Auditor

Auditor Definition

Auditors are public accountants that provide assurance on a subject matter based on the evidence. Shareholders normally appoint auditors to examine the financial statements prepared by the management of the company, and auditors ask for audit evidence to verify that figures appearing in the financial statements are correct in all material respects.

What Does An Auditor Do

An auditor is a member or partner of a chartered accountant firm and companies approach such firms to appoint an auditor or public accountant for a range of services. Auditors can perform certain assignments based on the skills, knowledge, and experience possessed over his career. Most commonly auditors are appointed for statutory or nonstatutory audits of financial statements to express a professional opinion on the truth and fairness of the financials of companies. Auditors are also appointed for internal audit services, compilation services, taxation services, financial consulting services and other nonassurance services.

What Does An Internal Auditor Do

An internal auditor is different from an external auditor. Unlike an external auditor, an internal auditor works as an employee and handles all matters regarding internal controls over the accounting functions. The key difference between the internal and external auditor is that internal auditor is reportable to the management of the company and external auditors are reportable to shareholders of the company.

Compliance Auditors

Compliance auditors are simply an auditor that provides assurance on the compliance of certain laws and regulations. This type of assignment is normally considered review assignment in which the objective is to assess the level of compliance of some applicable laws and regulations under specific circumstances.