Auditor

Meaning and definition of an auditor

An auditor can be defined as a professional who performs the job of carefully checking the exactness of business records and confirming trustworthiness of the financial statements. Auditors are, usually, connected to a firm’s account departments, but they can also carry out their activities for verification of project management, quality management, etc. An auditor can either be an independent auditor who is not affiliated with the company being audited or a captive auditor. Some are, however, even elected public officials. Sometimes, the term is taken to be synonymous with “comptroller”. The main job of an auditor is to ensure that honest and accurate financial records and statements are maintained by organizations.

As explained by Investopedia, auditors can work for various different companies, like the IRS or state government. Auditors may also be established in accounting firms of private sector. There are two types of auditors – internal as well as external auditors. The internal auditors generally include employees or contractors with the company being audited. The external auditors, on the contrary, work either in conjunction with or directly for governmental agencies.

Job description of an auditor

An auditor is, basically, a type of accountant who performs the duty of verifying a company’s financial records. An auditor’s job description usually includes studying financial records, verifying the accounting and bookkeeping methods of the company, and comparing the books of company with records mentioned creditors, banks, brokers, etc. therefore, the key purpose of an auditor includes analyzing and preparing reports on profits, management cut costs, and income tax savers.

The list of duties and responsibilities performed by an auditor is mentioned below:

· preparing detailed audit report

· reviewing taxpayers’ accounts besides conducting on-site audits

· evaluating a taxpayer’s finances to measure tax liability

· collection and analysis of data to look for any kind of fraud, or violations of laws, regulations and management policies, duplications, etc

· inspection of a company’s account books to analyze the efficiency and transactions of the accounting procedures

· reporting the company management about the audit results to suggest changes in financial activities and operations of the company