External Audit
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1
What is external audit and what is it for?
Why does a bank believe the financial statements of an organisation it has never visited? Because an independent party examined them and expressed an opinion for which it bears professional responsibility.
9 min read -
2
The audit cycle
An audit is not "going through the books" at year end. It is an extended process with stages, and each stage shapes the one after it.
10 min read -
3
Audit evidence and procedures
The opinion ultimately rests on evidence. So what makes evidence acceptable? How is it gathered? And why does one piece of evidence carry more weight than another?
9 min read -
4
The auditor’s report and types of opinion
A single page everyone reads and few understand in detail. Here we take it apart: what does each paragraph mean? When does the opinion change? And what does that mean in practice?
10 min read -
5
Responsibilities, independence and fraud
Who is responsible for what? What threatens the auditor's independence? And where does their role regarding fraud begin and end? Three questions that settle most practical disputes.
9 min read