Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Auditing - Essay Example The auditor is responsible for collecting and evaluating the evidence in order to make an opinion on the financial position of a company. In the contemporary business world, various changes have been experienced as auditors embark on addressing the challenges that face them as professionals. Quality auditing by independent auditors is a vital aspect in that it ensures that capital markets are effectively working while at the same time public and investor’s interests are protected. This paper seeks to examine the changes in the auditing environment and the resulting challenges. Additionally, the paper will discuss key lessons that auditors can draw in order to capitalize on emerging opportunities. During the annual conference for American Accounting Association (AAA), the issue of auditing skepticism was noted as one of the key challenges that are faced in the field of auditing. According to the PCAOB, every audit who is focused at coming up with a fair view of the clients fina ncial position must emulate professional skepticism throughout their audit process. This implies that firstly, the auditor should portray a general duty of care during their duties. Secondly, professional skepticism entails having a questioning mind on the appropriateness of the audit evidence (James, 2013). Thirdly, it comprises of there key elements that includes mindset, actions and attributes. The three aspects must be emulated together in order to come up with a quality audit. One of the major issues that results to change in the audit are the skeptical judgments arrived at during the audit planning. This can be due to the variation in the level of skills as well as the expertise of the individuals involved in the process. Additionally, auditing may be affected by the judgments of other auditors who have undertaken an audit process of a particular company. Being a complex issue that is experienced by auditors during their duties, skepticism entails various fields such as theory , auditing literature, corporate governance, business models and ethics among others. As a result of complexity of the auditing process in some companies, there has been a continued increase in the audit deficiency during the inspection of the financial information and records (Charan, 2005). According to McKenna (2011), majority of these deficiencies are caused by lack of adequate professional skepticism. Auditing standard calls for emulation of professional skepticism if an audit sees the possibility of a significant misstatement that may be caused by a fraud activity. During their duties, auditors should exercise professional skepticism especially during the gathering of information and evaluating the evidence. This implies that even if the auditor beliefs that the management team is honest, the auditor should not be satisfied with less persuading information. Another major challenge facing the auditing profession is hindrance to maintain its significance in the capital markets. It is vital to note that auditing plays an essential role of advancing capital formation. Similarly, it is subject to changes in demand. The profession faces significant choices of how and when to meet these changes. Though just like other professions, auditing must be in line with the public needs and regulate capital markets; it is faced by various factors that limit it. One of these factors is the statutory franchise. In order to