Audit of Financial Statements

Independent audit or external audit servicesassure stakeholders –partners, board members, employees, regulatory agencies, investors, analysts, banks, suppliers, and clients, among others, that the financial reports prepared by the management or a particular area are reliable.

However, to carry out these services, the independent auditor is required to follow a series of auditing standards issued by the Federal Accounting Council (CFC), known asBrazilian Technical Auditing Standards (NBC TAs), which, as from January 1, 2010, are aligned with the International Standards on Auditing (ISA), issued by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), which were mainly inspired by the globalization that started in the end of the 20th century.

According to NBCTA 200, considered the mother of other NBC TAs, the objective of an independent audit is to increase the degree of confidence in the accounting statements, also known as financial statements, by internal and external users, in view of the opinion expressed by the auditor.

However, the accounting audits in compliance with auditing standards are conducted based on the assumption that the management, and, when appropriate, those responsible for governance, are aware of the responsibilities that are fundamental to conduct an independent audit. The audit of accounting statements does not exempt management or those responsible for governance from their responsibilities.

Also,according toNBC TA 200, the NBC TAs require that the independent auditor exercises professional judgment and keep professional skepticism throughout the planning and performance of the audit, and, among other:

• Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement, whether they were caused by fraud or error, based on the understanding of the entity and its environment, including the internal control of the entity.

• Obtain appropriate and sufficient audit evidence to conclude whether there are any material misstatements by means of planning and adoption of auditin gprocedures appropriate to the assessed risks.

• Form an opinion on the financial statements based on the conclusions drawn from the audit evidences found.

Therefore, accounting audit sare then considered works of reasonable assurance in relation to financial statements for the evaluation and decision-making by the previously mentioned stakeholders.

We have extensive experience in accounting or independent audit sin all company sizes, national and multinational, and UniQue is able to guide and assist you in meeting legal requirements as well as your internal needs.

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