Types Of Auditors

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TYPES OF AUDITORS There are three types of auditors: internal, governmental, and external (i.e., independent auditors or certified public accountants). Internal auditors are employees of the organization whose activities are being examined and evaluated during an independent audit. The primary purposes of internal auditing are to review and assess a company's policies, procedures, and records and to review and assess a company's performance given its plans, policies, and procedures. Therefore, internal auditors review financial records and accounting systems, assess compliance with company policies, evaluate the efficiency of company operations, and assess the attainment of company goals. Governmental auditors include accountants employed by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). The GAO serves as the accounting and auditing branch of Congress. These governmental accountants perform accounting and auditing tasks for the entire federal government. In addition, most states have their own accounting and auditing agencies, which resemble the GAO. Because the GAO and its state counterparts are separate agencies from the departments and agencies they audit, they are similar to external auditors. Consequently, federal and state departments and agencies often have their own internal auditors, who provide internal auditing services similar to those described above. Moreover, GAO auditing largely has the same focus as internal auditing: examining financial records, assessing compliance with laws and regulations, reviewing efficiency of operations, and evaluating the achievement of objectives. In contrast, the independent auditor is not an employee of the organization being audited or an employee of the government. He or she performs an examination with the objective of issuing a report containing an opinion on a client's financial statements. The attest function of

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