Assignment of Auditing.
Assignment of Auditing.
Internal Audit and External Audit are the two most important types of audit which are performed in an
organization. Internal Audit is not compulsory by nature, but can be conducted to review the operational activities
of the organization.
Other term External Audit which is obligatory for every separate legal entity, where a third party is brought to the
organization to perform the process of Audit and give its opinion on the Financial Statements of the company. It
happens many times that we consider both as one, but they are thoroughly different from each other and therefore
we have compiled the most important difference between internal audit and external audit.
The main aim of internal audit is to increase the value of an organizations operation and monitoring the internal
control, internal check and risk management system of the entity. An Internal audit is conducted by the internal
auditors who are the employees of the organization. It is a separate department, within the organization where a
continuous audit is performed throughout the year.
The periodic, systematic and independent examination of the financial statements of the company conducted by a
third party for specific purposes, as required by statute is known as External Audit. The main aim of external audit to
publicly express an opinion on:
The accounting records are complete in all respects and prepared as per the policies outlined by GAAP
(Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) or not.
For carrying out external audit, the auditor is appointed by the members of the company. He should be independent,
i.e. he should not be connected to the organization in any way so that he can work in an impartial way without any
influence. The auditor has the right to access books of accounts in order to obtain necessary information and provide
his opinion to the members by way of the audit report.
Sr.
Points
Internal Audit
External Audit
No
.
The scope of internal audit is
determined by the management.
The scope of internal audit can
be change by the management
at any time
Internal Audit is a part of the
entity
The main objective of internal
audit is to detect and prevent
errors and frauds.
Internal audit does not fulfill
the legal requirement of any
firm.
Internal audit is optional.
Scope
Change of
Scope
Legal Entity
Objective
Legal
Requirement
Optional or
Compulsory
Internal
Control
Duration
Report
10
Test Checking
11
Time
12
Auditing
Standards
13
Appointment
14
Removal
15
Qualification
16
Status
17
Meeting
18
Liable
19
Legal
Proceedings
20
Suggestions
management.
The internal auditor cannot be
called by the court in any legal
proceedings.
Internal auditor can give
suggestions to improve
accounting and other systems
of the organization.
Conclusion:
Internal Audit and External Audit are not opposed to each other, instead they complement each other. External
Auditor may use the work of internal auditor, if he thinks fit, but it does not reduce the responsibility of the external
auditor. Internal Audit acts as a check on the activities of the business and assists by advising on various matters to
gain operational efficiency.
On the other hand, external audit is completely independent in which a third party is brought to the organization to
carry out the procedure. It checks the accuracy and validity of the annual accounts of the organization.