Audit types are the categories into which audits can be classified. These are the evaluation techniques through which we seek to know the characteristics of a business organization.
In other words, the types of audit are the different kinds of analysis that can be carried out with respect to a company. This, in different areas such as accounting, tax, financial, etc.
Audits can be classified based on different criteria, as we will see below.
Types of audit according to who performs it
Depending on who is in charge of preparing the audit, it can be:
- Internal audit: It is the one prepared by a person (or group of people) who works within the company itself. The idea is that the organization examines itself to find points where it can improve.
- External audit: It is the one carried out by an agent that does not belong to the evaluated company. Thus, normally an external auditing company inspects the processes of another firm, which has contracted its services. What is sought with this type of audit is an external point of view, from a third party outside the commercial company analyzed.
Types of audit according to their nature
Depending on the nature of what is evaluated, the audit can be:
- Audiaccounting theory: It consists of a review of the financial statements of the company to verify that they reflect the economic situation of the institution. The following documents are reviewed: the balance sheet, the income statement, the statement of cash flows and the statement of changes in equity.
- Operational audit: It is the one that is carried out to determine if a company is making optimal use of its resources. That is, that their processes are efficient and are not generating losses for the company.
- TOfinancial audit: It consists of an analysis of the economic and accounting situation of the company. It goes beyond the accounting audit. Its task must be carried out jointly with the tax, management, IT and tax audit.
- Environmental audit: It consists of measuring the impact of a company’s activity on the environment. This, in order to determine if the standards required by law are met. If this is not the case, measures or improvement strategies will have to be proposed.
- Computer audit: It is the one where the software or computer systems adopted by the company are evaluated, for example, for commercial or fiscal processes.
- Quality audit: It is carried out to verify the correct functioning of the quality system implemented by the company. This, within the framework of the ISO 9001 standard.
- Compliance audit: It is the one where it is verified that the company complies with the good practices required by law for its sector or environment, so that the standards are being respected.
- Management audit: It consists of measuring the use of the company’s resources to assess whether it is efficient, but also, unlike the operational audit, it goes a step further to analyze whether the planned profitability objectives have been achieved.
