Generally Accepted Auditing Standards

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Generally Accepted Auditing Standards Generally accepted auditing standards are defined as a systematic set of guidelines that are used by auditors when conducting audits for a company’s finances, these standards are used to ensure accuracy, consistency, and verifiability of the auditors reports (Investopedia, 2013). This paper is going to discuss the elements of generally accepted auditing standards and how these standards apply to compliance, financial and operational audits. There will also be discussion about the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and the effect they have on auditing publicly traded companies, and the requirements that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) have placed on auditors. There are ten generally accepted auditing standards that are the most recognized in regards to auditing in the accounting profession. The ten generally accepted auditing standards are broken down into three categories as follows general standards, standards of field work, and standards of reporting. General Standards: 1. The audit must be performed by and auditor that has technical training and is proficient in the area of auditing. 2. The auditor must maintain an independent mental attitude no matter what the assignment is. 3. Professional care is required when performing the audit and the reports that follow. Standards of Field Work: 1. The audit must be properly planned and if there is anyone assisting with the audit they must be supervised accordingly at all times. 2. There has to be a complete understanding of the entity and the environment that is being audited, internal control must be obtained in order to know the risk of misstatement of the financial reports whether it is due to fraud or just a simple error. 3. Audit evidence should be
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