Anauditor is a person or a firm appointed by acompany to execute anaudit.[1] To act as an auditor, a person should becertified by theregulatory authority ofaccounting and auditing or possess certain specified qualifications. Generally, to act as an external auditor of thecompany, a person should have a certificate of practice from the regulatory authority.
Forpublicly traded companies, external auditors may also be required to express an opinion over the effectiveness ofinternal controls overfinancial reporting. External auditors may also be engaged to perform other agreed-upon procedures, related or unrelated to financial statements. Most importantly, external auditors, though engaged and paid by the company being audited, should be regarded as independent.
The internationally recognised standard setting body for the profession is the Institute of Internal Auditors - IIA (www.theiia.org). The IIA has defined internal auditing as follows: "Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization's operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes".[2]
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