Pending professional review. This guide is awaiting review by our Chartered Accountants.
"Audit" covers several different engagements. They differ in who requires them, who the report is for, and how often they happen.
Statutory audit
Required by law — for companies, under the Companies Act. An independent auditor reports on whether the financial statements give a true and fair view in accordance with the applicable accounting framework.
Tax audit
An audit of accounts under the Income-tax law, required for businesses and professionals that cross specified thresholds or meet other conditions. The auditor reports prescribed particulars to the tax department.
Internal audit
Commissioned by management or the board to test systems, procedures and controls throughout the year and recommend improvements. It is often where inefficiencies and leakages of income are identified.
Concurrent, revenue and branch audits of banks
Banks appoint auditors to review transactions on an ongoing basis (concurrent audit), to check income leakage (revenue audit), and to audit branches as part of the bank's statutory audit.
Audits of trusts, schools and co-operative societies
PF trusts, charitable trusts, schools and co-operative societies have audit requirements under their own governing laws and under tax law.
Information systems audit
A review of IT systems, access controls and data integrity — increasingly important as accounting moves onto ERP and cloud platforms.
What a good audit should leave you with
- A clear report under the applicable law.
- Specific findings on control weaknesses and how to fix them.
- Confidence that the books agree with the financial statements.
Which audits apply to you depends on your entity type and figures. Explore our audit services or ask us.