Many businesses believe that the start of an audit is when the auditors come to work at their company. However, this is incorrect.
1. Is there a regulation specifying when an audit contract must be signed?
If your business belongs to entities that are required to be audited financial report, with fiscal year ending on February 31th The deadline for signing the audit contract is no later than... 01 date of 12 month of that year. If the fiscal year ends on June 30th, the deadline for signing the audit contract is no later than May 31st of that year.
This is based on the provisions of Clause 2, Article 9 of the Independent Auditing Law of 2011, which clearly states:
"Annual financial statement audit contracts for businesses and organizations require the auditing of their financial statements." It must be concluded no later than thirty days before the end of the fiscal year.".
2. When does the audit begin?
The audit cycle under the CTKTM is divided into 03 stages: (1) Audit planning; (2) Audit execution; and (3) Summary, conclusion and report preparation.
The light blue vertical columns indicate audit activities throughout the entire audit phase. The dark blue boxes represent audit steps, and the working papers for each step must be signed and reviewed by the Board Member in charge of the overall audit.
The pink boxes represent the factors that govern the entire audit process. The darker the box, the more important its role throughout the audit cycle.
According to the above procedure, the audit begins immediately after the audit contract is signed. Depending on the specific time, different procedures will be performed at each stage of the audit, and these procedures may be completed before the audit begins at the client's location.
3. Key points businesses need to consider before an audit.
- Specify deadlines for report release and agree on timelines for each detailed task with the auditors.
- Perform tasks according to the timelines and schedules agreed upon between the company and the auditor;
- Conduct an inventory of assets at the end of the accounting year as prescribed by the Accounting Law and with the auditor witnessing the inventory;
- Explain any discrepancies discovered during the inventory process and prepare the inventory report for the auditors.
- Before conducting an accounting audit, it is necessary to complete the accounting records, close the accounting books, and export the data files.
- Print and sign the hard copy of the financial report, or export a soft copy confirming that it is the company's annual financial report, and send it to the auditors during the audit.
- Prepare all necessary documents and records according to the list of required documents sent by the auditor;
- Arrange invoices and supporting documents in order to facilitate file retrieval during the audit process;
- Prepare personnel to coordinate with the auditing team during the work implementation process.
With detailed information on audit timing and other related issues, EXPERTIS hopes to provide businesses with comprehensive information. If you have any other questions or require assistance, please contact our Consulting Department for answers.