Audit method reform?

From individual detailed investigation to systematic spot check.

The audit method, from single detailed investigation to systematic spot check, reflects the change of audit guiding ideology and has gone through three stages: detailed inspection, general spot check and dependence control test.

The first audit mainly adopts advanced means to check the audit data item by item to expose the errors and deficiencies in accounting data. Because of the single goal, light task and lack of experience in the previous audit, it is entirely possible and necessary to check the detailed information and facts. However, with the expansion of audit scope and the increase of tasks, this inefficient audit can no longer meet the requirements of customers. Audit organizations and auditors must seek new audit methods to improve work efficiency and ease the contradiction between supply and demand; In addition, with the improvement of enterprise management level and the accumulation of audit experience, sampling audit came into being. The original sampling method is only an expedient measure to reduce the audit workload. With the rich sampling experience, people have created methods to judge sampling. Auditors rely on their own experience, through observation and judgment, only select materials that have problems or may cause problems from a large number of materials for detailed investigation, and generally only refer to other materials. On the one hand, it reduces the blindness of audit and helps to find out the main problems, on the other hand, it saves audit time, which is conducive to improving audit efficiency and broadening audit scope. With the improvement of modern enterprise management level and the wide application of modern science and technology in management, in order to avoid the audit risk brought by judging sampling, auditors adopt the method of random sampling and control the sampling risk through scientific calculation and prediction. Using the principles of probability theory and mathematical statistics to conduct random sampling is very scientific in theory, but it is inevitable that the sampled samples will be biased, or all the sampled samples will have problems, or the problematic samples will not be selected, so the properties of the samples will hardly reflect the overall nature and lose representativeness.

In the process of long-term single-item detailed investigation and general spot check, when many mistakes are found to be repeated, people think about whether there are problems in the management system and management system; If there is a problem with the whole control system, it should be checked from the system and the system, and it can be suggested to replace the system and system control if necessary. As a result, the audit has developed from a single detailed investigation and general spot check to a comprehensive inspection of management, decision-making and system, thus producing the guiding ideology of comprehensive audit. In the 20th century, the western auditing circles generally believed that the evaluation of internal control was a prerequisite to determine the success of sampling technology. The original audit mode is changed to: first, test the soundness and compliance of the internal control system; On the basis of evaluating the internal control system, the business content of the audited entity is substantially tested. In the audit report and conclusion, the existing mistakes, the reasons for the mistakes, the measures and suggestions for correcting the mistakes should be written, so as to promote the audited units to improve their management.

On the basis of auditing based on internal control system, a risk-oriented auditing mode has emerged. This audit mode requires auditors to pay attention to a comprehensive risk analysis of the enterprise environment and operation, and make audit strategies and diversified audit plans suitable for the enterprise situation as a starting point, so as to achieve the efficiency and effectiveness of audit work. Risk-oriented audit is the product of catering to high-risk society and the latest development of modern audit methods.

Risk-oriented audit mode is the development of system-oriented audit and represents the highest trend of modern audit methods. It emphasizes the audit strategy, requires the formulation of an audit plan suitable for the audited entity, and requires not only the factors related to the accounting system, but also various environmental factors inside and outside the audited entity, not only the single risk analysis related to accounting matters, but also the comprehensive risk analysis involving various environmental factors. In addition, unlike the system-oriented audit mode that emphasizes the relationship between internal control system and audit test, the risk-oriented audit mode requires that audit test be considered from a wider perspective, such as internal risk, risk control, risk inspection and analysis inspection.

From single hearing technology to comprehensive detection technology

In the development of technical methods, auditing has gone through three stages: listening to reports, accounting check and comprehensive inspection. The "accounting" system started in the Western Zhou Dynasty in China and the parliamentary "hearing" system in the early West were all reported by experienced auditors (witnesses) at certain meetings, through which problems were clarified and decisions were made. This kind of hearing technology is the only technology of early audit, and it is essentially the technology used to review the report. With the development of productive forces, economic activities become more and more complicated, and the accounting work of recording economic activities becomes more and more complicated. Although the double-entry bookkeeping method is adopted in accounting work, mistakes and frauds will inevitably occur in a large number of accounting materials. In order to reduce errors, accounting work needs to be checked, which leads to various accounting check techniques, such as review, inspection, examination and analysis. When the independent audit institution introduces the examination of accounting information, it will naturally make all kinds of methods and technologies in accounting check enter the audit field, thus making the audit method enter the second stage. Because modern audit activities still focus on reviewing accounting information and accounting work, audit technology has always been the main technology of audit.

With the development and strengthening of social and economic management activities, audit work has gradually surpassed the original scope of financial accounting and stepped into the scope of enterprise management activities. Auditors should not only check and correct the mistakes and frauds in financial accounting work, but also check and correct the mistakes and frauds in business management, so as to promote the improvement of management efficiency and operating efficiency. Obviously, at this time, auditors can't meet the needs of enterprise management audit only by auditing technology. They must learn from and absorb modern enterprise management technology to arm themselves, comprehensively use audit technology and management technology, and combine economic activity analysis method, engineering analysis method and mathematical analysis with the original audit technology to meet the needs of expanding audit scope, which promotes the development of audit technology method to the third stage.

From manual audit means to computer technology audit means

Audit operation means is developing from manual production to computer operation. Due to the progress of modern science and technology, electronic computers have been widely used in information processing systems. The processing and storage methods of accounting information and other management information have changed fundamentally. If the audit is still carried out by hand, it is obviously powerless, and the electronic computer will be used as a tool to carry out the audit function. That is, through the use of special or general audit software to check the relevant information and its economic activities, through the computer to collect audit evidence, analysis and judgment, to provide audit conclusions and decision-making basis. This not only helps to reduce the burden of auditors and improve audit efficiency, but also helps to reduce human errors and improve audit quality.

As can be seen from the above, the audit method is not static. With the progress of science and technology, the development of social economy and the development of audit, from simple to complex, from low to advanced, from single to system, it has been continuously improved and perfected, and finally a scientific system has been formed. Some people think that audit methods can be divided into general methods and individual methods, or into the first audit technology and the second audit technology; Some people think that audit methods can be divided into basic methods and technical methods; Others think that audit methods include audit attitude and methods and procedures. At present, most auditors in our country think that this is not clear, and the audit method is not as complete as the accounting method. Everyone knows that accounting methods include accounting, analysis and inspection. Accounting methods include account setting, double entry bookkeeping, voucher filling, account book registration, cost accounting, property inspection, accounting statements and other bookkeeping, accounting and reimbursement methods. But the audit method consists of which parts, and the specific content of each part is difficult to say.