How to establish and improve the internal audit system of enterprises

Establish and improve the internal audit system of enterprises. 1. What is internal audit? Internal audit refers to the evaluation of the effectiveness of internal control, the authenticity and integrity of financial information, and the efficiency and effect of business activities by the internal institutions or personnel of the audited entity. Internal audit is helpful to strengthen internal control, improve enterprise risk management, improve corporate governance structure and promote the realization of enterprise goals. Second, the status quo of internal audit in private enterprises At present, there are relatively few private enterprises that have established an internal audit system, and even if they have, they have not formed an internal audit atmosphere due to problems such as institutional setup mode. The main reasons are as follows: for those enterprises that have not established an internal audit system, it is mainly a problem of understanding or a problem of their own management. One is that they still think that internal audit is dispensable. They believe that the financial management and auditing system is set up to serve the internal control and business decision-making of enterprises, and the internal audit department is not a value creation department, and its role is not obvious, so it is unnecessary or dispensable; The other is that with social audit organizations, there is no need to set up internal audit. They think that it is uneconomical to hire a professional social audit institution to verify the fairness of enterprise financial statements and related accounting materials, and it is necessary to pay a sum of expenses for institutions and personnel to set up internal audit. Then, because the internal management organization and system are not perfect, it has not yet stepped out of the family-style management model. Internal checks and balances rely on kinship, there is no scientific supervision mechanism, and there is not even enough power to set up an internal audit institution alone. Thirdly, it is necessary for private enterprises to establish internal audit. Private enterprises have become bigger and stronger. After considerable accumulation and development, they have begun to develop in the direction of collectivization, and various contradictions have also emerged. On the one hand, a large number of large-scale subsidiary (grandson) enterprises and branches have emerged, the management level has been improved, the territory has been continuously expanded, the ownership and management rights of enterprises have been separated, the family system has been broken, professional managers have been introduced, and external talents have entered the management of enterprises. The separation of the two rights has made property owners not directly participate in enterprise management, which may trigger a crisis of trust within enterprises at any time. On the other hand, the management mode of family business has changed greatly, and the division of internal business activities has become more and more detailed. It is impossible for business owners to directly control all production and operation links and related economic activities, resulting in out-of-control internal management, increased loopholes, increased risks and decreased benefits. In the case of asymmetric enterprise information, it is necessary to establish internal audit because internal audit can be supervised and controlled again after accounting management; Provide true and reliable financial information to the investors and creditors of the enterprise, so that they can make correct judgments on the profitability, solvency and operational capacity of the enterprise, so as to make correct investment or business decisions. At the same time, whether the internal control systems formulated by enterprises can be effectively implemented should also have a fair evaluation department to promote the smooth implementation of these internal control systems through supervision and inspection. This work is most suitable for the internal audit department to complete. As a detached and independent functional department in private enterprises, internal audit plays a unique role as an "economic guardian" in the development of enterprises. It can evaluate the reliability of enterprise financial information by independently and fairly reviewing enterprise financial statements and other relevant accounting materials, so that the economic activities of enterprises can be based on true and reliable financial information and the economy of private enterprises can run healthily and orderly. Furthermore, from the perspective of corporate governance structure, establishing and perfecting the internal audit system is also the inherent need for private enterprises to establish a modern enterprise system. Therefore, it is particularly important to establish and improve the internal audit system of enterprises and give full play to the role of internal audit. How to establish an effective internal audit system of private enterprises is still a difficult problem that puzzles most private enterprises in China. We believe that the establishment of an internal audit system in private enterprises is nothing more than the following links: first, set up a special audit institution within the enterprise, and make it clear that the audit institution is independent of the management according to the different nature and scale of the enterprise, and generally it should be directly led by the board of directors and other enterprise authority, and report the audit results directly to the authority. If necessary, some super-large enterprises can also establish an audit Committee system, in which internal auditors are directly led by the audit Committee and audit reports are submitted directly to the Committee. For subordinate enterprises, determine whether they have legal personality, whether to send full-time auditors or set up audit institutions to conduct daily audit supervision. Of course, the establishment of internal audit institutions should also consider the necessity of economic supervision and the streamlining of internal institutions of enterprises. Secondly, auditors should be equipped with corresponding auditors according to the scale and production characteristics of enterprises. Auditors should not only be familiar with accounting, auditing, taxation, statistics, computer information systems and other professional knowledge, but also have the ability to update (comprehensive mode http://www. ) knowledge and application of new technologies, and have honest moral character and enterprising spirit. The selection and appointment of the head of the audit institution (the director of the audit committee) should be nominated and appointed by the shareholders' meeting (the board of directors), and the selection and appointment of the chief auditor should be made by the audit institution (the audit committee), which also requires the main internal auditors to have some practical accumulation. In addition, with the rapid development of computer network and multimedia technology, the way of processing and storing financial data has changed greatly, which requires that a sound internal audit institution must be equipped with auditors with a certain computer level. Thirdly, the "Regulations on Internal Audit of Enterprises" and "Implementation Measures" were formulated and promulgated, which clearly defined the internal audit work system, code of conduct and reporting system, as well as the functions, authorities, work contents and working methods of internal auditors, so that the internal audit work was guaranteed in the system and there were rules to follow. The development of the country depends on the rule of law, and the development of internal audit also depends on the management of the system. An internal audit institution with imperfect system management is difficult to effectively supervise and manage its subordinate departments and units, especially private enterprises with weak system construction. Only by establishing and perfecting various internal audit systems can we realize the legalization, institutionalization and standardization of internal audit work and ensure that internal audit can play its due role in private enterprises. Finally, according to the operating characteristics of private enterprises, specific audit procedures and methods are formulated according to the Regulations on Internal Audit of Enterprises and other laws and regulations. Audit procedures should run through the whole process of audit project establishment, audit organization, pre-trial preparation, audit by audit institutions, audit reports, audit processing, implementation feedback, file management and follow-up audit. It is not easy to determine which audit procedures and methods are appropriate because of the different actual conditions of the audited units and different audit purposes. If the audit procedures and methods are not properly selected, the audit time will be prolonged and the cost will increase; Some important audit contents may also be omitted [1] [2] The next page "Establishing and perfecting the internal audit system of enterprises" comes from: YJBYS, which failed to find major illegal acts and collect sufficient and reliable audit evidence, resulting in the audit conclusion inconsistent with the reality, so the formulation of audit procedures and methods should be operable. V. How to further improve the existing internal audit system of private enterprises Now, some private enterprises have begun to consciously establish internal audit systems for the sake of safeguarding their own property rights and their own development. However, many private enterprises that have established internal audit institutions have not operated well. The main reasons are: unreasonable internal audit institutions or low quality of internal auditors. If the internal audit institution of this private enterprise is not placed under the leadership of the general manager or even the financial department, the internal audit will become the general manager's staff and assistant, without real independence and authority, and will not play the role of audit supervision, which will backfire; Otherwise, internal auditors will be limited by their own quality. On the one hand, they are helpless in the face of complicated and changeable audit contents. On the other hand, some internal auditors lack proper professional ethics, follow events or are afraid of taking responsibility, deliberately give up tracing and exposing major issues and provide audit conclusions that are inconsistent with the facts. For example, there is a large private textile enterprise in Zhejiang Province. Although its annual operating income has reached hundreds of millions, and its business scope covers textile, real estate, logistics, medical care and other fields, the main management personnel of the enterprise are still family members, and the head of the internal audit institution is the backbone of the family. This is actually invalid. Without actual audit supervision power, the transparency of enterprise operation is not high, and the reliability of data and information such as production, operation and finance is extremely poor, which greatly limits the development and management level of enterprises. Such enterprises often get into trouble or even decline unconsciously. In view of these problems in the internal audit of private enterprises, we believe that private enterprises that have been established or are being established should improve their internal audit work in the following aspects: First, improve their understanding of internal audit ideologically, so that they can truly see the role of internal audit supervision and service. Let them know the supervisory function of internal audit, which not only refers to auditing the compliance of national policies and regulations, but also includes the supervision and inspection of the implementation of various rules, regulations and plans of enterprises and the implementation effect. This kind of internal audit has a powerful service function: through investigation, understanding, evaluation, analysis and judgment, it puts forward suggestions for decision makers, promotes management, improves efficiency, and plays the role of staff and assistant; Can participate in the formulation of relevant rules, regulations and plans of some projects, and give play to the construction function of providing relevant audit suggestions; Can check and correct mistakes, and play a protective role in escorting the stable development of this enterprise; In addition, more importantly, internal audit also has the function of checks and balances within the enterprise. "Trust is not equal to supervision", and only detached and independent internal audit can implement effective checks and balances and supervision. These roles and functions are irreplaceable by other management departments. In addition, internal audit also has the characteristics of regular, timely and targeted inward service. Internal auditors are familiar with the production, operation and financial situation of enterprises, and can keep abreast of the economic trends and information of enterprises, and take targeted measures in time for problems found, make suggestions and urge them to correct and improve. And this kind of casual service and supervision is exactly what social audit organizations can't replace. Second, strengthen the independence and authority of internal audit institutions. Independence and authority are important guarantees for the internal audit institutions to give full play to their functions. Internal audit institutions should be free from the constraints of enterprise management and carry out their work independently and objectively. Specifically, an internal audit institution (or audit committee) directly led by the authority of the enterprise such as the shareholders' meeting (or board of directors) can be established to be fully responsible for the internal audit of the enterprise, clearly stipulate that the audit work is not interfered by other institutions (or personnel), and at the same time ensure the independence of personnel, work and funds, so as to change the low status of the internal audit department and improve the quality of audit work. Thirdly, internal audit should be brought into the track of standardization and institutionalization of enterprise management. Clearly define the authority, responsibility, scope of work and code of conduct of internal audit, so that the audit work can be followed by rules. Only standardization and institutionalization can dilute interpersonal relationships and make internal audit work objective and fair. Establish the punishment standard of internal audit, establish the responsibilities of audit institutions and auditors, the post responsibility system of internal auditors and the assessment and incentive system. Fourth, strengthen the construction of internal audit team and improve the quality of internal audit personnel. To do a good job in internal audit, we should have an internal audit team with excellent work style and excellent technology, establish a set of effective internal audit self-assessment methods, and accept the supervision of superior leaders and enterprise employees. At the same time, on the one hand, we should do a good job in the professional ethics education of internal auditors, on the other hand, we should do a good job in the professional ability training of internal auditors, including online training and taking the qualification examination held by the state. In order to improve the comprehensive quality of internal auditors, such as the level of policies and regulations, professional knowledge and skills, experience, computer level, audit professional ethics and job responsibilities. Fifth, strengthen the construction of corporate culture and create a good internal audit environment. At present, if private enterprises want to transform family-owned corporate culture and build modern corporate culture, the key point is to re-recognize wealth and let everyone establish a sense of social responsibility. Although the property of private enterprises is recorded in the owner's name, it is a part of social wealth. Creating wealth for enterprises means creating wealth for society. With this understanding, enterprises will have cohesion, and mutual trust will be established between business owners and employees, and between "insiders" and "outsiders", thus creating a good internal audit environment. Sixth, actively expand the field of internal audit business. In order to meet the needs of the development of private enterprises, in addition to continuing to do a good job in traditional project auditing, we should constantly expand new business areas and increase economic contract auditing, internal control auditing, asset restructuring auditing, economic responsibility auditing and performance auditing. The content of internal audit should be changed from financial revenue and expenditure audit to constructive operation audit and management audit, and risk assessment should be highlighted. In short, in order to develop and grow, private enterprises must renew their ideas, strive for self-improvement, self-discipline, keep pace with the times, consciously carry out internal audit work and realize scientific management. Only in this way can the road of private enterprises be wider and wider.