Introduction:
Over time, there has been increasing pressure on organizations to ensure that they can operate legally to keep the interests of all the stakeholders intact.
Therefore, they must hire a group of independent auditors that can report on various functions within the firm.
These auditors are selected by the shareholders and have the immense responsibility to ensure that they succumb to their duties and responsibilities in a free and fair manner.
Auditors have several responsibilities, which they have to bear in mind during their engagement with a certain client. These responsibilities are mentioned below.
Responsibilities of an Independent Auditor:
- Firstly, it can be seen that it is fundamentally important for auditors to ensure that they are satisfied with the overall level of compliance with established internal control procedures. In order to do this, they are supposed to examine records, reports, and any other relevant documentation that can help them to reach a certain conclusion.
- Secondly, they are also responsible to verify assets and liabilities by comparing them with the relevant documentation. This is an important part to ensure that neither the assets nor liabilities have been overstated.
- They should also complete audit work papers after properly documenting audit tests and findings. This can be for future reference purposes, or to back up claims that they put forth in the audit report.
- It is also important to create questionnaires that can help them gather reasonable evidence behind a certain claim.
- After carrying out the process, they are additionally responsible to prepare and present a final report, to discuss their findings with the relevant stakeholders.
Additionally, in exception to auditors’ responsibilities during the audit process, it is also fundamentally important for them to ensure that they also abide by a few other terms and conditions.
- The audit process is mainly designed so that the auditor can gather evidence and obtain reasonable assurance as to whether the financial statements are free from any material misstatement.
- The auditor is also responsible to express an opinion on the financial statements. This is on grounds of completeness, existence, and overall assurance regarding conformity with the relevant governing body.
- The auditor is also supposed to report subsequent failure, on behalf of the company to maintain proper books of accounts.
- The auditor is also responsible to report indictable offenses, if any, that are discovered across the scope of the audit.
- Furthermore, the auditor is further expected to exercise professional integrity. This includes abiding by the standards that are generally accepted by fellow practitioners.
Conclusion:
Therefore, it can be seen that the Auditor is entrusted with the responsibility to carry the overall audit process with due diligence and care.
This requires the auditor to have professional skepticism and a proper framework in place before conducting the respected audit.
Having a proper mechanism with sufficient documentation is an elementary process in this regard. Therefore, auditors should also go to extra lengths to obtain evidence that might be material enough to impact their audit opinion in the audit report, which is the primitive gist of the overall audit process itself.
