Chapter 2 Organization and Structure of the Auditing Profess(6)

蒙特马利审计2-2

Some audits, such as those by the Internal Revenue Service, are performed almost exclusively for compliance purposes.

There are many different groups of government auditors; virtually every level of government and every government agency has its own auditors. One group in particular warrants further discussion-the General Accounting Office (GAO). A nonpolitical agency headed by the

Comptroller General of the United States, it was created by and reports directly to Congress. The GAO has the authority to audit virtually every federal agency and expenditure. The GAO formulated the notion of and standards for economy, efficiency, and program audits, which are the major part of its activities.

2.3 ORGANIZATION OF AN ACCOUNTING FIRM

Accounting firms range in size from an individual CPA in business as a sole practitioner to large firms with an international practice, hundreds of offices worldwide, and thousands of partners and employees. In between these two extremes are numerous small and

medium-sized firms of professional accountants. In general, the larger firms offer a broader range of services than do the smaller ones. The majority of medium-sized and large

accounting firms are multicapability firms, meaning that they serve clients in several major practice areas, including assurance, taxation, consulting, and human resources advisory services. Although the structure of individual firms varies, it is possible to make some generalizations about the services typically offered by the majority of accounting firms. (a) Assurance Services

The most basic practice area of a CPA firm, assurance services consist primarily of performing independent audits of entities' financial statements. CPAs also perform reviews, engagements based on agreed-upon procedures, attest engagements, and other assurance services.

(i) Audits. An audit requires personnel with a blend of skills and technical expertise. For example, if the engagement is extremely complex technically, the audit team may require members who have industry expertise, a high level of knowledge of computer systems, tax expertise, and the ability to understand difficult actuarial computations. A team with such expertise frequently will find and recommend ways to improve the entity's financial and operating policies, a client service that is derived from the audit process.

In addition to audits, accounting firms generally offer a number of audit-related services, either in conjunction with an audit or as separate engagements. One of these services is a

communication to management containing recommendations for improvements in internal control relating to financial reporting and other matters, such as comments on operating efficiencies and profitability. Additional audit-related services include acquisition audits of

entities that clients are contemplating acquiring, and issuing letters reporting whether an entity is in compliance with the covenants of debt instruments.

(ii) Reviews. CPAs also perform review services. Review services for nonpublic entities are