Application of International Standards on Auditing. Mandatory audit criteria Auditing activity in the Russian Federation year

In 2018, the rules for auditing financial statements changed. During the audit for 2017, the auditors will be guided by the International Standards on Auditing (ISA). Ekaterina Annenkova, an auditor certified by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, told what changes await the company.

In addition to ISA, during the audit for 2017, the following documents are applied, adopted by the International Federation of Accountants and recommended for use in the Russian Federation by the Auditing Council:

  • Audit quality framework: key elements that form the environment for audit quality assurance;
  • International Assurance Engagement Concept;
  • Glossary of terms;
  • The structure of the IASB's compilation of standards and assurance engagements;
  • Preface to the Compilation of International Standards for Quality Control, Auditing and Reviewing, Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements.

Recall that back in 2017, the audit of financial statements was carried out in accordance with the federal rules (standards) of auditing, approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, and federal standards of auditing, approved by the Ministry of Finance. These documents have become invalid since January 1, 2018 and cannot be applied in the audit of the statements for 2017.

The requirements of international standards will affect not only auditors and audit procedures, but also audited taxpayers. The latter will have to provide more information to analyze their activities in accordance with the new requirements. And in connection with the disclosure of more information in the auditor's report and the degree of confidentiality of the audit results will be significantly reduced.

At the same time, taxpayers should still be guided by their native PBU, in rare cases recalling international standards (in the absence of specific methods of accounting in PBU - for example, in connection with the participation of an organization in non-state pension programs) and taking into account the requirements of IFRS (when drawing up reports in accordance with with them).

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What changed

In accordance with the provisions of the Federal Law "On Auditing" No. 307-FZ dated 30.12.2008. ISA are mandatory for use:

  • audit organizations and auditors (clause 1 of article 7 of Law 307-FZ),
  • audited and other persons who have entered into an agreement for the provision of audit services (clause 2 of article 14 of Law 307-FZ).

By order of the Ministry of Finance No. 192n of 24.10.2016. 30 International Standards on Auditing (ISA) were put into effect, and by order of the Ministry of Finance No. 207n dated 09.11.2016. - 18 more.

By the same orders, the Ministry of Finance established that ISAs come into force on the territory of the Russian Federation from the date of their official publication and are applied starting from the year following the year in which they entered into force, that is, from January 1, 2017.

In this case, the ISA is used to audit the accounting (financial) statements drawn up for any reporting periods.

Also, orders No. 192n and 207n established that in 2017, if the contract for the audit of the financial statements of the organization was concluded before January 1, 2017, the audit organization, the individual auditor have the right to conduct an audit, including drawing up an audit report, in accordance with the auditing standards in force before the ISA came into force.

The application of international standards should contribute to the fact that the audit reports will contain more information about the state of the business of the audited entity.

In accordance with international standards, when auditing the financial statements of organizations whose securities are admitted to organized trading, as well as in other cases, by the decision of the auditor, a separate section "Key audit issues" is included in the auditor's report.

In this section, users of financial statements are provided with additional information necessary to understand the issues that, according to the professional judgment of the auditor, were the most significant for the audit of financial statements for the reporting year.

When identifying key audit matters, the auditor should consider:

  • areas of increased assessed risk of material misstatement of statements or significant risks identified in accordance with international standard 315 "Identification and assessment of risks of material misstatement by studying the organization and its environment";
  • its significant judgments regarding areas of accounting reporting requiring significant management judgment (including accounting estimates) that have been assessed as having a high level of uncertainty;
  • the impact on the audit of significant events or transactions that occurred during the reporting period.

The description of each key audit matter should include a reference to the relevant information disclosed in the financial statements (if any) and indicate that:

  • why the matter was considered the most relevant to the audit and, therefore, was identified as a key audit matter.
  • how the matter was addressed during the audit.

At the same time, the inclusion of key audit issues in the auditor's report:

1. Does not replace:

  • information disclosed by management in the accounting statements;
  • The auditor's expression of a modified opinion when required by the circumstances of a particular audit engagement in accordance with SS 705 Modified Opinion in the Auditor's Report;
  • presenting information in accordance with Going Concern 570 when there is a material uncertainty about events or conditions that could cast significant doubt on the entity's ability to continue as a going concern.

2. It is not the opinion of the auditor, expressed on individual issues.

The "updated" auditor's report will be useful not only for the manager and chief accountant, but also for the owners of the company and any other interested users - both potential investors and government agencies.

To express a detailed opinion, auditors will need a larger amount of data necessary to carry out a full analysis of the activities of organizations.

In this case, it is necessary to take into account. The draft law of the Ministry of Finance contains amendments to Articles 82 and 93.1 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. They provide that the tax authority, when conducting an audit, will have the right to demand from audit organizations and individual auditors the client documents received by them, which serve as the basis for calculating and paying taxes, fees and insurance premiums. It is assumed that such documents will be required by the tax authorities from auditors for the purposes of tax control if they are not presented in the prescribed manner by the taxpayer. At the same time, audit firms and individual auditors will have to submit the required documents to the tax authorities, regardless of the consent of the taxpayers who were provided with such services.

A year ago, it was assumed that the specified amendments to the Tax Code of the Russian Federation could enter into force on January 1, 2018. However, the bill has not yet been adopted.

Recall that the current legislation contains requirements for conducting a statutory audit with the subsequent provision of an opinion to Rosstat, as well as on the disclosure of information contained in an auditor's report within a certain time frame.

Who is subject to mandatory audit

Mandatory audit is carried out annually by companies that are obliged to conduct it in accordance with the requirements of Federal Law No. 307-FZ of 12/30/2008. "On audit activity".

In accordance with the provisions of clause 1 of article 5 of the above law, the following categories of taxpayers are subject to mandatory audit:

  • joint stock companies
  • organizations whose securities are admitted to organized trading
  • credit institutions
  • professional market participants valuable papers
  • insurance and clearing organizations
  • NPF, mutual investment and other funds
  • joint stock investment funds and management companies of such funds
  • organizations whose revenue (preceding the reporting year) exceeds 400 million rubles or the amount of assets balance sheet as of the end of the previous reporting year exceeds 60 million rubles
  • organizations making up consolidated financial statements.
  • other organizations, in cases where they are required by federal law, for example, banking groups and bank holdings, state-owned companies and corporations, housing savings cooperatives and developers, microfinance companies, etc.

The auditor's report must be submitted to the statistical authorities either simultaneously with the provision of financial statements, or no later than 10 working days from the day following the date of the auditor's report, but no later than December 31 of the year following the reporting year (Clause 2 of Article 18 of Law No. 402 -FZ "On accounting").

In addition, in accordance with clause 6 of Article 5 of Law No. 307-FZ, information on the results of the statutory audit is subject to entry into the Unified Federal Register of information on the facts of activity. legal entities... This must be done promptly - within three working days after the date of the auditor's report. Placing information in the register is paid. And it is better to pay for it in advance, so as not to violate the three-day deadline.

But the FTS does not need to provide an audit report, since it is not included in the financial statements in accordance with Article 14 of Law No. 402-FZ.

Penalties

The Administrative Code provides for fines both for violation of the deadlines for the provision of an audit report / information on its results, and for failure to conduct a statutory audit.

So, according to clause 2 of article 15.19 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, non-disclosure or violation by the issuer, professional participant securities market, clearing organization, joint stock investment fund, management company joint stock investment fund, a mutual investment fund or a non-state pension fund, a specialized depository of a joint-stock investment fund, a mutual investment fund or a non-state pension fund, or a person providing services for the public presentation of disclosed information, the procedure and timing for disclosing information, as well as disclosing information not in full is punished very severely. Officials can be fined in the amount of 30,000 to 50,000 rubles or disqualified for a period of 1 to 2 years. Legal entities face an even more serious fine - from 700,000 to 1,000,000 rubles.

On the basis of clauses 6-8, article 14.25 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, untimely submission of information to the Unified Federal Register entails a warning of officials or the imposition of administrative fine for officials in the amount of 5,000 to 10,000 rubles. In the event of a relapse and committing the same violation again, the fine will be 10,000 - 50,000, and besides, the official may be disqualified for a period of one to three years.

In accordance with the provisions of Article 19.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, for failure to submit information to Rosstat (in compliance with the deadlines provided for by law), liability is established in the amount of 300 to 500 rubles for officials and from 3000 to 5000 rubles for legal entities. In addition, all under the same Article 19.7, the company can be separately fined for the fact that the information was presented in an incomplete composition (letter from Rosstat No. 13-13-2 / 28-Media from 16.02.2016).

According to the Federal Law "On Auditing", auditing (audit and audit-related services) is carried out in accordance with the International Standards on Auditing (ISA) adopted by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and recognized in the manner established by the Government Russian Federation.

The Ministry of Finance of Russia has completed the recognition of the current ISA. By orders of the Ministry of Finance of Russia dated October 24, 2016 No. 192n (as amended by order No. 220n dated November 30, 2016) and No. 207n dated November 9, 2016, these standards have been put into effect on the territory of the Russian Federation.

ISAs recognized for use in Russia

Group
standards
Name of the standard
International quality control standards ISQC 1, Quality Control in Auditing Firms Conducting Audits and Reviews financial statements and other assurance and related service engagements "
International Standards on Auditing ISA 200 "General Objectives of the Independent Auditor and Conducting an Audit in Accordance with International Standards on Auditing"
ISA 210, Agreeing the Terms of Audit Engagements
ISA 220, Quality Control for an Audit of Financial Statements
ISA 230 "Audit Documentation"
ISA 240, The Auditor's Responsibilities Relating to Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements
ISA 250, Consideration of Laws and Regulations in an Audit of Financial Statements
ISA 260 (Revised), Communication with Those Charged with Governance
ISA 265, Communicating Deficiencies in Internal Control to Those Charged with Governance and Management
ISA 300, Planning an Audit of Financial Statements
ISA 315 (Revised) "Identifying and Assessing the Risks of Material Misstatement by Studying the Entity and Its Environment"
ISA 320 Materiality in Planning and Performing an Audit
ISA 330, Audit Procedures Responsive to Assessed Risks
ISA 402 Auditing Considerations for an Entity Using a Service Organization
ISA 450, Evaluation of Misstatements Identified During the Audit
ISA 500, Audit Evidence
ISA 501, Considerations for Obtaining Audit Evidence in Specific Cases
ISA 505 External Confirmations
ISA 510 First-Time Audit Engagements: Opening Balances
ISA 520 Analytical Procedures
ISA 530 "Audit Sampling"
ISA 540, Auditing Accounting Estimates, Including Fair Value Measurements, and Related Disclosures
ISA 550 Related Parties
ISA 560 Events After the Balance Sheet Date
ISA 570 (Revised) Going Concern
ISA 580 Written Representations
ISA 600, Special Considerations - Audits of Group Financial Statements (Including the Work of Component Auditors)
ISA 610 (Revised 2013) "Using the Work of Internal Auditors"
ISA 620 Using the Work of an Auditor's Expert
ISA 700 (Revised), "Forming an Opinion and Reporting on the Financial Statements"
ISA 701, Communicating Key Audit Matters in the Auditor's Report
ISA 705 (Revised) Modified Opinion in the Auditor's Report
ISA 706 (Revised) Emphasis of Matter and Other Matter Sections in the Auditor's Report
ISA 710 Comparative Information - Corresponding Figures and Comparative Financial Statements
ISA 720 (Revised), Responsibilities of the Auditor Relating to Other Information
ISA 800, Considerations for an Audit of Financial Statements Prepared in Accordance with a Special Purpose Framework
ISA 805 "Considerations for an Audit of Certain Financial Statement Reports and Certain Elements, Groups of Items or Items in Financial Statements"
ISA 810 Engagement to Report on Summary Financial Statements
International reports on audit practice MOPA 1000 "Features of the audit of financial instruments"
International standards for review IUCN 2400 (Revised) "Review Engagement for Historical Financial Statements"
IUCN 2410 "Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the Independent Auditor of the Entity"
International Standards for Assurance Engagements ISAE 3000 (Revised) Assurance Engagements Other than Audits and Reviews of Historical Financial Information
ISAE 3400 "Checking Prospective Financial Information"
ISAE 3402, Service Organization Assurance Auditor's Report on the Service Organization's Controls
ISAE 3410 Assurance Engagements for Reporting Greenhouse Gas Emissions
ISAE 3420 Assurance Engagements on the Compilation of Pro Forma Financial Information Included in a Prospectus
International standards for related services IASS 4400 "Engagement for the implementation of agreed procedures in relation to financial information"
IASB 4410 (Revised) "Compilation Assignments"

Additional IFAC documents recognized for use in Russia

When carrying out audit activities, in addition to those listed above, it is necessary to apply a number of IFAC documents related to ISAs, but they are not. The following documents necessary for the correct application of the ISA:

Audit quality framework: key elements that form the environment for audit quality assurance;

International Assurance Engagement Concept;

Glossary of terms;

The structure of the IASB's compilation of standards and assurance engagements;

Preface to the Compilation of International Standards for Quality Control, Auditing and Reviewing, Other Assurance and Related Services Engagements.

Entry into force of the ISA

ISA, put into effect by orders of the Ministry of Finance of Russia, come into force from the day of their official publication. In this case, the official publication of the ISA is considered the first publication of its text in an official print publication determined by the Ministry of Finance of Russia, or the first placement (publication) on the official website of the Ministry of Finance of Russia www.minfin.ru.

The texts of the ISA, enacted by orders of the Ministry of Finance of Russia, are published on the official website of the Ministry of Finance of Russia www.minfin.ru November 24-25, 2016.

Application of ISA

According to the Federal Law "On Auditing", ISA are mandatory for audit organizations and auditors (part 1 of article 7), as well as audited persons and other persons who have entered into an agreement for the provision of audit services (part 2 of article 14). Auditing activities are carried out in accordance with ISA starting from the year following the year in which the ISA is recognized for use in the Russian Federation.

Based on this, the ISA, introduced by the orders of the Ministry of Finance of Russia, are to be applied starting from January 1, 2017.

At the same time, audit organizations and individual auditors in 2017 have the right to conduct (complete) an audit of financial statements for 2016 under an agreement concluded before January 1, 2017 in accordance with federal rules (standards) of auditing approved by the Government of the Russian Federation, and federal standards of auditing approved by the Ministry of Finance of Russia.

Information on the official website of the Ministry of Finance of Russia

On the official website of the Ministry of Finance of Russia www.minfin.ru a section “Auditing - Standards and Auditing Rules - International Auditing Standards” has been created. It contains information about:

the official texts of the ISA, put into effect by orders of the Ministry of Finance of Russia;

the official texts of IFAC documents related to ISA and necessary for the correct application of the latter, but they are not;

regulatory legal acts governing the introduction of the ISA into force on the territory of the Russian Federation;

information on the progress of the recognition of ISA.

_____________________________

* For the recognition of ISAs to be applicable in the Russian Federation, see the Information Bulletin dated December 1, 2015 (www.minfin.ru section "Auditing Activities - General Information - New in Auditing Legislation: Facts and Comments").

Document overview

Provides an overview of innovations in auditing.

So, from January 1, 2017, the International Standards on Auditing (ISA) will be applied in our country. The corresponding orders of the Ministry of Finance of Russia have been issued.

At the same time, in 2017 it is allowed to conduct (complete) an audit of financial statements for 2016 under an agreement concluded before January 1, 2017 in accordance with the rules approved by the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Finance of Russia.

Listed are documents that will help to correctly apply the ISA.

This material provides a brief overview of the changes in Russian audit in 2017 and the implications for the business. You will find a detailed analysis of the consequences with comments from Pravovest Audit experts in the articles:


What is changing in statutory audit in 2017?

Since January 1, 2017, 30 International Standards on Auditing (ISA) have been put into effect on the territory of the Russian Federation, in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Finance of October 24, 2016 N 192n. Also, by Order of the Ministry of Finance dated 09.11.2016 No. 207n, 18 new audit standards were introduced from January 1, 2017. The list of international auditing standards includes:

  • agreeing on the terms of audit engagements;
  • quality control during the audit of financial statements;
  • audit documentation;
  • forming an opinion and drawing up an opinion on financial statements;
  • communicating key audit matters in the auditor's report;
  • modified opinion in the auditor's report, etc.

All this will increase the labor intensity of the audit by 30-40%, due to the increasing number of audit procedures in accordance with ISA requirements, the need to fill out new forms and tables and other working documents.

Also in the plans of legislators in 2017 to increase the responsibility of auditors. The Ministry of Finance proposes to punish them not only with fines, according to the Code of Administrative Offenses, but also to introduce criminal liability for issuing a knowingly false audit report. The corresponding project has been posted for public discussion on the website of the federal portal of draft regulations http://regulation.gov.ru/projects#npa=51024

ISA Auditor's Report Will Become More Informative and Public

Instead of the usual form of the auditor's report on several sheets with standard text, for all new contracts for statutory audit concluded from January 1, 2017, a more information-rich auditor's report is drawn up in accordance with International Standards on Statutory Auditing.

The new form of the auditor's report in accordance with ISA will contain not only an assessment of the company's financial statements, but also pay attention to the most important points in the activities of the audited entity, including what attracted the most attention of the auditor, what the auditor sees as the most significant risks for business, etc.

Thus, the new form of AZ presupposes extended information not only for the accounting department, but also for external and internal interested users: shareholders, the board of directors, etc., that is, a wider circle of persons who make decisions on the business development strategy.

Recall that from October 1, 2016, legally significant information about the facts of the activities of legal entities, including information about the mandatory audit, is entered into the Unified Federal Register. At the same time, the audit customer is obliged to disclose the circumstances that have a significant impact on the reliability of the statements listed in the auditor's report.

Information in the Register must be entered within three working days from the date of occurrence of the relevant fact (paragraph 2, clause 9, article 7.1 of Law No. 129-FZ). If this term is violated, the organization's officials may be brought to administrative responsibility, up to and including disqualification.

Thus, from January 1, 2017, the new requirements of the ISA will affect both auditors and audited companies. The amount of data required to analyze the activities of audited organizations is significantly increasing, and the degree of publicity of audit results is also increasing.

Business implications

Undoubtedly, the disclosure of additional data in the auditor's report will allow investors and counterparties of companies to make more balanced business decisions. However, as a result, one should expect an increase not only in the quality in assessing business risks, but also an increase in the cost of an audit from 2017. In addition, the financial risks, since an increase in the level of transparency of the company's activities and the reflection in the audit report of all identified business risks will automatically lead to an increase in the cost of bank loans for companies.

International Standards on Auditing (ISA) have long-term business implications. The plans are that from 2018 the IFTS will be able to require auditors to disclose audit secrets. On the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts regulation.gov.ru for public discussion there is a draft federal law on amendments to Articles 82 and 93.1 of the first part of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation. When carrying out tax control, it will be allowed to collect, store, use and disseminate information about the taxpayer (payer of collection, payer of insurance premiums, tax agent) received from audit organizations and individual auditors.

An official of the tax authority will have the right to demand from the auditors the documents (information) received by them during audits and the provision of other audit services that serve as the basis for calculating and paying (withholding, transferring) tax (collection) by the organization. These documents may be requested by the tax authority, if they are not submitted in the prescribed manner by the taxpayer.

The current version of the Tax Code does not yet allow the collection, storage, use and dissemination of information about taxpayers received in violation of the requirement to ensure the confidentiality of information constituting a professional secret of other persons, in particular audit secrets, during the implementation of tax control.

Implications for accounting

The responsibilities of an accountant are increasingly going beyond accounting... It is no secret that even now in many companies the responsibilities of the chief accountant are not limited solely to accounting and filing tax returns. An accountant is required to assess tax risks and consequences during transactions, tax and financial planning, which leads to increased responsibility and increased risks to professional reputation.

Why is it better to audit 2016 financial statements not in accordance with ISA?

If the audit agreement is concluded before January 1, 2017, then the audit organization has the right to audit the accounting (financial) statements and draw up an auditor's report in accordance with the auditing standards in force prior to the entry into force of the international audit. Under contracts concluded after January 1, 2017, the new international auditing standards in Russia are applied when auditing accounting (financial) statements drawn up for any reporting periods.

With the introduction of ISA, it is important for companies to take seriously the determination of the timing of the audit of financial statements, since during the course of the audit a sufficient number of questions usually arise, and sometimes the need to make corrections to the accounting. It is advisable not to schedule an audit on the last days before the delivery of an accounting or tax reporting when the accounting department is already heavily loaded.

It would be preferable to audit 2016 financial statements in accordance with Russian standards, concluding an agreement by the end of 2016. The arguments in favor of this are the absence of a clear regulation of the actions of the parties to the contract for the provision of audit services according to the new rules, a tangible increase in the labor intensity and cost of services, which are inevitable with such global changes in the audit industry.

The best option is to conduct an audit for 2016 in two stages (based on the results of 9 months and for the year). In this case, the auditors will perform almost the entire volume of work before the end of the reporting year, which will allow the organization to avoid haste, take into account their conclusions and recommendations in order to approach the annual report without distortions and accounting errors.

As you know, with significant accounting distortions, the auditor's report may be negative, which will require the organization to incur additional costs associated with correcting the identified violations. Carrying out the bulk of work based on the results of reporting for 9 months will help both the accounting department and auditors to avoid these troubles. And even having received a report with a list of significant mistakes made in the preparation of reports for 9 months, the organization will have time to make the necessary corrections to the accounting and receive a positive audit opinion at the end of the year.

The transition to ISA is aimed at reforming the audit activity in Russia, improving the quality of reporting and financial information presented to the external market. The innovations will affect not only auditors, but also companies subject to statutory audit. We will solve the tasks set for auditors and business together, putting quality and professionalism in the basis of cooperation.

04.04.2017

Despite the fact that 2016 is not yet closed for all companies and audits are in full swing, those who have already managed to obtain an audit report are starting to prepare for an audit next year. A number of changes have been made to the current legislation, which should be taken into account when concluding an audit agreement. Let's see what you definitely need to pay attention to when working with auditors.

1) International Standards on Auditing

International Auditing Standards (ISA) have been in effect in Russia since January 1, 2017. The new requirements will affect both auditors and audited companies. The amount of data required to analyze the activities of the audited persons is significantly increasing, and the degree of publicity of the audit results is also increasing. The transition to ISA for many small audit companies will require serious methodological support and changes to internal regulatory documents. Before entering into a contract, it will not be superfluous to make sure that the auditor has the resources and experience to conduct an audit in accordance with ISA, analyze the contract proposed by the auditor for the presence of all the mandatory conditions for agreement in accordance with ISA 210 "Negotiating the Terms of Audit Engagements".

2) Membership in a self-regulatory organization

On January 1, 2017, amendments to the law on auditing came into effect. They provide for an increase in the minimum number of members of the SRO of auditors from 500 to 2 thousand audit organizations or from 700 to 10 thousand auditors. These changes have led to the fact that today only two self-regulatory organizations remain in the state register of SROs of auditors: the Russian Union of Auditors (Association) and the Sodruzhestvo Association. SRO "Audit Chamber of Russia", NP "Institute of Professional Auditors" and NP "Russian Collegium of Auditors" ceased to exist. But not all auditors have left the three SROs excluded from the state register. Therefore, before concluding an audit contract, be sure to clarify whether your auditor is a member of one of the current SROs.

3) Unified qualification certificate

Starting from January 1, 2012, audits of a number of organizations that belong to socially significant economic entities (OZHS) can only be carried out by auditors who have uniform qualification certificates. The Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation annually publishes a list of cases of mandatory audit of accounting (financial) statements, which indicates who can audit a particular organization. Thus, the list of cases in 2016 was increased by 9 points compared to 2015, including three categories of companies that can be audited by an audit organization, which has an auditor with a new qualification certificate. Thus, the scope of professional application of auditors with the "old" certification is shrinking over time. At the same time, there are many practicing auditors on the market who received their certification on January 1, 2011. If your company falls into the OZHS category, ask the auditors with whom you plan to conclude a contract if they have labor resources (including interchangeable ones) to comply with these legal requirements.

4) Notification of the results of the statutory audit

In connection with the change in the Federal Law "On Auditing" from October 1, 2016, the customer of the statutory audit must independently enter information on the results of the statutory audit into the Unified Federal Register of Information on the Facts of the Activities of Legal Entities (www.fedresurs.ru) in the form of a message indicating data identifying the audited person (name of the organization, OGRN, TIN, for individuals - surname, name, patronymic, SNILS). Despite the fact that these requirements have already been established from the audit of financial statements for 2016, as practice has shown, not all organizations were ready for this. To enter information into the register of the organization, it is necessary to issue an electronic signature for the authorized employee through the Certification Center (http://iitrust.ru/region/uc/tarif.php) or be ready with a package of documents to contact a notary who will go to the website www.fedresurs .ru according to its certificate and will submit information to the Registry on behalf of the organization. The information must be posted within three days from the date of issue of the auditor's report.

5) Additional assurance of audit quality

The auditors are regularly checked by the SRO and the financial treasury. The issue of transferring part of the powers of the regulatory body to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is being actively discussed. Information on the results of the external quality control passed by the audit company, as well as information on the application of disciplinary measures, is posted on the official website of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. The key point in the issue of the quality of the services provided is the efficiently functioning internal quality control system in the company. Such a system may include, among other things, an internal control department, consisting of independent controllers with the necessary experience, proper skills and qualifications, who check the quality of the performance of audit engagements. It is also important that the auditor has a professional liability insurance contract and the size of the liability limit defined in it. Separately, I would like to note the advantages of membership of audit companies in international networks. This allows auditors to use the experience and best practices of colleagues from abroad in their work. And of course, nothing characterizes the work of auditors so much as customer reviews and recommendations.

Of course, in the presence of a huge market for the company's proposals, it is difficult to solve the problem of choosing an auditor. We hope that the above nuances will help the company make the right choice.

Sources of information about the audit company:

  • is the register of audit organizations posted on the official website of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation on the Internet? http://minfin.ru/ru/perfomance/audit/reestr_audit/auditor_org/;
  • corporate site of the auditing company. On June 19, 2014, the Audit Council approved recommendations to audit organizations on disclosing information on their official website, in accordance with which a list of data to be posted was established;
  • A unified federal register operating at an Internet address? http://fedresurs.ru.

Anna Gulyaeva, director of the audit department of the auditing company MKPTs

Modern business trends provide for ever closer international cooperation. Financial and accounting statements should be understandable to counterparties, first of all, by their content.

In 2017, the Russian Federation underwent large-scale changes in domestic audit towards increased transparency, objectivity and convergence with international norms and standards.

Consider the features of the application of International Standards on Auditing (ISA) at domestic enterprises.

What are ISAs

International Standards on Auditing(ISA), or in international transcription (English) International Standards on Auditing (ISA) - a set of documents containing professional requirements and conditions for auditing. They are published by the International Accounting Association through the International Auditing and Confirmation Standards Committee.

In the Russian Federation, only a part of these standards is used, but gradually their collection for use in domestic audit is expanding, especially large-scale dynamics occurred in 2017.

IMPORTANT! The main difference between ISA is in the priority of content over form: they are based not on rigid regulations, but on flexible principles of relevance, reliability, completeness and neutrality.

ISA classification

The body of international auditing standards consists of documents covering such aspects of the audit:

  • introductory part - the basics of the approach to audit and other measures to confirm the quality of services and the reliability of information, an overview of terminology;
  • general principles of quality control, responsibilities of the auditor, basic documentation, information exchange with the business owner;
  • standards aimed at assessing risks and countering detected risks;
  • standards aimed at evidence and confirmation of audit information;
  • standards governing the services of hired auditors;
  • the standards according to which the results of the audit are formulated;
  • special aspects of audit: analysis of financial statements according to the principles of special purpose.

If we compare ISA with Russian auditing standards, then they can be classified as follows:

  1. International standards applied in the Russian Federation or close to them.
  2. International standards, whose counterparts in the Russian Federation differ significantly.
  3. ISA, which are not used at all in the Russian Federation.
  4. Domestic standards that have no analogues in the ISA.

Main Objectives of the ISAs

Compliance with international standards in financial reporting and its verification is intended to unify accounting procedures, but at the same time it allows you to preserve the national traditions of doing business inherent in the domestic economy. With the help of the results of the audit in accordance with ISA, it is possible to objectively compare the activities of enterprises in different states, which is very convenient for international investment.

Some states strictly adhere to ISA and even accept them as national ones, some others (England, USA, Canada and Sweden) prefer to use their own standards, without rejecting international requirements. The third group of countries, including Russia, are developing their own audit standards, based on those adopted by the international Committee.

The main goal of developing international standards:

combining the business activities of states with similar economic principles within the framework of the world economy.

It is implemented in two main directions:

  • harmonization of rules and requirements adopted in individual countries for the possibility of better integration into the world economy;
  • raising the level of audit activity to the general economic level (if in a particular state it is reduced).

Changes

In 2017, the orders of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation of October 24, 2016 No. 192n and of November 9, 2016 No. 207n "On the introduction of international auditing standards in the Russian Federation" came into force. The first put into effect 30 international auditing standards, and the second - 18 more.

They must be used if the contract for audit was concluded not earlier than January 1, 2017 (in this case, it is possible to conduct an audit according to the old standards).

Application of audit in accordance with ISA in enterprises

Enterprises keep financial statements, and if this happens in accordance with the requirements of IFRS ( international system financial statements), then its verification should be carried out in accordance with international requirements. As a rule, such reporting is conducted, and therefore, will be objects of international audit, the following organizations:

  • companies that have active foreign partners;
  • legal entities planning their entry into the international economic arena;
  • entrepreneurs looking for foreign investors;
  • organizations that receive loans from foreign banks;
  • enterprises professing corporate values international financial associations.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION! Within the framework of domestic legislation, this list necessarily includes credit and Insurance companies, non-state pension funds, federal unitary enterprises (according to the list approved by the Government), joint stock companies, whose shares are owned by the state, and any enterprises trading on international stock exchanges.

Why audit in accordance with ISA

To ensure the principle of reliability of financial statements, legislation requires an audit at least once a year. If a company maintains and publishes reports in accordance with international financial standards, then the audit must also be carried out in accordance with international regulations.

Stages of an audit in accordance with ISA

Since the audit is a standardized procedure, it must be carried out according to certain rules:

  1. Preparatory stage audit includes:
    • assessment of the auditor's field of activity - the number and composition of the reports under study;
    • agreement on the terms of the audit (timing, cost, etc.);
    • conclusion of an audit agreement;
    • preparation of a preliminary inspection plan;
    • preparation of responses and documentation in accordance with audit requests.
  2. Audit research(collection and assessment of evidence). The actual check, which includes a study of reporting for the previous year (for an objective comparison of indicators) and for the reporting year. The following are subject to study:
    • accounting reports;
    • financial documentation;
    • management information.
  3. The audit procedure involves not only the analysis of documents, but also interviews with employees and management, observation, inspection of production facilities and warehouses, etc.

    ATTENTION! Be sure to record all information that could affect the evidence of the auditor's opinion when formulating conclusions.

  4. The wording of the conclusion... The data is corrected, a report is drawn up and the final audit report is formed. It is provided to recipients interested in the result: counterparties, potential investors, senior management, credit institutions, etc.

NOTE! The report on the results of an audit conducted in accordance with domestic standards may differ significantly from the results of an audit in accordance with ISA. This is due to the discrepancy between the principles and approaches to assessment.

Who is entitled to conduct an audit in accordance with ISA

At Russian enterprises, only audit companies can conduct audits in accordance with international standards. The requirements for them are determined by law ( Federal law dated December 30, 2008 No. 307-FZ "On auditing"):

  • the organization should not have any other field of activity, except for audit and related services;
  • the company must be listed in the registers of SROs (self-regulatory organizations);
  • only certified specialists should conduct the audit.

It is important to choose specialists for the audit in accordance with ISA, taking into account the industry specifics of the enterprise.