Finance and Accounting · Accounting and bookkeeping

Audit, assurance and internal control

An auditor's job is to say, in public and under professional rules, whether a set of accounts can be believed. External audit reports to shareholders; internal audit and control work report to the board on whether the processes behind the numbers hold up. The discipline grew out of accounting and still shares its exams, but it rewards scepticism, careful sampling and clear writing more than speed at the ledger.

Why this topic exists: External and internal audit, controls and assurance: CPA AUD, ACCA Audit and Assurance and Advanced Audit and Assurance; a profession of its own inside the accounting field.