FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR OF FINANCIAL AUDITOR

Transcription

1 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIOR OF FINANCIAL AUDITOR Robert Almasi University Aurel Vlaicu of Arad Abstract: The main objective of an auditor is to purvey services at the highest standards of performance to satisfy public interest. However, frequently, users don t have the needful ability to appreciate if the services offered by the auditor are or are not in accordance qualitatively with their requests, reason of which they are forced to accept till the contrary test that the auditors act in a competent and professional way. The guarantee of integrity and professional competency of an auditor can be assured by the adhesion of them at an ethical code of the profession to which they belong. The code of ethical and professional behavior in audit domain must accomplish four demands: Credibility: In the entire society it manifests the credibility need of information and system of information. Professionalism: The customers, the employer and other parts interested need professional people in financial audit domain. The quality of services: Is necessary the assurance that all services obtained from a financial auditor are made at the highest standards of performance. Trust : The users of services purveyed by the financial auditors need to have thrust that exist a general cadre of ethical and professional behavior which reign over the development of these. 488

2 In the purpose of reaching these objectives the code of ethical and professional present s six fundamental principles: Integrity: financial auditor must be discreet and honest in carrying out its professional services. Objectivity: financial auditor must be correct and must not allow the appearance of a situation which to affect his objectivity by prejudices, interest conflicts or external influences. Professional competence and proper attention: financial auditor must fulfill his duties with proper care, competence and implication and has the duty to maintain and continuously perfect his knowledge and professional aptitudes at the necessary level, in order to ensure that a client or an employer beneficiates of advantages of a competent professional service. Confidentiality: auditor must respect information confidentiality and must not use or reveal such an information, without a proper and specific authorization, except the cases in which there is a right or a legal or professional obligation, which imposes the revealing of that information. Professional behavior: auditor must act in order to avoid any behavior which could discredit his profession. Technical standards: auditor must deploy professional services according the technical and relevant professional standards, must carefully fulfill the audited entity instructions or those of the employer, according to the demands of integrity, objectivity and independence. Even more, auditors must respect the technical and professional standards promulgated by International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), Accountancy International Standards Committee, professional organisms or other organisms with regulation attributes and the field relevant legislation. 489

3 The objectives and the principles are general, these not being designated to solve ethical problems of a financial auditor in a certain matter. Professional and ethical behavior code reveals some guidance in practical application of the fundamental objectives and principles regarding a specific number of situations that can appear in the profession of auditor. Ethical code is systematized in three parts: Part A applicable to all financial auditors; Part B applicable only to financial auditors in public practice; Part C applicable to financial auditors which are salaried, inclusively financial auditors in public practice Schematically The Code of ethical and professional behavior of financial auditors can be represented like this: Credibility Goals Professionalism Quality Services Trust The ethical and professional guidance code of financial auditorium Principles Integrity Objectively Professional competence and proper attention Confidentially Professional behavior Technical type Portion A applicable to all financial Systematizati Portion B applicable just to financial auditorium that are in public practice Portion C applicable employed financial auditorium From what was previously presented, results that independence is not regulated as a professional and ethic principle. All the same, the trust of users, which are 490

4 prepared to bank on the auditorium references as for the same picture illustrated by financial situations, it is underlain on the fact that they expect an even handed attitude from the auditorium. It results that independence, in financial audit, is considering the objective position of the auditorium along with the gathering of audit samples, performing audit tests, evaluating results of these tests and elaborating the audit report. The way that the public perceives the auditorium independence, determines the value of a financial audit, reasoning that the independence rule can be considered one of the most important. Without the full independence of the auditorium, its opinion can be suspected as being incorrect. It is very difficult to take the term independence by himself because it would presume that the auditorium is not involved in any economical, financial or any other type of relation, and that would lead to a significant restriction of that services offered to the customers, the liberty of the audit companies as well as their capability of attracting skilled personnel. That is why, the term of independence must be eyed as in a relationship between independence, integrity and the objectiveness of the auditorium. Integrity and objectiveness involve, not just honesty but the well deployment of activities and sincerity, imposing the financial auditorium to avoid conflicts out of interest and impartiality next to the information display. Now back to independence, it is essential for the financial auditorium to keep an independent attitude and to keep the users confident about this. In that direction, the financial auditorium, objective tends to: factual independence it is when the auditorium is capable of maintaining an even-handed attitude among the audit; apparent independence represents the interpretation of other persons concerning the independence of the financial auditorium; 491

5 Considering the auditorium integrity and objectiveness, a special highlight must be conferred in that direction - to some factors like the pressure applied to the auditorium, influence from other persons, gifts, etc. Considering that objectiveness implies impartiality and avoiding conflicts out of interest, we can affirm that, taking in consideration independence exudes those situations that could affect the auditorium objectiveness. References 1. Arens, Alvin, A., Loebbecke, James, K., 2006, Audit. O abordare integrată, trad. după ed. a 8-a engl., Editura ARC. 2. Aslău, Titus, Almasi, Robert, Auditul situaţiilor financiare: iniţiere în metode şi proceduri: note de curs, 2007, Arad, Editura Universităţii Aurel Vlaicu. 3. Brezeanu, Petre, Poantă, Dorina, Braşoveanu, Iulian, Tătaru, Violeta, Morariu, Vera, Novac, Laura, Elly, Triandafil, Cristina, Audit financiar: repere metodologice, etice şi istorice: reglementări internaţionale (ISA): extrase, 2008, Bucureşti, Editura Cavallioti. 4. Dănesu, Tatiana, Audit financiar: convergenţe între teorie şi practică, 2007, Bucureşti, Editura IRECSON. 5. Ghiţă, Marcel, Pereş, Ion, Popescu, Marin, Bunget, Ovidiu, Croitoru, Ion, Audit public intern. Concepte şi metodologie, 2005, Timişoara, Editura Mirton. 6. Morariu, Ana, Suciu, Gheorghe, Stoian, Flavia, Audit intern şi guvernanţa corporativă, 2008, Bucureşti, Editura Universitară. 7. Tătaru, Violeta, Auditul financiar, 2007, Bucureşti, Editura Cavallioti. 492