Audit&Assurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Audit&Assurance - Essay Example Therefore the international institutions and the accounting bodies have recognized the need for streamlining the Auditing practices to meet the emerging challenges. International Accounting Standards have been the first step in the right direction to address the issues evolved over a period of time, considering the international implications imposed by the cross border transactions worldwide. Not only the shift in methods of operations and the procedures involved in financial services, but also, the developments that have been continuously taking place in the production processes, information technology, media and the latest technological innovations such as mobile telephony, Global Positioning System (GPS), Social Networks, etc. necessitated revisiting the techniques adopted in auditing as well. The methodologies adopted in relation to auditing need to take into account these industrial and technological developments to enhance the efficacy and lend flexibility to the procedures in line with the fast changing environment. The international Federation of Accountants (IFAC) was set up during 1977 with a view to bring about uniformity in the profession on a global scale. The concept of ‘Assurance’ is of recent origin, has generally come into existence after the companies have resorted to computerization of accounting during1980s. The various accounting scams in the corporate history have only strengthened the resolve to improve the professional standards in line with the technological developments and to enhance the level of transparency, and this paper seeks to study the development of auditing over the period of time. When computerization gathered momentum, the important problems identified in the auditing process were mainly related to the understanding of the concept of the system adopted (especially the software), compatibility of the program with the established accounting practices or the guidelines, the efficacy of the program to discern the pitfalls