Audit is not about creating trouble, finding fault or assuming that management cannot be trusted.

It is an independent, systematic review that helps assess whether a company’s financial statements are reliable, whether the reported figures are supported by evidence and whether the company’s financial reporting can withstand scrutiny.

In simple terms:

An audit is like an independent X-ray of the business. It helps confirm that the accounts are supported by evidence and that the reported figures present a true and fair view in all material respects.

The Audit Process in Plain Language

1. Planning

Auditors do not begin by immediately examining every document.

They first seek to understand:

• What the company does;

• Where its income comes from;

• How its money flows through the business; and

• Where the key risks may arise.

For example, the company may be involved in:

• Food and beverage operations;

• Manufacturing; or

• Investment holding activities.

The auditors will also consider matters such as:

• The amount of cash held;

• The level of inventory; and

• The number and nature of related-party relationships.

This initial understanding determines where the audit should focus.

2. Risk Assessment

Not every area of the financial statements carries the same level of risk.

For example:

• Large cash balances may require closer attention;

• Significant investments may involve valuation risks; and

• Frequent or unusual adjustments made by management may increase the risk of misstatement.

An audit is not conducted by applying the same level of effort to every item. It is a risk-based process that directs attention to the areas most likely to contain material misstatements.

3. Substantive Testing

Many people think substantive testing simply means looking for accounting errors.

In reality, it involves obtaining evidence to assess whether the transactions and balances reported by the company actually occurred and are properly recorded.

Auditors may ask:

• Does the cash recorded in the bank account actually exist?

• Did the reported sales genuinely take place?

• Are the recorded costs complete and properly supported?

• Have any transactions or balances been presented in a way that makes the business appear stronger than it is?

Auditors bring together:

• Documents;

• Financial figures; and

• The underlying business logic.

All three need to be consistent.

4. Analysis

Auditors also analyse trends and relationships within the financial information.

They may ask questions such as:

• Why has the gross profit margin increased significantly this year?

• Why have profits risen sharply when sales have not increased?

• Why does one particular month appear unusually strong?

• Why has a balance changed significantly compared with the previous year?

These questions are not asked merely to create inconvenience. Financial information often reveals patterns, and unusual patterns require explanation.

5. Review

An audit is not normally decided by one person alone.

The work may be reviewed progressively by:

• Audit team members;

• Managers; and

• Partners.

The audit report that a client receives may therefore be supported by many hours of examination, discussion, cross-checking and review.

6. Reporting

At the end of the audit, the auditor expresses an opinion on whether the financial statements present a true and fair view, in all material respects, in accordance with the applicable financial reporting framework.

An audit does not guarantee that the financial statements contain absolutely no errors.

Rather, it provides reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement—meaning errors or omissions that could reasonably influence the decisions of users such as business owners, banks, investors or regulators.

7. Completion

The audit may end when the report is issued, but its value can extend beyond the audit report itself.

A well-conducted audit can help:

• Management understand the company’s risks more clearly;

• The finance team improve its professionalism and processes; and

• The business strengthen its systems, controls and accountability.

In this sense, the audit process can help a business operate more like a well-managed organisation.

“I Used to Do Audits”

There is one statement that can make many auditors pause:

“Don’t assume I do not understand audit. I used to work in audit.”

The challenge is that auditing has changed significantly over the past 20 to 30 years.

In the past, audit work may have been perceived as mainly involving:

• Matching invoices;

• Adding up totals;

• Checking bank reconciliations; and

• Concluding that the figures were “close enough”.

Modern auditing is different. It involves:

• Risk-based audit procedures;

• Internal control considerations;

• Data analysis;

• Professional judgement;

• Professional scepticism; and

• Evidence that is consistent with the documents, figures and business rationale.

Auditing is not simply a matter of checking documents. It requires the auditor to understand the business, identify risks, evaluate evidence and reach a professionally supportable conclusion.

Past audit experience does not automatically mean that a person is familiar with current audit methodology and requirements.

The audit of today is not necessarily the audit of 20 or 30 years ago.

A Message for Business Owners and Accountants

An accountant who understands modern auditing can be one of the auditor’s strongest partners.

However, an accountant who assumes that past experience is sufficient, without understanding current audit requirements, may unintentionally become a significant risk to the audit process.

The danger lies in using an old map to navigate a changing professional environment.

For business owners and finance teams, the better approach is to:

• Understand what auditors are required to do;

• Maintain complete and reliable documentation;

• Explain unusual transactions and balances clearly;

• Review internal controls regularly; and

• Treat audit questions as part of a process that strengthens the business.

Final Thought

An audit is not about refusing to trust you. It is about helping others place trust in your business.

When the figures can withstand questions, the business is better positioned to grow and earn the confidence of its stakeholders.

审计到底在做什么？给老板与会计人员的实务说明

审计不是为了找麻烦、挑毛病，也不是因为审计师认定管理层不值得信任。

审计是一项独立且有系统的检查工作，目的是评估企业财务报表是否可靠、报告数字是否有充分证据支持，以及企业的财务报告是否经得起检视。

简单来说：

审计就像站在第三方角度，为公司进行一次 X 光检查，帮助确认账目有依据，并判断财务报表是否在重大方面真实与公允地反映企业情况。

用“人话”解释审计流程

1. 计划

审计师不会一开始就把所有文件翻一遍。

他们会先了解：

• 公司从事什么业务；

• 企业的收入来自哪里；

• 资金如何在企业内流动；以及

• 主要风险可能出现在哪里。

例如，公司可能从事：

• 餐饮业务；

• 制造业；或

• 投资控股业务。

审计师也会关注：

• 公司持有多少现金；

• 存货规模有多大；以及

• 关联方关系的数量及性质。

这项初步了解，将决定后续审计工作的重点。

2. 风险评估

财务报表中的每一个项目，风险并不相同。

例如：

• 大额现金余额可能需要更仔细的核查；

• 重大投资可能涉及估值风险；以及

• 管理层频繁或异常地调整账目，可能增加发生错报的风险。

审计不是对每一个项目平均用力，而是采用风险导向的方法，将更多注意力集中在最可能存在重大错报的领域。

3. 实质性测试

很多人以为实质性测试只是“找错账”。

实际上，实质性测试是通过取得审计证据，判断企业所报告的交易及余额是否真实发生，以及是否已经恰当地记录。

审计师可能会问：

• 银行账上的现金真的存在吗？

• 报告中的销售真的发生了吗？

• 记录的成本是否完整，并有适当文件支持？

• 企业是否通过交易安排或项目分类，让经营情况看起来比实际更好？

审计师会综合判断：

• 文件；

• 财务数字；以及

• 交易背后的商业逻辑。

这三者必须能够互相对应。

4. 分析

审计师也会分析财务资料中的趋势及关系。

他们可能会问：

• 为什么今年毛利率突然大幅上升？

• 为什么销售没有增加，利润却明显增长？

• 为什么某一个月份的表现特别“漂亮”？

• 为什么某个余额与去年相比出现重大变化？

提出这些问题并不是为了故意为难企业。财务数字往往会呈现某些模式，而异常模式就需要合理解释。

5. 复核

审计通常不是由一个人单独作出决定。

审计工作可能会由以下人员逐层复核：

• 审计团队成员；

• 审计经理；以及

• 审计合伙人。

因此，客户最后收到的审计报告，背后可能经历了数十小时的检查、讨论、交叉核对及复核。

6. 报告

审计结束时，审计师会就财务报表是否在重大方面按照适用的财务报告框架真实与公允地编制作出意见。

审计并不保证财务报表中绝对不存在任何错误。

审计提供的是合理保证，即财务报表不存在可能合理影响财务报表使用者决策的重大错报。这些使用者可能包括：

• 企业老板；

• 银行；

• 投资者；以及

• 监管机构。

7. 完成

审计可能在报告发出后结束，但审计的价值并不只在于那份报告。

一项执行良好的审计，能够帮助：

• 管理层更清楚地了解企业风险；

• 财务团队提升专业水平及工作流程；以及

• 企业加强制度、内部控制及问责机制。

从这个角度来看，审计过程能够帮助企业更像一家管理完善、制度健全的公司。

“不要以为我不懂审计，我以前做过审计”

有一句话，往往会让不少审计师停顿一下：

“不要以为我不懂 audit，我以前可是做 audit 的。”

现实是，过去二三十年的审计方式，与今天的审计已经有很大不同。

过去，人们可能把审计理解为主要进行以下工作：

• 对一对发票；

• 算一算总数；

• 检查银行调节表；以及

• 觉得数字“差不多”就可以了。

现代审计则包括：

• 风险导向的审计程序；

• 内部控制思维；

• 数据分析；

• 专业判断；

• 专业怀疑态度；以及

• 确保文件、数字及商业逻辑彼此一致的审计证据。

审计不只是检查文件，也要求审计师了解企业、识别风险、评估证据，并作出有专业依据的结论。

过去做过审计，并不自动代表一个人熟悉现行的审计方法及专业要求。

今天的审计，并不一定等同于二三十年前的审计。

给老板与会计人员的一段话

真正了解现代审计的会计人员，可以成为审计师最好的合作伙伴之一。

不过，如果会计人员以为过去的经验已经足够，却没有跟上现行审计要求，就可能在无意中成为整个审计过程中的重要风险点。

问题在于：

用旧地图，带着公司走进一个已经改变的专业世界。

对于老板及财务团队而言，更好的做法是：

• 了解审计师需要完成什么工作；

• 保持文件完整、可靠；

• 清楚解释异常交易及余额；

• 定期检讨内部控制；以及

• 将审计提问视为帮助企业强化管理的过程。

最后一句

审计不是不信任你，而是帮助别人能够信任你的公司。

当企业的数字经得起提问，公司就更有能力持续发展，也更容易赢得利益相关者的信心。