What does it take to become an auditor? What is needed to obtain a qualification certificate? We received the certificate. What's next

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Sergey Pyatenko, Natalya Pyatenko

Source: Financial News IN Western countries

The requirements for an auditor are very high; an auditor is a serious job with good pay. This profession is new for us, but the demand for the services of Russian auditors is growing. Requirements for the auditor

In Western countries, the requirements for an auditor are very high; an auditor is a serious job with good pay. This profession is new for us, but the demand for the services of Russian auditors is growing. The auditor is subject to formal and informal requirements. Formal is the presence of documented knowledge, experience and qualifications. Informal include special character traits required in this profession.

Formal requirements According to the Law “On Auditing Activities” the auditor is an individual who meets the qualification requirements established by the authorized federal body , and having a qualification certificate as an auditor." Both a citizen of Russia and foreign citizen

and a stateless person. The first of the formal requirements - presence of a document on higher economic and (or) legal education, received either in Russian state university , either in educational institution

foreign state. Second prerequisite - having work experience in an economic or legal specialty for at least three years out of the last five in the territory Russian Federation (either in Russian or joint with Russian organizations

and institutions on the territory of foreign states). Compliance with the third mandatory requirement - obtaining a certificate is associated with passing a special exam. It is taken at training and methodological centers (TMCs) included in the register of the Ministry of Finance. The same centers provide training and advanced training for auditors. Exams are held in Russian once a month simultaneously in all educational centers. The exams take place over three days and consist of testing and written and oral work. For The exam requires you to score a certain number of points at each stage. The results are reviewed by the Ministry of Finance, which issues certificates. The certificate is issued for an unlimited period, but it must be renewed every year. To do this, you need to attend a 40-hour advanced training course at the UMC.

Now in Russia there are four types of audit certificates - for general, banking, insurance and investment audits.

The transition of Russian companies to international financial reporting standards (IFRS) poses new requirements for Russian auditors. The Ministry of Finance discussed the project of introducing the fifth Russian certificate - according to IFRS. However, so far there is no such certificate, and the question of its recognition at the international level is unclear. Meanwhile, organizations in which at least four employees have internationally recognized qualifications are allowed to conduct audits of banks according to IFRS. There are very few auditors in Russia who have received international certificates abroad (no more than 500, according to the Central Bank’s own calculations). Generally recognized qualifications include the European ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and the American CPA (Certified Public Accountants)..

All training and exams take place on English language Domestic experience

shows that to obtain ACCA you need to study for 3-4 years. Total costs will be approximately $15,000.

The CPA diploma can be obtained a little faster and cheaper: in 1-2 years, spending approximately $7000-9000.

Experience shows that the main difficulties of Russians are related to the language barrier, the abundance of unfamiliar material and the need to allocate significant time for preparation. As an alternative, in Russian it is now possible to undergo training and pass an exam to obtain two qualifications: 1) IAB/IFA (International Association of Book-Keepers/Institute of Financial Accountants), UK - certificate and then diploma International Association accountants and financial analysts for maintaining

accounting according to international standards;

2) DipIFR-Rus (Diploma in International Financial Reporting (Russian)

- ACCA diploma in international financial reporting in Russian. On the one hand, concentration, patience, accuracy and thoughtfulness are required. On the other hand, in many cases it is assumed that the work involves frequent travel, constant change of situations and communication with the most different people. In addition, the auditor must be a “professional nerd” - love to scrutinize documents, but at the same time be able to work in a variety of teams. Like an accountant, an auditor works with financial documents. Therefore, he must have a large amount of continuously “updated” knowledge - always be aware of the constantly changing regulatory framework. Moreover, unlike an accountant dealing with one enterprise, the auditor must have “fresh” knowledge on a wider range of problems, and therefore be able to learn.

The auditor constantly has to carefully study many documents in short time, which means being able to quickly adapt and quickly understand new financial and accounting situations.

When working with numbers and documents, the auditor must be able to quickly navigate the specifics of accounting in various industries in order to competently express his point of view. The auditor always signs his conclusion and bears the corresponding responsibility, and the worst thing for an auditor is to lose his reputation. Therefore, the most important characteristics of a true auditor are integrity and professional integrity.

If you feel all these qualities in yourself and are ready for professional “extreme”, then you can safely try to become an auditor.

Sergey Pyatenko, Natalia Dolgikh For many of us, career growth is the key life success

. As you know, everyone has their own boundaries of professional excellence. What are the prospects for an accountant? In this article we will tell you how an accountant can become an auditor, and what are the pros and cons of the “new status”. Many practicing accountants with 5–7 years of experience are thinking about changing their profession. Chief Accountant

who is interested in career growth can become a financial analyst, auditor, or tax consultant. The basis for this choice is the absence of the need to keep records every day, go to the tax office to submit reports, undergo reconciliations, perform routine operations to prepare primary documentation, generate reports, etc. Let’s focus on the profession of an auditor.

An auditor is an interesting and well-paid profession, but not everyone can become one. And not only because there are high requirements for candidates to obtain the qualification certificate necessary for auditing activities. A specialist who decides to become an auditor must have a large amount of knowledge in various areas of accounting, tax and civil law.

The auditor's work is seasonal. As a rule, the main burden of inspections falls on the period from November to April. At the end of each inspection, it is necessary to draw up a report and issue a conclusion to the client. It is also necessary to fill out a number of documents required by internal company standards. Sometimes the auditor writes reports at home late at night. Therefore, the choice of profession is determined not only by its status, but also by the personal characteristics of the specialist.

Mandatory requirements for applicants

Auditing activities in the Russian Federation are carried out in accordance with Federal law dated August 7, 2001 No. 119-FZ “On auditing activities”.

Mandatory requirements for applicants for obtaining a qualification certificate of an auditor are the presence of a document on higher economic and (or) legal education received in Russian institutions of higher education vocational education with state accreditation. The applicant may also have a document confirming a higher economic and (or) legal education received at an educational institution in a foreign country. In this case, you will have to present a certificate of equivalence of the specified document Russian document state standard on higher economic and (or) legal education.

Another mandatory condition is having work experience in an economic or legal specialty for at least three years out of the last five.

Procedure for certification

Certification is carried out to check the qualifications of individuals wishing to engage in auditing activities. The audit takes the form of a qualification exam, following which the following types of auditor qualification certificates are issued:

– in the field of general audit;

– in the field of audit of exchanges, extra-budgetary funds and investment institutions;

– in the field of audit of insurance organizations and mutual insurance companies (audit of insurers);

– in the field of audit of credit institutions, banking groups and bank holding companies (bank audit).

Persons who successfully pass the qualification exam are issued an auditor qualification certificate of the appropriate type without an expiration date.

Applicants for obtaining an auditor qualification certificate submit a certain list of documents to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation through educational and methodological centers (UMCs). One of the required documents is a copy of the certificate of assignment of a TIN to an individual. If for some reason you did not receive it, hurry up.

There is a list of training and methodological centers with which the Ministry of Finance has entered into agreements for certification and advanced training of auditors (as of June 1, 2007). Classes in these centers are conducted according to the program approved by the Ministry of Finance of Russia. In any case, preference should be given to well-known training centers that have proven themselves in the educational market.

How is the exam going?

Exams consist of testing and written and oral work. The formation of examination sets of tickets and tests is carried out centrally by sampling from a database generated and approved by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. Applicants are admitted to qualifying exams upon presentation of a passport or other document proving their identity. Applicants who do not have such documents with them or are late for the exams are considered to have failed to appear for the exam.

You will have to pay 2,000 rubles separately to pass the exam. Please note that if the certification results are unsatisfactory, this amount will not be returned to the applicant. The conditions for recruiting groups and completing training can be found in Table 1.

We improve our qualifications

An auditor who has an auditor qualification certificate is obliged, during each calendar year, starting from the year following the year of obtaining the certificate, undergo training in the advanced training program for auditors. This program is approved by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation in the amount of at least 40 academic hours per year.

The advanced training course can be taken at the same training center where you took training before the qualification certificate exam. The cost of the course ranges from 4500 to 8400 rubles. Upon completion of the advanced training course, a certificate is issued to renew the certificate.

After successfully passing the exam and receiving a certificate, you can apply for the position of auditor. Average wage for a beginner specialist with no experience of inspections - 35,000 - 45,000 rubles. With at least a year of experience as an auditor and a certificate of advanced training, the salary range increases significantly - 55,000 - 75,000 rubles. However, the salary of an experienced chief accountant is in the same range. Note that combining the work of an auditor and a chief accountant is impractical and practically impossible.

You need to decide in which field of activity you are most interested in working and make your choice.

A. Demenko, leading tax consultant of the RUSCONSALT Group of Companies

Sergey Pyatenko

In Western countries, the requirements for an auditor are very high; an auditor is a serious job with good pay. This profession is new for us, but the demand for the services of Russian auditors is growing. The auditor is subject to formal and informal requirements. Formal is the presence of documented knowledge, experience and qualifications. Informal include special character traits required in this profession.

Formal requirements. According to the Law “On Auditing Activities”, “an auditor is an individual who meets the qualification requirements established by the authorized federal body and has a qualification certificate as an auditor.” An auditor can be a Russian citizen, a foreign citizen or a stateless person.

The first of the formal requirements is the presence of a document on higher economic and (or) legal education received either at a Russian state university or at an educational institution of a foreign state.

The second mandatory condition is the presence of work experience in an economic or legal specialty for at least three years out of the last five on the territory of the Russian Federation (or in Russian or joint with Russian organizations and institutions on the territory of foreign states).

Fulfilling the third mandatory requirement—obtaining a certificate—requires passing a special exam. It is taken at training and methodological centers (TMCs) included in the register of the Ministry of Finance. The same centers provide training and advanced training for auditors. Exams are held in Russian once a month simultaneously in all educational centers. The exams take place over three days and consist of testing and written and oral work. To successfully pass the exam, you must score a certain number of points at each stage. The results are reviewed by the Ministry of Finance, which issues certificates. The certificate is issued for an unlimited period, but it must be renewed every year. To do this, you need to attend a 40-hour advanced training course at the UMC.

Now in Russia there are four types of audit certificates - for general, banking, insurance and investment audits. The transition of Russian companies to international financial reporting standards (IFRS) poses new requirements for Russian auditors. The Ministry of Finance discussed the project of introducing the fifth Russian certificate - according to IFRS. However, so far there is no such certificate, and the question of its recognition at the international level is unclear. Meanwhile, organizations in which at least four employees have internationally recognized qualifications are allowed to conduct audits of banks according to IFRS. There are very few auditors in Russia who have received international certificates abroad (no more than 500, according to the Central Bank’s own calculations).

Generally recognized qualifications include the European ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and the American CPA (Certified Public Accountants). All training and exams are conducted in English. Domestic experience shows that to obtain ACCA you need to study for 3-4 years. The total costs will be about $15,000. The CPA diploma can be obtained a little faster and cheaper: in 1-2 years, spending approximately $7000-9000. Experience shows that the main difficulties of Russians are related to the language barrier, the abundance of unfamiliar material and the need to allocate significant time for preparation.

As an alternative, in Russian it is now possible to undergo training and pass an exam to obtain two qualifications:

1. IAB/IFA (International Association of Book-Keepers/Institute of Financial Accountants), UK - certificate and then diploma of the International Association of Accountants and Financial Analysts in accounting according to international standards;
2. DipIFR-Rus (Diploma in International Financial Reporting (Russian) - ACCA diploma in international financial reporting in Russian.

Informal requirements. A high-quality auditor must have a set of sometimes mutually exclusive qualities. On the one hand, concentration, patience, accuracy and thoughtfulness are required. On the other hand, in many cases the work is expected to involve frequent travel, constant change of situations and communication with a wide variety of people. In addition, the auditor must be a “professional nerd” - love to scrutinize documents, but at the same time be able to work in a variety of teams.

Like an accountant, an auditor works with financial documents. Therefore, he must have a large amount of continuously “updated” knowledge - always be aware of the constantly changing regulatory framework. Moreover, unlike an accountant who deals with one enterprise, the auditor must have “fresh” knowledge on a wider range of problems, and therefore be able to learn.

The auditor constantly has to carefully study many documents in a short time, which means he must be able to quickly adapt and quickly understand new financial and accounting situations. When working with numbers and documents, the auditor must be able to quickly navigate the specifics of accounting in various industries in order to competently express his point of view. The auditor always signs his conclusion and bears the corresponding responsibility, and the worst thing for an auditor is to lose his reputation. Therefore, the most important characteristics of a true auditor are integrity and professional integrity.

If you feel all these qualities in yourself and are ready for professional “extreme”, then you can safely try to become an auditor.

In order to become such a specialist as an auditor, you must:

1. Have higher education received at an educational institution of higher professional education that has state accreditation;
2. Have work experience in a relevant specialty, which can be related both directly to auditing activities and to the maintenance of accounting and financial reporting. In the latter option, work experience must be at least three years, two of which the person must work in an audit company.

Since the auditor continuously works with large volumes of financial documents, he must not only have the necessary knowledge, but also constantly update it. This is due to the fact that the regulatory framework for financial document standards is constantly changing. The specialist must have professional theoretical and practical skills across the entire range of accounting tasks.

Note that to obtain the profession of “auditor”, you must pass a special exam, which will be discussed below.

How to become an auditor in Russia

To become an auditor, you need to pass a special exam, which is conducted in special training and methodological centers (must be included in the register of the Ministry of Finance). These training centers also provide advanced training for specialists. The exam process takes about three days and consists of written and oral work, as well as testing. At each stage, a person must score a certain number of points. All results are sent to the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, which subsequently issues certificates of a special type. It is worth noting that the validity period of such a document is limited, so the specialist is obliged to renew it from time to time.

Today in Russia, educational and methodological centers offer four types of certificates for auditing activities:

• on investment;
• in general;
• by banking;
• on insurance audit.

How to become an auditor in Kazakhstan

To become an auditor in Kazakhstan, you also need to pass a special exam. To do this, you should submit your documents in advance to the Qualification Commission for Certification of Candidates for Auditors of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

As for passing the exam, you need to pass testing in the following professional disciplines:

• audit;
• taxes and taxation;
• civil law;
• insurance and pension legislation, banking;
• accounting (according to IFRS);
• finance.

It is better to start preparing with the help of special training organizations. In Kazakhstan, the most popular company is TrustFinAudit. Right choice training center is not a guarantee of passing the exam. Only with additional self-preparation can you pass the test and receive the appropriate certificate.

How to become an auditor in Belarus

As for Belarus, passing the exam is also required. The list of necessary items is similar to the above, but more detailed information can be found on the official websites of the UMC. Work experience and higher education are also required.

To summarize, the auditor is prestigious profession, for which you need not only a higher education, but also a special state certificate.

The auditor is often perceived as a verifier the main objective which is to find errors in the work of the enterprise and “hand over” to the regulatory authorities. In fact, the analysis of financial statements is needed in order to make the information contained in it more useful. And the quality of work directly depends on the qualifications of the auditor. Anna Kunegina, deputy general director auditing company Nexia Pacioli, told Rjob who an auditor is, what qualities he should have and why his work is like a detective.

Anna Kunegina, Deputy General Director of the audit company Nexia Pacioli

Who becomes an auditor and how?

An auditor is a specialist who has received a documented right to conduct auditing activities, primarily the audit of financial statements.

To become an auditor, you need a higher education in a state-accredited educational program, and in any field, not necessarily in the financial and economic sphere. You must successfully pass the qualification exam and join one of two self-regulatory organizations of auditors - the Audit Association "Commonwealth" or the Russian Union of Auditors. To obtain a qualification certificate, in addition to the exam results, you will need to confirm at least three years work experience related to auditing or maintaining. At the same time, you will not get straight from accounting to auditors - the applicant must work in an audit organization for at least two years out of three consecutive years.

At first glance, the path is tortuous and difficult, but this order is explained by the social significance of the profession, its increased responsibility for the results of work.

Do they hire students?

You can become a certified auditor simultaneously with graduating from higher education. educational institution, since many audit organizations willingly hire students starting from the third year as assistants, and it is quite possible to gain the required experience. Recent students usually have a good memory, they are able to remember large amounts of information that is not always clear to them. This will be very useful for passing the qualifying exam, which requires the applicant to demonstrate knowledge. And students have more free time compared to “adults.”

In our company, we have opened the “Pacioli University” for those wishing to start a career in the field of auditing. This is an excellent chance for graduates of financial and economic faculties and final year students to start a career in one of the leading auditing companies and real opportunity gain not only theoretical, but also practical knowledge in the field of auditing. Unfortunately, for those who did not receive a qualification certificate at a “young” age, over the years, even despite the accumulated experience, it becomes increasingly difficult to do so. Oddly enough, in this case, when passing the exam, practical experience more often hinders than helps.

What are the hiring requirements?

The requirements for the applicant depend on the position for which he is applying. A specialist without a certificate and without work experience is not able to work independently, so he is entrusted with only auxiliary functions. But also an applicant with an audit certificate with little experience practical work is unlikely to immediately take a leading position in the organization.

What qualities should an auditor have?

In any profession related to communication, it is important to be adequate, sociable (but not intrusive), polite, balanced, and collected. The ability to think logically, aggregate and analyze information is required. It’s also worth saying something about honesty. In our business, as I think in any other, personal honesty and adherence to ethical standards are valued very, very highly. In general, this is another feature of the profession: in addition to legal requirements, to comply with the code of professional ethics of auditors and the rules of independence.

What salary can an auditor expect?

The auditor's profession is currently not one of the highest paid or most stable. The auditor's work involves reporting, which is usually prepared in the first quarter of each year, so the work is seasonal. If an audit organization is not able to provide its employees with other work between seasons, then auditors are often away from May to October. To be fair, it must be said that many people think this positive thing in the profession. Having earned money “in season,” they allow themselves to rest. During the season, of course, there are overtime hours and work on weekends. Here, a lot depends on a person’s own ability to concentrate, distribute his energy and time. Then the duration of your working day will not exceed those established by law.

There is a stereotype that the work of an auditor is boring and tedious - you have to work long and meticulously at the computer, checking data. Is it really?

There is much more to the work of an auditor than is commonly believed. In the process of risk-based audit, a modern auditor studies the specifics of the client’s activities. He deals not only with reporting, with numbers. He holds meetings and interviews with the client’s employees, finds out from them what the company is like, how it works, what tasks it performs. Just exploring possible patterns of dishonesty can be more interesting than an Agatha Christie detective story! And then the auditor traces how all this information is reflected in accounting and financial reporting.

The work of an auditor involves and provides the opportunity to travel to many remote parts of our vast country at the expense of the employer. Unlike accounting workers, who mainly deal with the same operations, the auditor works with a large pool of clients from different industries, has the opportunity to evaluate the variety of areas of activity, study their features and differences.

What is the main difficulty of an auditor's job? Is it true that sometimes the auditor is perceived as an enemy?

It is important for the auditor to communicate with big amount strangers, so this job is hardly suitable. Every time you go out to check with a new client, you seem to be going (albeit temporarily) to new job, where you have to meet new people, establish working relationships with them, complete your tasks and present high-quality results. Therefore, as elsewhere, new “colleagues” may turn out to be unfriendly and hostile, but it is all the more interesting to prove yourself and gain their respect.

The intensity of passion around the relationship between the client's employees and the audit team, in my opinion, is exaggerated. This is a normal working relationship within the bounds of business ethics. And sometimes these relationships develop into friendly, friendly ties. I know of cases where an audit ended in a wedding, although this creates certain problems for the audit organization where the bride or groom works: the objectivity of the audit results must be rechecked, and the audit team must be reassigned.

Do auditors have career prospects?

I consider mandatory annual advanced training to be an advantage in the audit profession. This develops the habit of not stopping there, not being content with the body of knowledge once acquired, but constantly upgrading it, updating it, learning something new, interesting, and necessary.

Many auditors “grow” in one audit company, successively moving from an assistant to the head of the audit team or partner, that is, to the most important, responsible person in the audit. The opportunities for career growth do not stop with this - there are also heads of departments or areas in auditing, some find themselves in audit quality control, others show abilities in the methodology of providing services. Among the employees of our organization there are many who came to the program, combining university studies with internship in the company. Under the guidance of senior comrades, they acquired the necessary knowledge and experience for successful growth and now mentor newcomers themselves. I joined the company back in 1996 as an auditor’s assistant and within two years I began managing audits. Now I am deputy general director.

What does it take to start your own business?

To open “your own business,” the auditor will need a clear understanding of who he will provide services to and how he will attract clients. The number of audit firms on the Russian market is excessive. They cover the needs for these services, while endlessly reducing the price, many are trying to dump, while forgetting about the high requirements of audit quality, which is measured in a certain way.

Formally registering an audit organization is not difficult: a qualification certificate from the founder and the general director is enough (this can be the same person). Next, he needs to attract at least two more certified auditors to the organization and join a self-regulatory organization by paying two fees: one entrance fee and one to the compensation fund. And only then the head of the audit organization will have to undergo quality control in the self-regulatory organization of which he has become a member. And, of course, attract clients and organize the work process. But that's a completely different story...

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