers or authorized representatives of clients;

4) when the client involved the auditor in actions contrary to

professional standards.

The auditor is responsible for maintaining confidential information by assistants and all personnel of the firm.

tax relations.

Auditors are required to strictly comply with tax laws in all respects: they must not knowingly hide their income from taxation or otherwise violate tax laws for their own benefit or for the benefit of others.

When providing professional tax services, the auditor is guided by the interests of the client. At the same time, he is obliged to comply with tax laws and should not contribute to falsification in order to evade the client from paying taxes and deceive the tax service.

The auditor is obliged to inform the administration of the client and the audit commission of the joint-stock (economic) company about the facts of violation of tax legislation, errors in calculations and payment of taxes revealed during the statutory audit and warn them about the possible consequences and ways to correct violations and errors.

Recommendations and advice in the field of taxation, the auditor is obliged to provide the client only in writing. At the same time, he should not reassure the client that his recommendations exclude any problems with the tax authorities, and should also warn the client that the responsibility for the preparation and content of tax returns and other tax reporting lies with the client.

Professional service fee.

The auditor's professional fees are ethical if they are paid based on the scope and quality of the services provided. It may depend on the complexity of the services provided, qualifications, experience, professional authority and the degree of responsibility of the auditor.

The amount of professional fees for auditors should not depend on the achievement of any specific result or be determined by circumstances other than those specified above.

The auditor has no right to receive payment for professional services in cash in excess of the generally established norms of calculations. The auditor must refrain from paying or receiving commissions for acquiring or transferring clients or transferring third party services to anyone.

The auditor is obliged to agree in advance with the client and fix in writing the conditions and procedure for paying for his professional services. The auditor is not required to announce prices for services rendered in advance.

Doubts about the observance of professional ethics are caused by the situation when the payment of one client is all or most of the annual revenue of the auditor for the rendered professional services.

Relationships between auditors.

Auditors are required to treat other auditors kindly, to refrain from unreasonable criticism of their activities and other conscious actions that cause damage to colleagues.

The auditor should refrain from disloyal actions towards a colleague when the client replaces the auditor, assist the newly appointed auditor in obtaining information about the client and the reasons for replacing the auditor. Informing the newly appointed auditor is carried out in writing in compliance with the rules.

The newly invited auditor, if such an invitation is not based on the results of a tender held by the client, before agreeing to the proposal, must send a written request to the former auditor and make sure that there are no professional reasons for refusing it.

A newly invited auditor who has not received a response from the previous auditor to his request within a reasonable time and, despite the efforts made, who does not have other information about the circumstances that prevent him from working with this client, has the right to give a positive response to the proposal received.

The auditor has the right, in the interests of his client and with his consent, to invite other auditors and other specialists to provide professional services. Relations with other auditors (specialists) involved additionally must be businesslike and correct.

Auditors (specialists), additionally involved in the provision of services, are obliged to refrain from discussing business and professional qualities principal auditors, to show maximum loyalty to the colleagues who invited them.

Relations of employees with the audit firm.

Certified auditors who have agreed to become employees of an audit firm are obliged to be loyal to it, to contribute to the authority and further development of the firm with all their activities, to maintain business, friendly relations with managers and other employees of the firm, managers and staff of clients.

The relationship between employees and the audit firm should be based on mutual responsibility for the performance of professional duties, on devotion and open-mindedness, continuous improvement of the organization of audit services, their professional content.

A certified auditor, who often changes auditing firms or suddenly leaves it and thereby causes some damage to the firm, violates professional ethics.

The heads (employees) of an audit firm refrain from discussing with third parties the professional and personal qualities of their former employees and colleagues, unless these former employees caused by their actions significant damage to the profession and the legitimate interests of the company.

At the request of the head of the audit firm in which the auditor is employed, the head of the audit firm, of which the auditor previously worked, may give a written recommendation indicating the professional and personal qualities of the auditor.

The auditor, for one reason or another, leaving the audit firm, is obliged in good faith and in full to transfer to the firm all the documentation and other professional information he has.

3 Accountant ethics

The Code of Ethics contains the following requirements. A professional accountant is required to observe the following basic principles of conduct:

a) honesty;

b) objectivity;

c) professional competence and due diligence;

d) confidentiality;

e) professional behavior.

Honesty

1.2. A professional accountant must act openly and honestly in all professional and business relationships. The principle of honesty also implies fair dealing and truthfulness.

1.3. A professional accountant should not deal with records, documents, communications or other information if there is reason to believe that:

a) the information contains materially false or misleading statements;

b) the information contains statements or data prepared carelessly;

c) the information contains omissions or distortions of necessary data where they may be misleading.

1.4. A professional accountant will not be considered in breach of clause 1.3 if he issues a report adjusted for the reasons given in that clause.

Objectivity

1.5. A professional accountant should not allow bias, conflicts of interest or other persons to influence the objectivity of his professional judgment.

1.6. A professional accountant may find himself in a situation that could damage his objectivity. It is not possible to identify and describe all such situations. A professional accountant should avoid relationships that may distort or influence his or her professional judgment.

Professional competence and due diligence

1.7. A professional accountant must constantly maintain his knowledge and skills at a level that ensures the provision of qualified professional services to clients or employers, based on the latest achievements in practice and modern legislation. In providing professional services, a professional accountant must act with due diligence and in accordance with applicable technical and professional standards.

1.8. The qualified provision of a professional service involves the formation of an informed judgment regarding the application of professional knowledge and skills in the process of providing a service. Ensuring professional competence can be divided into two independent stages:

a) achieving the proper level of professional competence;

b) maintaining professional competence at the proper level.

1.9. Maintaining professional competence requires constant awareness of relevant technical, professional and business innovations. Continuing professional development develops and maintains the capabilities that enable a professional accountant to perform competently in a professional environment.

1.10. Diligence is understood as the obligation to act in accordance with the requirements of the task (contract), carefully, carefully and in a timely manner.

1.11. A professional accountant should take steps to ensure that those working under him in a professional capacity are properly trained and directed.

1.12. When appropriate, a professional accountant should make clients, employers or other users of professional services aware of the limitations of those services in order to avoid construing a professional accountant's opinion as a statement of fact.

Confidentiality

1.13. A professional accountant should maintain the confidentiality of information obtained as a result of professional or business relationships and should not disclose this information to unauthorized third parties, unless a professional accountant has a legal, professional right or obligation to disclose such information. Confidential information obtained as a result of a professional or business relationship should not be used by a professional accountant to obtain any advantage for them or third parties.

1.14. A professional accountant must maintain confidentiality even outside their professional environment. A professional accountant must be aware of the possibility of inadvertent disclosure of information, especially in the context of maintaining long-term relationships with business partners or their close relatives or family members.

1.15. A professional accountant must maintain the confidentiality of information disclosed to him by a potential client or employer.

1.16. A professional accountant must maintain the confidentiality of information within his or her organization or with employers.

1.17. A professional accountant should take all reasonable steps to ensure that those under his supervision and those from whom he receives advice or assistance respect his obligation to maintain the confidentiality of information with due respect.

1.18. The need to respect the principle of confidentiality continues even after the end of the relationship between a professional accountant and a client or employer. When changing jobs or starting work with a new client, a professional accountant has the right to use previous experience. However, a professional accountant should not use or disclose confidential information obtained from a previous professional or business relationship.

1.19. A professional accountant should or may be required to disclose confidential information when:

a) the disclosure is legally permitted and/or authorized by the client or employer;

b) disclosure is required by law, for example:

when preparing documents or presenting evidence in a different form during the trial;

when reporting the facts of violation of the law that have become known to the appropriate state authorities;

c) disclosure is a professional duty or right (unless prohibited by law):

when checking the quality of work of an organization - a member of a professional organization or the professional organization itself;

upon inquiry or investigation by a member body, professional body or supervisory authority;

when a professional accountant defends his or her professional interests in legal proceedings.

1.20. In deciding whether to disclose confidential information, a professional accountant should consider the following:

a) whether the interests of any of the parties, including third parties whose interests may also be affected, will be harmed if the client or employer has permission to disclose information;

b) whether the information is sufficiently known and reasonably substantiated. In a situation where there are unsubstantiated facts, conclusions, incomplete information or unreasonable conclusions, professional judgment should be used to determine in what form information should be disclosed (if necessary);

c) the nature of the expected message and its addressee. In particular, a professional accountant must be satisfied that the persons to whom the communication is addressed are the intended recipients of the communication.

professional behaviour.

1.21. A professional accountant must comply with relevant laws and regulations and to avoid any action that discredits or is likely to discredit the profession, or is an action that a reasonable and knowledgeable third party, in possession of all relevant information, would consider to be detrimental to good reputation professions.

1.22. In offering and promoting its candidacy and services, a professional accountant should not discredit the profession. A professional accountant must be honest and truthful and must not:

a) make claims about the quality of the services he can provide, his qualifications and experience gained;

b) make disparaging remarks about the work of other professional accountants or make unwarranted comparisons of their work with those of other accountants.

Conclusion

Accountants and auditors of public, charitable, non-profit organizations in their work are guided by ethical standards adopted in the independent sector as a whole.

1) devotion to the cause, the desire to fulfill the mission of the organization

2) voluntariness and disinterestedness

3) commitment to the public good

4) respect for the value and dignity of the individual

5) tolerance and striving for social justice

6) responsibility to society

7) openness and honesty

8) frugality in relation to means

9) compliance with laws.

Basic principles of everyday ethics:

1) Be a model of personal behavior

2) In the process of work, act in accordance with the values \u200b\u200band purpose of their profession

3) Serve your profession for the benefit of others

4) Do not participate in cases related to lies, deceit, forgery

5) Strive to improve their professional knowledge and practical experience, put the call of duty above all

6) Do not use professional relationships to achieve personal goals

7) Maintain the confidentiality of the information received

8) Direct efforts to prevent inhumane or discriminatory actions directed against one person or groups of people.

Professional organizations develop detailed codes of professional ethics for accountants and auditors, trying to provide for all possible nuances of their behavior.

The Code of Ethics for Accountants and Auditors summarizes the ethical norms of professional behavior, defines the moral, moral values that the community affirms in its environment, ready to protect them from all possible violations and encroachments.

Compliance with universal and professional ethical standards is an indispensable duty and the highest duty of every accountant and auditor, manager and employee of the company.

Much is said about the ethics of professional auditors, but little is done to educate authoritative highly qualified specialists. Ethical problems are encountered daily in the professional path of an accountant and auditor. They need to be resolved with dignity, and for this you need to know the norms of professional behavior, prepare yourself for their strict observance.

List of sources used

Code of Ethics for Members of the Institute of Professional Accountants of Russia

(approved by the decision of the Presidential Council of the IPBR, protocol No. 08/03 dated 26.09.07)

Code of Ethics for Russian Auditors (approved by the Audit

activities under the Ministry of Finance of Russia, protocol No. 56 dated May 31, 2007)

ethics

auditors

Ethico legal mechanisms of the audit business
Abstract >> Accounting and audit
Code of Professional ethics auditors RK approved by the Audit Chamber. Ethics professional conduct auditors defines moral ... possible violations and encroachments. Code ethics auditors Code ethics auditors includes 12 basic rules...
Main provisions of the Code ethics professional accountants of the International Federation of Accountants
Test work >> Accounting and audit
Codes ethics professional accountants and auditors. The purpose of the work is to study the professional ethics professional accountants and auditors with... every accountant and auditor, manager and employee of the company. About ethics auditors-Professionals talk a lot...
Ethics and responsibility in PR
Code >> Communications and communications
Attitude to the target organization audience. Compose a message. Here..., A Beketov, F. Sarokvasha. 3.1. Questions ethics in the work of a public relations specialist ... the following: the main principle of professional ethics communications specialist...

Ethics is a system of norms of moral behavior of a person or any social or professional group.

Such a concept as medical ethics has long been known, and the auditor is also a kind of doctor, only the object of his beneficial effect is not a person, but an enterprise (organization).

Briefly, the ethical standards of audit activity can be formulated as independence; competence; conscientiousness; objectivity.

On practice professional organizations develop codes of professional ethics for auditors in great detail and scrupulously, trying to provide for all possible nuances of their behavior.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has published a Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, which is used by professional associations of accountants and auditors. different countries to create national codes. In Russia, there are codes of such professional associations, as the Russian Board of Auditors and the Russian Audit Chamber.

Compliance with ethical norms of professional behavior is guaranteed by high moral qualities and professional responsibility of auditors, an objective need to maintain respect and trust in the public opinion for the audit profession.

Violators of ethical norms of professional behavior show disrespect for the entire audit community and cause moral and material damage to it.

The auditing community as a whole and each auditor individually condemn the unethical behavior of individual auditors and demand their punishment up to and including exclusion from their environment, deprivation of their qualification certificate and license to conduct auditing activities.

Every auditor who is criticized by his peers about water violations of the ethics of professional conduct, has the right to an objective public investigation of deviations from the norms provided for by this Code. At the request of a particular violator, the investigation can be conducted confidentially.

The main ethical standards include the following requirements.

Compliance with generally accepted moral norms and principles. Auditors are required to adhere to universal moral rules and

Chapter 5. Auditor Certification and Ethics 103

moral standards in their actions and decisions, live and work according to their conscience;

Be guided in your actions by the universal human rule: “Try not to do to others what you would not want them to do to you”; observe the rules and norms of general morality, truthfulness and honesty in actions and decisions, independence and objectivity in judgments and conclusions, intolerance to injustice, violations of moral and moral, as well as legal norms in all their manifestations.

Compliance with the public interest. The external auditor is obliged to act in the interests of society and all users of financial statements, and not just the customer. Protecting the interests of the client in tax, judicial and other authorities, as well as in his relationship with other legal and individuals, the auditor must be satisfied that the protected interests arose on legal and fair grounds. As soon as the auditor becomes aware that the protected interests of the client arose in violation of the law or justice, he is obliged to refuse to protect them.

auditor objectivity. An objective basis for the conclusions, recommendations and conclusions of the auditor can only be a sufficient amount of required information.

Auditors should not present facts knowingly inaccurate or biased.

The actions of the auditors, their decisions and conclusions cannot depend on the judgments or instructions of other persons.

Auditor attention. When performing professional Services, maximum care should be taken. Auditors must be attentive and serious about their duties, comply with approved auditing standards, adequately plan and control work, and check subordinate specialists.

auditor independence. Auditors are required to refuse to provide professional services if there are reasonable doubts about their independence from the client organization and its officials in all respects.

104 Section I. Theoretical basis audit

In an opinion or other document drawn up as a result of the rendered professional services, the auditor is obliged to consciously j but and without any reservations declare his independence in relation to the client.

The main circumstances that may impair the independence of the auditor or give rise to doubts about his actual independence:

a) forthcoming (possible) or ongoing legal (arbitration) cases with the client's organization;

b) financial participation of the auditor in the affairs of the client's organization in any form;

c) financial and property dependence of the auditor on the client (joint participation in investments in other organizations, lending, except for banking, etc.);

d) indirect financial participation (financial dependence) in the client's organization through relatives, employees of the company, through the main and subsidiaries, etc.;

e) family and personal friendships with the directors and senior management of the client's organization;

f) excessive hospitality of the client, as well as receiving goods and services from him at prices significantly reduced relative to real market prices;

g) participation of the auditor (heads of the audit firm) in any management bodies of the client's organization, its main and subsidiaries;

i) previous work of the auditor in the organization of the client or in its managing organization in any positions;

j) proposals from the client to appoint an auditor to a managerial and other position in the client's organization.

Under the above circumstances, independence is considered violated if they arose, continued to exist or were terminated in the period for which professional audit services are to be performed.

The main circumstances that may damage the independence of an audit firm or give rise to doubts about its actual independence:

a) if an audit organization participates in a financial and industrial group, in a group of credit organizations or a holding company and provides professional audit services to organizations

Chapter 5. Auditor Certification and Ethics 105

to the shares included in this financial-industrial or banking group (holding);

b) if an audit organization has emerged on the basis of a structural unit of a former or current ministry (committee) or with direct or indirect participation of a former or current ministry (committee) and provides services to organizations previously or currently subordinate to this ministry (committee);

c) if the audit organization has arisen with the direct or indirect participation of banks, insurance companies or investment institutions and provides services to organizations whose shares are owned, acquired or acquired by the above structures during the period for which the audit firm must provide services.

a) the auditor's advice does not develop into services for the management of the organization;

b) there are no reasons and situations that affect the objectivity of the auditor's judgments;

c) personnel involved in accounting and reporting are not involved in the audit of the client organization;

d) responsibility for the content of accounting and reporting assumes the client's organization.

Professional competence of the auditor. Auditors are required to provide a sufficient professional level of audit services required by the client.

Assuming an obligation to provide certain professional services, the auditor must be confident in his competence in this area, have the necessary amount of knowledge and skills in order to conscientiously and professionally fulfill obligations, guarantee the client audit services based on modern techniques using all, including the latest regulations.

The auditor is obliged to refrain from providing professional services that go beyond his competence, as well as those that do not correspond to his qualification certificate.

The audit firm can attract competent professionals to assist the auditor in solving specific tasks.

106 Section I. Theoretical foundations of audit

The professional competence of an auditor is based on general and specialized higher education, passing attestation exams, confirmed by relevant diplomas and certificates, as well as on the experience of continuous practical work for the provision of professional audit services together with other specialists of this profile and professional level.

The auditor is obliged to strive to carry out his professional activities in a team of specialists organizationally united in an audit firm.

The auditor is obliged to constantly update his professional knowledge in the field of accounting, taxation, financial activities and civil law, organization and methods of audit, legislation, Russian and international standards and; accounting and auditing standards.

The audit firm is obliged to conduct annual training of auditors in the amount of at least 40 training hours with mandatory annual control of knowledge of new rules and regulations that have arisen in professional auditing.

To ensure the quality of professional services, the auditor must strictly follow Russian and international auditing standards.

Client confidential information. The auditor is obliged to keep confidential information in the affairs of clients obtained in the course of providing professional services, without limitation in time and regardless of the continuation or termination of direct relations with them.

Publication or other disclosure of clients' confidential information is not a violation of professional ethics in the following cases:

a) when it is done with the permission of the client, and also taking into account the Interests of all parties that it may affect;

b) when it is provided for by legislative acts or decisions of judicial authorities;

c) to protect the professional interests of auditors in the course of official investigations or private proceedings conducted by managers or authorized representatives of clients;

d) when the client inadvertently and unlawfully involved the auditor in actions contrary to professional standards.

Chapter 5. Auditor Certification and Ethics 107

The auditor is responsible for maintaining confidential information by assistants and all personnel of the firm.

tax relations. Auditors are required to strictly comply with tax laws in all respects: they must not knowingly hide their income from taxation or otherwise violate tax laws for their own benefit or for the benefit of others.

Recommendations and advice in the field of taxation, the auditor is obliged to provide the client only in writing. At the same time, he seeks not to reassure the client that his recommendations exclude any problems with the tax authorities, and he must also warn the client that the responsibility for the preparation and content of tax returns and other tax reporting lies with the client.

Professional service fee. The auditor's professional fees are ethical if they are paid based on the scope and quality of the services provided. It may depend on the complexity of the services provided, qualifications, experience, professional authority and the degree of responsibility of the auditor.

The amount of remuneration for the professional services of auditors should not depend on the achievement of any particular result or be determined by circumstances other than those mentioned.

The auditor has no right to receive payment for professional services in cash in excess of the generally established norms of calculations.

The auditor must refrain from paying or receiving commissions for acquiring or transferring clients or transferring third party services to anyone.

The auditor is obliged to agree in advance with the client and fix in writing the conditions and procedure for paying for his professional services.

The auditor is not required to pre-announce prices for services rendered.

108 Section I. Theoretical foundations of audit

Doubts about the observance of professional ethics are caused by the situation when the payment of one client makes up all or most of the annual revenue of the auditor for the rendered professional services.

Relationships between auditors. Auditors are required to treat other auditors kindly, to refrain from unreasonable criticism of their activities and other conscious actions that cause damage to colleagues in the profession.

Informing the newly appointed auditor is made in writing in compliance with ethical standards of confidentiality.

Auditors (specialists), additionally involved in the provision of services, are obliged to refrain from discussing with the client's representatives the business and professional qualities of the main auditors, to show maximum loyalty to the colleagues who invited them.

Employee relations with audit organization. Certified auditors who have agreed to become employees of an audit firm are obliged to be loyal to it, contribute to the authority and further development of the firm with all their activities, maintain business-like, friendly relations with managers and other employees of the firm, managers and personnel clients.

The relationship between employees and the audit firm should be based on mutual responsibility for the performance of professional

Chapter 5 Auditors Appeal and Ethics 109

sional duties, devotion and open-mindedness, continuous improvement of the organization of audit services, their professional content.

The audit organization is obliged to develop methods of professional activity, generalize regulations, supply their employees with them, constantly take care of improving their professional knowledge and qualities.

Auditors cooperating in an audit firm are obliged to conscientiously perform their work, constantly improve professionally, carefully and balancedly approach the content of documents sent to clients, and in relations with them be guided by professional standards and the interests of the firm.

A certified auditor, who often changes auditing firms or suddenly leaves it and thereby causes some damage to the firm, violates professional ethics.

Specialists who have moved to another audit firm are required to refrain from condemning or praising their former managers and colleagues, from discussing with anyone the organization and methods of work in the former firm; must not disclose confidential information known to them and documents of the audit firm with which they have terminated their employment relationship.

The heads (employees) of an audit firm refrain from discussing with third parties the professional and personal qualities of their former employees and colleagues, except in cases where these former employees have caused significant damage to the profession and the legitimate interests of the firm by their actions.

The auditor, for one reason or another, leaving the audit firm, is obliged in good faith and in full to transfer to the firm all the documentation and other professional information he has.

Public information and advertising. Public information about auditors and advertising of audit services can be presented in the media, special editions of auditors, in address and telephone directories, in public speeches and 11 other publications of auditors, managers and employees of audit firms.

110 Section I. Theoretical foundations of audit

There are no restrictions regarding the place and frequency of advertising, the size and design of the advertisement.

Advertising for auditing professional services should be informative, direct and honest, and in good taste, without any possibility of deceiving and misleading potential clients or arousing distrust in them of other auditors.

Not allowed as contradictory professional ethics auditors advertising and publications containing:

a) a direct indication or a hint that inspires unreasonable expectations (confidence) of clients in the favorable results of professional audit services;

b) groundless self-praise and comparisons with other auditors;

d) information that may disclose the confidential data of the client or bias him in a false light;

e) unfounded claims to be an expert in a particular field professional activity;

f) information intended to mislead or put pressure on judicial, tax and other state authorities.

Auditors are required to refrain from participating in various kinds of comparative studies and ratings, the results of which are supposed to be published to the public, or from paying for the services of journalists who publish favorable information about them.

The actions of the auditor, incompatible with the professional activity. The auditor should not, concurrently with the main professional practice, engage in activities that affect or may affect his objectivity and independence, the observance of the priority of the public interest or the reputation of the profession as a whole and therefore is incompatible with the provision of professional audit services.

Engagement in any activity prohibited by practicing auditors in accordance with the law is considered as incompatible actions of the auditor, violating the law and professional ethical standards.

The performance by the auditor of two or more professional services and assignments at the same time may be considered incompatible activities.

Chapter 5. Auditor Certification and Ethics 111

Auditing services in other states. Regardless of where the auditor provides professional services, in his country or another, the ethical standards of his behavior remain unchanged.

To ensure the quality of professional services provided in other states, the auditor must know and apply in his work the international auditing standards and standards in force in the state in which he carries out professional activities.

Questions for self-examination

1. What are the requirements for the education of an auditor to pass the examinations for a certificate of professional auditor?

2. Lead brief description regulations on attestation of auditors.

3. How are the examinations for the certificate of a professional auditor conducted?

4. Give the main criteria for the independence of the auditor or audit organization.

5. Give the list and the characteristic of the main ethical norms of auditor activity.

Professional values and ethics in auditing. Course: Moral and ethical foundations of the professional activity of auditors - Features of the ethics of the auditor. From audit history

Audit Code: main conditions

Professional Ethics of Auditing at Hold-Invest-Audit

Basic principles of everyday ethics:

Ethico legal mechanisms of the audit business

Main provisions of the Code ethics professional accountants of the International Federation of Accountants

Ethics and responsibility in PR