INTRODUCTION

Auditing activity is the entrepreneurial activity of auditors to carry out independent non-departmental audits of financial statements, payment and settlement documents, tax declarations and other financial obligations and requirements of economic entities, as well as to provide other audit services.

In the context of the creation of the rule of law and the emergence of a market economy, the definition of the legal basis for auditing is important. The audit provides great opportunities for the further development of economic and legal control, the task of which is not only to protect newly emerging economic relations from unscrupulous entrepreneurship, in the prevention and fight against offenses in the economic sphere, but also in the formation of public legal consciousness at a higher level.

The development of audit was caused by the separation of interests of the administration of enterprises and investors. Therefore, the emergence of the institution of independent auditors eliminates the problem of the discrepancy between the interests of the compilers of information and users, leading to the bias of information. An audit eliminates the possibility of making economic decisions based on inaccurate information, which may entail negative economic consequences for a business entity. The activity of auditors in Russia eliminates the problem associated with the need for special knowledge to assess the reliability of the information received, which its users do not possess.

1. FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL ANALYSIS

Financial analysis is used in auditing in two aspects.

First, as a method of the financial mechanism of an enterprise, the processes of formation and use for its operational and investment activities. The result of the analysis is an assessment of the financial well-being of the enterprise, the state of its property, assets and liabilities of the balance sheet, the rate of turnover of all capital and its individual parts, the profitability of the funds used.

Acquaintance with the balance sheet of the enterprise is a mandatory stage in the work of the auditor both at the stage of concluding a contract and during the audit itself. Financial assessments of accounting reports in a concise and concentrated form are needed by the auditor as guidelines. They serve as a hint for choosing the right decision in the audit process. Awareness of the auditor as a result of the conducted financial analysis gives him confidence in his actions, helps to plan the audit correctly, to identify weaknesses in the accounting system.

Analytical procedures of the auditor during the preliminary acquaintance with the client's activities are reduced to the following actions:

• comparison of current data with standard values;
• comparison of financial ratios with non-financial indicators;
• comparison of current data with data from previous periods;
• comparison of current data with data from the plan and forecasts;
• Comparison of current enterprise data with general economic and industry averages.

The purpose of using analytical procedures is to identify atypical situations in the activities of the enterprise and in its reporting.

Secondly, financial analysis is considered as a type of auditor's services. The administration of the company, founders, owners and shareholders need complete and detailed information about the financial position of the company at the end of the reporting period, the income received and its use.

Audit clients are interested not only in the current financial condition of their enterprise, but also in the growth prospects, the expected consequences of the decisions made.

The main goal of financial analysis is to obtain several key parameters that give an objective and accurate picture of the financial condition of the enterprise, its profits and losses, changes in the structure of assets and liabilities, in settlements with debtors and creditors.

At the same time, the manager may be interested in both the current financial condition of the enterprise and its immediate and distant prospects.

The objectives of the analysis are achieved as a result of solving certain interrelated analytical problems. An analytical task is the specification of the objectives of the analysis, taking into account the organizational, technical and methodological capabilities of the analysis. The main factor in solving an analytical problem is the volume and quality of the initial information. It should be borne in mind that the periodic accounting or financial statements of an enterprise are only raw information prepared in the course of performing accounting procedures at the enterprise.

The basic principle of analytical reading of financial statements is a deductive method, i.e., from general to specific, which must be applied repeatedly.

In practice, the basic rules for reading financial statements have been developed: horizontal analysis, vertical analysis, trend analysis, method of financial ratios, comparative analysis, factor analysis.

Horizontal analysis - comparison of each reporting item with the previous period.

Vertical analysis - determination of the structure of the final financial indicators with the identification of the impact of each reporting item on the results as a whole.

Trend analysis - comparing each reporting item with a number of previous periods and determining the main trend of the indicator's dynamics, cleared of random influences and individual characteristics of individual periods.

Analysis of relative indicators - calculating the relationship between individual report items or items of different reporting forms, determining the relationship of indicators.

Comparative analysis is also an intra-farm analysis of aggregate reporting indicators for individual indicators of a firm, subsidiaries, divisions, workshops, and an inter-farm analysis of the performance of a given firm in comparison with competitors, with industry average and general economic data.

Factor analysis - analysis of the influence of individual factors on the effective indicator using deterministic or stochastic research methods. Factor analysis can be either direct, that is, splitting the effective indicator into its component parts, or inverse, that is, combining individual elements into a common effective indicator.

Financial analysis is part of the overall full analysis of economic activity, which consists of two closely interrelated sections: financial analysis and production (management) analysis.

The separation of these types of analysis is due to the existing in practice division of accounting on the scale of the enterprise into financial accounting and management accounting. This also gives rise to the division of analysis into external and internal. This division of analysis for the enterprise itself is somewhat conditional, because the internal analysis can be viewed as a continuation of the external analysis, and vice versa; in the process of their creation, information is exchanged.

A financial analysis based only on financial statements takes on the character of an external analysis, that is, an analysis performed outside the enterprise by interested counterparties, owners or government agencies. This analysis based only on reporting data, which contains a very limited part of information about the activities of the enterprise, does not allow revealing all the secrets of the company.

The features of external financial analysis are:

• a variety of goals and interests of the subjects of analysis;
• the plurality of subjects of analysis, users of information about the activities of the enterprise;
• availability of standard analysis methods, accounting and reporting standards;
• orientation of the analysis only to public, external reporting of the enterprise;
• limited analysis tasks as a consequence of the previous factor;
• maximum openness of the analysis results for users of information about the activities of the enterprise.

• analysis of absolute indicators of profit;
• analysis of relative profitability indicators;
• analysis of the financial condition, market stability, balance sheet liquidity, solvency of the enterprise;
• analysis of the efficiency of the use of borrowed capital;
• economic diagnostics of the financial condition of enterprises and rating assessment of issuers.

On-farm financial analysis uses as a source of information, in addition to financial statements, also other data of system accounting, data on technical preparation of production, regulatory and planning information, etc.

On-farm financial analysis can be supplemented with other aspects that are important for optimizing management: analysis of the efficiency of capital advance, analysis of the relationship between costs, turnover and profit, etc. In the on-farm management analysis system, it is possible to deepen financial analysis by attracting data from management production accounting ... There is a possibility of conducting a comprehensive economic analysis and evaluating the effectiveness of economic activities. The issues of financial and production analysis are interrelated in the substantiation of business plans, in the control of their implementation in the production management system and the sale of products, works and services, oriented to the market.

The features of management analysis are:

• orientation of the analysis results for their management;
• use of all sources of information for analysis;
• lack of regulation of outside analysis;
• the complexity of the analysis, the study of all aspects of the enterprise;
• integration of accounting, analysis, planning and decision making;
• maximum secrecy of the analysis results in order to preserve trade secrets.

We will use the following notation:

F - fixed assets;
N - products;
L 1 - return on assets ( N / F );
A - depreciation;
M - material costs;
L 2 - material efficiency ( N / M );
R - production personnel;
L 3 - labor productivity ( N / R );
U - remuneration of personnel;
S - production cost;
TO - advanced capital;
R - profit;
E - working capital;
C E - sources of formation of working capital.

Economic, production relations, which are the subject of study of economic sciences, are in close connection with productive forces. The content of the latter characterizes the technical conditions of production, on which labor productivity and economic indicators in general depend. That is why the basis of all economic indicators of the economic activity of enterprises is the technical and organizational level of production (Block 1), i.e., the quality of the equipment used, the progressiveness of technological processes, the technical and energy equipment of labor, the degree of concentration, specialization, cooperation and combination, the duration of the production cycle. and the rhythm of production, the level of organization of production and management.

The technical side of production is not directly subject to economic analysis. But economic indicators are studied in close interaction with the technique and technology of production, its organization, and economic analysis in this case takes on the character of technical and economic analysis.

The level of economic indicators is significantly influenced by natural conditions. This circumstance plays an important role in a number of sectors of the economy, especially in agriculture, in the extractive industry. The degree of use of natural resources largely depends on the state of technology and organization of production and is studied along with indicators of the technical and organizational level of production.

Economic indicators characterize not only the technical, organizational and natural conditions of production, but also the social conditions of life of production teams, foreign economic relations of the enterprise - the state of the markets for financing, purchase and sale. The degree of use of production resources depends on all these conditions of production: means of labor (Block 2), objects of labor (Block 3) and labor itself (Block 4). The intensity of the use of production resources is manifested in such generalizing indicators as capital productivity of fixed assets, material consumption of production, labor productivity.

The efficiency of using production resources, in turn, manifests itself in three dimensions:

1. volume and quality of manufactured and sold products (Block 5); moreover, the higher the quality of the products, the greater the volume of products expressed in selling prices;
2. the amount of consumption or costs of resources for production (Block 6), i.e. production cost;
3. the value of the resources used (Block 7), i.e., the fixed and circulating assets advanced for economic activity.

Comparison of the indicators of the volume of production and the cost price characterizes the amount of profit and profitability of products (Block 8), as well as costs per 1 ruble. products. Comparison of indicators of the volume of production and the value of advanced fixed and circulating assets characterizes the reproduction and turnover of capital (Block 9), that is, the return on assets of fixed assets and the turnover of circulating assets. The obtained indicators, in turn, together determine the level of profitability of economic activity (Block 10).

The financial condition and solvency of the enterprise depends on the fulfillment of the profit plan and the financial plan in general, on the one hand, and on the turnover of working capital, on the other (Block 11).

The generalized indicators of each block are called synthetic. The synthetic indicator of one block, which is the output for this block of the subsystem, will play the role of an input for another block subordinate to it. By means of these generalizing indicators, the connection between the individual blocks in the system of economic analysis is carried out. Each block, as a relatively isolated system, is included in the system of analytical indicators that make up these generalizing indicators. For example, the volume of sold products is a synthetic indicator for Block 5, the total cost of these products is a synthetic indicator for Block 6.

2. ANALYSIS OF THE PROPERTY SITUATION OF THE ENTERPRISE

The stability of the financial position of an economic entity largely depends on the feasibility and correctness of investing financial resources in assets.

In the process of functioning of an economic entity, its assets and their structure undergo constant changes. The most general idea of ​​the qualitative changes that have taken place in the structure of active and passive capital, as well as the dynamics of these changes, can be obtained using vertical and horizontal analysis of reporting indicators.

Vertical analysis shows the structure of the funds of an economic entity and their sources. Vertical analysis can be applied to either the original reporting, or modified (with enlarged or transformed nomenclature of articles) reporting. From the analytical balance, you can get a number of important characteristics of the property and financial condition of the organization.

The advantage of vertical analysis is that in an inflationary environment, the relative values ​​of the balance sheet indicators at the beginning and end of the year lend themselves better to comparison than the absolute values ​​of these indicators.

Horizontal analysis provides a characteristic of changes in reporting indicators for the reporting period or the dynamics of their changes for a number of reporting periods.

Horizontal analysis of reporting consists in the construction of one or more analytical tables, in which absolute indicators are supplemented by relative - growth or decline rates.

An example of the vertical and horizontal balance of an economic entity is given in table. one.

From the data in this table, we can conclude that there were no fundamental changes during the year. The decrease in the share of accounts receivable and short-term loans and borrowings, as well as an increase in the share of cash and securities, should be regarded as a positive trend. An increase in the accounts payable of an economic entity should be considered a negative trend. During the analyzed period, the value of the organization's property increased by 310 thousand rubles, including as a result of an increase by 14.7% of fixed assets, by 8.8% - inventories and costs, by 10.6%, accounts receivable and by 70.4% - cash and other assets. The share of the organization's own funds increased by 13.1%, and the share of borrowed funds - by 43% (55-12). The increase in the property of the organization by 72% (223: 310x100) was provided due to the growth of sources of own funds.

Table 1
VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL BALANCE ANALYSIS

At the same time, the share of own funds in the balance sheet at the end of the year decreased by 2.2% and amounted to 85.4%. At the same time, both the share (2.8%) and the amount (55%) of accounts payable increased.

The increase in the organization's property by 28% [(88-1) / 310x100] was covered by an increase in the organization's liabilities, that is, accounts payable. It should be noted as a positive moment the high proportion (58%) in the composition of the property of immobilized assets.

An important element of the production potential of an economic entity is its material and technical base. The material and technical base of the organization is characterized by indicators:

• the share of the active part of fixed assets (machinery, equipment, vehicles);
• depreciation rate (the ratio of the amount of depreciation of fixed assets to their original cost at the beginning or end of the year);
• the coefficient of renewal (the proportion of newly introduced fixed assets in their total result);
• retirement ratio (the ratio of the initial cost of fixed assets retired during the year that were available at the beginning of the year);
• shelf life ratio (the ratio of the residual value of fixed assets to their initial value).

Here is a description of fixed assets according to the indicated indicators.

table 2

CHARACTERISTIC OF FIXED FUNDS OF THE ORGANIZATION

From the data table. 2 it follows that during the analyzed period the share of the active part of fixed assets decreased slightly - to 48%. The cost of fixed assets as a whole increased by 24.7%, including their active part - by 22.1%. This could be viewed as a positive trend in the development of the material and technical base of an economic entity. However, at the end of the year, the organization saw a decrease in the service life of fixed assets - to 60.2% and an increase in their wear rate - to 39.8%. The given data indicate that the increase in the value of fixed assets was mainly due to their revaluation, and therefore the coefficient of renewal of labor instruments is low. This is a sign that an economic entity is allocating insufficient funds to finance capital investments and a significant renewal of its fixed assets is one of the strategic directions for the development of the material and technical base in the future.

3. ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL RESULTS

Various aspects of the production, sales, supply and financial activities of the enterprise receive a complete monetary value in the system of indicators of financial results.

The final financial result of the enterprise. Balance sheet profit or loss is the algebraic sum of the result (profit or loss) from the sale of marketable products, the result from other sales, income and expenses from non-sale transactions.

R b = + P p + P pr + P ext

where
R b - balance sheet profit or loss;
P p - the result from the sale of marketable products;
P pr - result from other sales;
P ext - result from non-sales transactions.

The financial results of the enterprise are also characterized by indicators of proceeds from the sale of products, the amount of value added tax.

The proceeds from the sale of products indicate the completion of the production cycle of the enterprise, the return of the funds advanced for the production of the enterprise in cash and the beginning of a new round in the turnover of funds. After deducting the amount of VAT and excise taxes, as well as production costs from the proceeds from the sale of products, the net result from the sale (profit or loss) is obtained.

Indicators of financial results characterize the absolute efficiency of the enterprise. We also calculate profitability indicators. The ratio of the balance sheet profit to the average value of the property of the enterprise, capital, fixed and circulating assets gives the overall profitability. Product profitability is defined as the ratio of profit from product sales to sales revenue.

Profit is the most important indicator of the efficiency of the enterprise. The growth of profits creates a financial basis for self-financing of the enterprise, the implementation of expanded reproduction and the satisfaction of the social and material needs of employees and owners of the enterprise. At the expense of profit, obligations to the budget, banks and other organizations are fulfilled. Therefore, the analysis of profit should cover both the factors of its formation and the factors of distribution.

The analysis of the financial results of the company's activities includes, as mandatory elements:

• research of changes in each indicator for the analyzed period;
• study of the structure of the relevant indicators and their changes;
• study of the dynamics of changes in indicators of financial results for a number of reporting periods.

The objectives of the analysis of the financial results of the enterprise are:

• assessment of the dynamics of profit indicators;
• the validity of the evidence on education and distribution of profits;
• identification and measurement of the effect of various factors on profit;
• assessment of possible reserves for further profit growth based on optimization of production volumes and costs.

In a market economy, the main goal of any entrepreneurial activity is to maximize profits. The growth of profits provides the possibility of self-financing and the implementation of expanded reproduction, meeting the material and social needs of owners and labor collectives.

At the expense of profit, the organization's obligations to the budget are fulfilled, and through accumulation funds - to banks and other organizations.

Consequently, the tasks of analyzing the financial results of an organization are:

• assessment of the dynamics of indicators of balance sheet and net profit;
• identification of the degree of influence of various factors on profit;
• assessment of profitability indicators;
• identification of reserves for increasing profit on the basis of optimizing the factorial features affecting it.

When analyzing indicators of financial results and assessing their changes in a dynamic plan, an analytical table is drawn up. The information basis for such an analysis is the data of the profit and loss statement (form No. 2).

Table 3
ANALYSIS OF THE FINANCIAL RESULTS OF THE ORGANIZATION
thousand roubles.

From the data table. 3 it follows that the balance sheet and net profit of the organization for the reporting period increased (by 24.8 and 25.5%, respectively). The increase in these indicators was mainly due to an increase in revenue from product sales and profit from other sales. The organization received a loss from non-operating transactions.

In the analyzed organization, the balance sheet profit of 98.7% (159 / 161x100) is formed at the expense of profit from the sale of products.

Balance sheet profit reflects the overall financial result of the financial and economic activities of the enterprise in the reporting period, taking into account all its parties. Profit from sales of products is associated with factors of production and sales of products. The main attention in the analysis should focus on the study of the causes and factors of changes in this indicator. Profit from the sale of commercial products changes under the influence of such factors as change:

• sales volume;
• product structures;
• selling prices for products sold;
• prices for raw materials, supplies, fuel, energy and transportation tariffs;
• the level of costs of material and labor resources.

Table 4
ANALYSIS OF PROFIT BY FACTORS
thousand roubles.

Table 4 shows data and a digital example of factor analysis of profit from product sales.

Let's determine the degree of influence of factors on profit:

• change in selling prices for products
is equal to the difference between the proceeds from the sale of commercial products in current prices and sales in the reporting year in the prices of the base year.

243.853 - 212.000 = +31.853 thousand rubles.

Additional profits are generated mainly as a result of inflation

• changes in material prices, energy and transportation tariffs, wage rates
... For this, information about the cost of production is used. In this case, prices for materials, tariffs for energy and transportation were increased by 10,000 thousand rubles, wages - by 9,910 thousand rubles, which reduced profit by 19,910 thousand rubles.
• breaches of business discipline
... They are established by analyzing the savings resulting from violation of standards, technical conditions, failure to fulfill the plan of measures for labor protection, safety, etc. In this example, no additional profit was found due to similar reasons.
• Increase in the volume of production in the valuation at the basic full cost price
... Calculate the growth rate of the volume of sales of products in the assessment at the basic cost:

151,682/125,312 = 1. 210435.

Then the basic profit is adjusted by the obtained coefficient and the basic profit is subtracted from it:

32.705x1.210435 - 32.705 = +6.882 thousand rubles.

• Increase in the volume of products due to structural changes in the composition of products. The difference between the growth rate of the volume of sales of products in the assessment at selling prices and the growth rate of the volume of sales of products in the assessment at the basic cost is determined.

32,705 (212,000 / 158,017 - 151,682 / 125,312) = 4,287.0 thousand rubles.

Reducing costs by 1 rub. products. It is expressed as the difference between the basic total cost of actually sold products and the actual cost, calculated taking into account changes in prices for material and other resources and reasons associated with violations of economic discipline.

151.682 - 151.524 = 158.0 thousand rubles.

Changes in production costs due to structural changes in the composition of products. Calculated by comparing the basic total cost, adjusted for the growth rate of production, with the basic total cost of actually sold products.

125.312 x 1.341628 - 151.682 = + 16.444 thousand rubles.

The total deviation from profit is

72.419 - 32.705 = 39.714 thousand rubles,

which corresponds to the sum of the factorial influences.

The calculation results are presented in a summary of the influence of factors on profit from product sales (thousand rubles)

Table 5
INFLUENCE OF FACTORS ON PROFIT FROM SALE OF PRODUCTS
thousand roubles.

When analyzing profit, it is important to separate the influence of external and internal factors. In general, the profit of an enterprise is the result of the increment in its profitability. Profitability is considered as the product of production productivity by the ratio of prices per unit of product and unit of resource.

Large enterprises focus on the problems of controlling changes in industrial productivity and try to reduce the role of external factors or financial productivity. One of the conditions for the prosperity of the enterprise is the expansion of the sales market for products by lowering prices for the goods offered.

Profitability indicators are relative characteristics of the financial results and efficiency of the enterprise. They measure the profitability of an enterprise from various positions and are grouped in accordance with the interests of participants in the economic process, market volume. Profitability indicators are important characteristics of the factor environment for the formation of profit and income of enterprises.

The main indicators of profitability can be grouped into groups:

• calculated on the basis of profit;
• calculated on the basis of production assets;
• calculated on the basis of cash flows.

A prerequisite for making a profit is a certain degree of development of production, which ensures the excess of proceeds from the sale of products over the costs of its production and sale. The main factor chain that generates profit is represented by the following scheme:

COSTS-> PRODUCTION SCOPE-> PROFIT

The components of this scheme must be under constant attention and control. This task is solved on the basis of organizing cost accounting according to the direct costing system. Features of this system.

1. Separation of costs into fixed and variable. Variable costs directly depend on the volume and range of products, and with minor deviations, fluctuations in their value are synchronous with fluctuations in output. Fixed costs do not depend on changes in the volume of production, they depend on the duration of the reporting period.

2. Connection of production and financial accounting. Accounting and reporting are organized in such a way that it becomes possible to regularly monitor. Basic report model for profit analysis:

• sales volume - 1,500;
• variable costs - 1,000;
• margin income - 500;
• fixed costs - 300;
• profit (net income) - 200.

financial accounting audit

Of great importance in auditing is the study and assessment of the financial condition and solvency of an economic entity. Conducting a statutory audit of financial statements, an auditing firm is obliged to check its financial condition and assess its solvency, arguing with a number of indicators that confirm the auditor's conclusions.

The information obtained in the research process is important both for the managers of the audited entity and for third parties who will use the auditor's report.

When conducting an audit of the financial condition, it is necessary to identify signs of the possibility of terminating the activities of the enterprise and establish whether the entity is becoming a potential bankrupt and whether it will become one within three months after the audit.

Analysis and audit of the financial condition and solvency should also be carried out in the process of internal audit in order to develop tactics for specialists.

The financial condition of an enterprise is its assets and liabilities, which reflect the availability and allocation of resources at a certain date.

The main sources of information for auditing the financial condition of the enterprise is the balance sheet of the enterprise (form No. 1 of the annual and quarterly statements). Its importance in this is so great that financial analysis is often called balance sheet analysis. Together with the balance sheet, the source of data for the audit is the following annual reporting: report on financial results and their use (form No. 2 of annual and quarterly reporting); report on the financial and property condition of the enterprise (form No. 3). The analysis of the financial condition, which is based on the financial statements, is carried out mainly by an external audit, i.e. specialized audit firms, owners or government agencies.

Accounting reporting forms on the activities of the enterprise allow external users to unbiasedly assess the financial condition of the enterprise, even without using information that is a trade secret.

An external audit of the financial condition of an enterprise can resort to research, the results of which are important not only for assessing potential partners of a particular enterprise, but also for other users of reporting. The company does not care what indicators will evaluate its financial condition by possible counterparties, shareholders, creditors. Therefore, a relationship is needed between internal and external audit, and this is achieved using specific methods and standards.

An audit of the financial condition of an enterprise includes:

• - general assessment of the financial condition and its change for the reporting period;
• -analysis of the financial stability of the enterprise, the liquidity of the enterprise (balance sheet), the coefficients of financial mobility.

An audit of the financial condition begins with the determination of the company's solvency. A solvent enterprise is one in which the amount of current assets (stocks, cash, accounts receivable and other assets) is greater than or equal to its external debt (liabilities). The external debt of the enterprise is determined according to the data of sections II and III of the liabilities of the balance sheet. This includes short-term, medium-term and long-term loans, as well as accounts payable.

Comparing current assets with external liabilities, the auditor must take into account that the presence of stocks at the enterprise (especially state ones) does not determine the real solvency, because in a market economy, stocks of work in progress, finished goods and other inventories may not be realizable to repay external.

Fast-track assets include cash and receivables and to some extent (excluding surplus and stalled inventories) inventories. Therefore, it is necessary to make an updated calculation of solvency, i.e. determine the correspondence of quick assets to external debt.

The auditor establishes an increase or decrease in the level of solvency of the enterprise by changing the indicator of working capital (working capital), which he defines as the difference between all current assets and short-term debt.

Working capital consists of those types of property that are completely in the enterprise during one financial year and carries out a full turnover or several turns. Its sources of education are: an increase in net income, long-term liabilities, share capital, etc. It should be taken into account that the most reliable partner is an enterprise with a large amount of working capital, since it can mark its obligations, increase the scale of its activities. A guideline for optimizing the size of working capital is its amount, which is equal to half of short-term liabilities. Attraction of borrowed funds for the implementation of economic activities of the enterprise can have different efficiency, which depends on the rational formation of the structure of sources of funds used.

Market conditions of management force enterprises at any time to urgently pay off short-term debt. The ability of an enterprise to pay off urgent liabilities is determined by an indicator that characterizes the ratio of working capital to short-term liabilities. This ratio should be equal to one. Both low and high ratios are unfavorable.

The liquidity of the balance sheet and relative indicators (financial ratios) characterize the external manifestation of the financial condition, due to its essence. Deepening analysis based on accounting data contributes to solving internal audit problems. So, the study of the factors of financial stability necessitates an internal audit of reserves and expenses, and the clarification of the assessment of balance sheet liquidity is carried out by an internal audit using the analysis of accounts receivable and payable.

Liquidity is the ability of working capital to turn into cash required for normal financial and economic activities. Auditors present their opinions to banks, suppliers, shareholders and other customers. Liquidity is determined by the ratio of all current assets to short-term liabilities. It should be noted that when the ratio of current assets to short-term debt is less than one, this means that there is nothing to pay for external liabilities. In cases where current assets are equal to current liabilities, i.e. 1: 1 ratio, the entrepreneur has no free choice of decision. If the ratio is high, the company has a large amount of free funds, uses expensive assets, i.e. profit on current assets is higher than interest rates for borrowed funds.

The auditor determines the liquidity of the company based on the total amount of current assets. However, extraordinary circumstances can also affect the liquidity of an enterprise. In such cases, the auditor must calculate the liquidity indicator by maturity, will allow to establish whether the company will be able to recover short-term debts. This uses the ratio of quickly realizable assets of cash, accounts receivable and short-term liabilities.

The rational formation of sources of funds by the auditor is determined by their structure. The main attention of the auditor should be paid to own funds (equity capital).

The assessment of the structure of sources of funds, which the auditor has to give to banks, creditors, concerns the change in the share of own funds in the total amount of sources of funds in terms of financial risk when concluding agreements and contracts. The risk increases when the share of equity (capital) decreases.

The auditor, after studying the structure of the sources of funds of the enterprise, provides information to banks, creditors about the expansion or collapse of the enterprise. A decrease in short-term loans and an increase in equity capital may be evidence of the curtailment of the enterprise. However, it is impossible to come to such a conclusion at the same time, since part of these funds may be influenced by other factors - interest rates for loans and dividends. The guideline for the auditor's conclusion about the expansion or collapse of the company's activities may be retained earnings (in the balance sheet the difference between the amount of balance sheet profit and the use of profit - section 1 of the asset and liability).

As already noted, the optimal structure of finance is considered to be their formation at the expense of their own funds only in terms of fixed capital (fixed assets). For this purpose, the investment indicator is calculated (the ratio of equity to fixed capital). An enterprise will be viable if it returns all borrowed funds on time.

The auditor determines the ability of an enterprise to fulfill its obligations by analyzing the structure of finances. Long-term assets should be financed with long-term capital, not necessarily equity capital. It is considered rational when the fixed capital is financed by at least 50% from equity capital and 50% from long-term loans. For banks and creditors, this capital allocation is positive, since there is a small risk of bankruptcy if the company has a large equity capital. For an enterprise, this means using its own finances, which it is advisable to invest in expanding its own production or invest in the purchase of securities, provide loans to other enterprises, etc. The alienation of equity capital in this case must be replenished with borrowed funds. The definition of a financial strategy is associated with the calculation of the effectiveness of the listed activities, which must be performed by auditors.

In calculating the indicators of solvency, liquidity of working capital (funds), accounts receivable and stocks are used. Depending on how quickly they turn into cash, the financial condition of the enterprise and its solvency are determined. For this purpose, the turnover of accounts of debtors is determined, which is calculated as the ratio of sales proceeds to the amount owed. The higher this indicator, the faster the receivables turn into cash.

The auditor should especially carefully examine the organization of settlements with customers, since the volume of sales of products, the state of accounts receivable, and cash depend on this.

The replenishment of cash at the enterprise depends on the turnover of inventories, which is calculated as the ratio of the cost of goods sold to the average annual inventory. The higher the turnover rate, the faster the inventory turns into cash. The auditor should make such a calculation in dynamics over several reporting periods.

For the purpose of the normal implementation of production and marketing of products, stocks must be optimal. Having a smaller, more mobile inventory means that less of a business's cash is in inventory. The presence of large stocks indicates a decrease in the activity of the enterprise in relation to the production and sale of products.

Thus, when checking the financial condition of an enterprise, the auditor examines not only the actual stability, solvency and liquidity of the enterprise, but also the prospect of increasing business activity and economic efficiency.

Recently, the demand for economic and financial analysis services has increased significantly. This is due to the fact that enterprises that have been operating for a sufficient time in new economic conditions want to understand their financial condition, outline ways out of the crisis, determine which type of products (works, services) brings the greatest income (losses), etc. ... Some businesses are in dire straits and teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Employees of economic services of enterprises do not know the methods of analyzing the financial condition in a market economy, do not have experience in drawing up business plans.

Financial analysis involves a comprehensive assessment of the organization's activities based on the use of a number of indicators. Such an assessment includes the selection of indicators that are most significant for a particular organization or group of organizations, calculated on the basis of accounting reporting data and analysis of their dynamics, ranking by degree of significance, and studying the effect on the value of a comprehensive analysis.

Financial analysis allows you to judge the effectiveness and reliability of the organization and its management team. As part of the financial analysis, a "horizontal" comparison of balance sheet items and calculated indicators for several reporting periods is carried out, as well as a "vertical" comparison of the activities of this organization with another.

Financial analysis can be viewed as a way of accumulating and using accounting data, the purposes of which are:

An objective assessment of the financial condition, financial results, efficiency and business activity of the enterprise;

Identification of factors and causes of the achieved state and the results obtained;

Preparation and justification of the adopted management decisions in the field of finance;

Identification and mobilization of reserves for improving the financial condition and financial results, increasing the efficiency of all economic activities.

Financial analysis is used in auditing in two aspects.

First, as a method of the financial mechanism of an enterprise, the processes of formation and use for its operational and investment activities. The result of the analysis is an assessment of the financial well-being of the enterprise, the state of its property, assets and liabilities of the balance sheet, the rate of turnover of all capital and its individual parts, the profitability of the funds used.

Acquaintance with the balance sheet of the enterprise is a mandatory stage in the work of the auditor both at the stage of concluding a contract and during the audit itself. Financial assessments of accounting reports in a concise and concentrated form are needed by the auditor as guidelines. They serve as a hint for choosing the right decision in the audit process. Awareness of the auditor as a result of the conducted financial analysis gives him confidence in his actions, helps to plan the audit correctly, to identify weaknesses in the accounting system.

Analytical procedures of the auditor during the preliminary acquaintance with the client's activities are reduced to the following actions:

· Comparison of current data with standard values;

· Comparison of financial ratios with non-financial indicators;

· Comparison of current data with data of previous periods;

· Comparison of the current data with the data of the plan and forecasts;

· Comparison of current enterprise data with average general economic and industry data.

The purpose of using analytical procedures is to identify atypical situations in the activities of the enterprise and in its reporting.

Secondly, financial analysis is considered as a type of auditor's services. The administration of the company, founders, owners and shareholders need complete and detailed information about the financial position of the company at the end of the reporting period, the income received and its use.

Audit clients are interested not only in the current financial condition of their enterprise, but also in the growth prospects, the expected consequences of the decisions made.

The main goal of financial analysis is to obtain several key parameters that give an objective and accurate picture of the financial condition of the enterprise, its profits and losses, changes in the structure of assets and liabilities, in settlements with debtors and creditors.

At the same time, the manager may be interested in both the current financial condition of the enterprise and its immediate and distant prospects.

The objectives of the analysis are achieved as a result of solving certain interrelated analytical problems. An analytical task is the specification of the objectives of the analysis, taking into account the organizational, technical and methodological capabilities of the analysis. The main factor in solving an analytical problem is the volume and quality of the initial information. It should be borne in mind that the periodic accounting or financial statements of an enterprise are only raw information prepared in the course of performing accounting procedures at the enterprise.

Financial audit is a check of the current economic condition of the enterprise and an assessment of the prospects for its development. The audit can be internal, in this case it is carried out by the company's employees, and external, it is carried out by independent experts. Financial audit of an organization is to study the financial activities of the company, and check the reporting for accuracy. It is a broader concept than an audit of financial statements, as it includes identifying weaknesses in the financial sector that may affect the further development of the business.

Now it is clear what a financial audit is, and why is it needed? The audit can take place as part of an annual mandatory audit, for organizations that are legally established such a requirement, or it can be initiated by the owner of the company. When inviting an audit company, management usually pursues the following goals:

• Preparing for a tax audit. An audit will allow you to identify errors or inconsistencies in tax accounting with legislation before the tax service finds them and issues a fine. Periodic financial audit of the company will minimize the risks of litigation with tax authorities;
• Assessment of the competence of accounting employees. All accounting documents must be checked. Figures in reporting should be supported by primary documentation. If some indicators appear in different reports, their values ​​must be identical. Also, audit is a good panacea for untidiness of employees;
• Analysis of the efficiency of the enterprise. For business owners, this is perhaps the most important goal of the audit, to assess the profitability of the organization and its financial capabilities. This information will be needed by potential and current investors. The audit will show the profitability and solvency of the company, its current assets and liabilities;
• Identifying potential threats and places for improvement. The auditor can predict legal, financial or tax risks and make recommendations on how to avoid them.

Based on these goals, it is worth noting that an external independent verification will be more effective. At the same time, the company needs to develop and maintain a high level of internal control.

Financial audits are often carried out after the change of financial managers (chief accountant, CFO or CEO), their successors must have a clear idea of ​​the state of the company.

What the check consists of

Before starting the audit, the expert must familiarize himself with information about the company, the specifics of its activities and the region in which it is located. After that, a plan and a verification program are drawn up, which is agreed with the management of the audited entity.

During the check, the inspector performs the following actions:

1. examines and analyzes all the assets and liabilities of the organization. If the company has several types of activities, it is necessary to study the figures for each separately;
2. analyzes financial ratios;
3. studies the flow of funds, identifies the factors that influenced this process;
4. assesses the accounting policy, determines the factors that affect the financial condition;
5. gives its assessment of the forecasted prospects for the development of the company, which the founders expect. Correlates forecasts with current financial performance and sales;
6. checks the accuracy of financial statements;
7. evaluates the accounting and tax accounting of an enterprise for compliance with legislation.

The auditor uses different methods to collect information. Among them:

• inventory (checking the actual condition of the property with its reflection in the reporting documents);
• inspection (examination of documents related to the financial sector);
• supervision (assessment of the quality of performance by employees of the financial service of their official duties);
• analysis (identification of patterns and relationships between individual elements);
• recalculation (checking the accuracy of arithmetic calculations);
• request (collection of information from competent persons who may be located both inside the audited company and outside it);
• confirmation (receipt of information upon request).

Upon completion of the audit, the auditor provides the business owner with a report on the work done, an opinion and recommendations for improving the firm's performance.

All found errors and violations are reflected in a written report, they are classified according to the established norms of the law. In addition to listing the shortcomings, the report should also contain recommendations of the inspector to eliminate them.

In the conclusion, the auditor expresses his opinion on the reliability of the presented statements. It can be unconditionally positive or modified. The latter, in turn, is divided into 3 types:

1. Negative... The auditor can express such an opinion in case of serious disagreements with the company's management on the accounting policy and procedure for carrying out the financial activities of the enterprise;
2. Disclaimer of opinion... The auditor has the right to issue such an opinion if incomplete financial documentation has been provided to him. A superficial check does not allow the auditor to determine the reliability of the statements;
3. Qualified opinion... A qualified opinion is issued if the auditor is faced with the problems described above, but they are not so significant as to issue a negative opinion or refuse to express an opinion.

When issuing a modified opinion, regardless of the type, the auditor must indicate the reasons that prompted him to make such a decision.

The conclusion should also contain an analysis of the financial results of activities and the property status of the organization for the period under study.

The final document, provided after the audit, contains expert advice on the development of the company's financial position and improvement of the internal control system.