Question

Write A brief essay (300 words or less) that explains how you show your interest and aptitude in accounting and auditing, including how you demonstrate high ethical standards

Answer 1

Each day is different. Different businesses, different places, different things to look at. It keeps you on your toes, it keeps you engaged. You will have different questions to ask and different people to meet, seeing new things and having new challenges. One day you may be at small mum and dad business, the next with a multinational. It’s great waking up to new challenge each day…it’s certainly never boring.

Conducting an audit means reporting to shareholders or other stakeholders on whether a business or other organisation's accounts show "a true and fair view" of its financial activity. Auditors involved in assurance work use their specialised industry and financial knowledge and analytical techniques to get and in-depth understanding of organisations and how they function.

It is acknowledged that an ethical conduct is essential when performing an audit in order to meet the defining characteristics of the auditing profession which are trust, independence and integrity. Respecting the audit rules and standards is not enough, while in fact legislation is a minimum to respect in the audit process. So, In my opinion professional awareness as well as respect of moral and ethical precepts are key in conducting an audit.

We hold people accountable to a code of ethics when they become auditors. We have some boundaries in around the ethics of auditing your own work; we even have ethics around where the line is between consulting and auditing.

It could be said that the application of the standard and its compliance has as much to do with the comfort of the decision being made by the auditor as any other objective evidence gathered. The only time you see an auditor smile is when they find somebody has done something wrong. Well, if that is your perception of being an auditor you've got it all wrong. It's a great job.