Professional Judgment

Professional judgment is a skill of that an auditor gains through experienced and training. Their judgment is said to be professional if they are well versed to the condition which they are facing. Suppose there is a condition where the accountants have prepared the financial statement, and auditors are there to check if the information in the financial statement is true and not flawed by the misstatement. The auditor who had got the experience and the training for analyzing the validity of the financial statement will make the judgment of that statement, and thus the judgment will said to be the professional judgment.

In simple words, the judgment which is addressed by any professional auditor who has got the skills and training which make him professional, his judgment will be known as the professional judgment. While conducting the assurance engagement, the auditors had to apply some smart procedures and devise some strategies depending on their professional judgment. This professional judgment cannot be learned by simply having training, the auditors must have faced that particular event over time to make their professional judgment skill stronger with the great experience of work. For being an auditor who can make professional judgment, you must have these three qualities:

1- Skills

2- Experience

3- Training

Mainly the word professional judgment from the auditors point of view is used just only when they have to conduct the assurance engagement. Assurance engagement is a lengthy and complicated process, the auditor need to act smartly to insure the efficiency. This job can only be performed under the supervision of some highly professional auditor who can make professional judgments.

Audit opinion cannot be based entirely on professional judgment even if the auditor has got the skill, training and experience. There is a need to have the set of evidences which supports his conclusion.