AUDITORS ROLE IN REPORTING ON ILLEGAL ACTS

By

OHAZURUME L.C. INNOCENT

Presented To

Department of Accountancy

TABLES OF CONTENT

Title page

Approval page

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Table of contents

CHAPTER ONE:

Introduction

1.1 Background of the study

1.2 Statement of problem

1.3 Objective of the study

1.4 Scope of study

1.5 Limitation of study

1.6 Definition of terms

CHAPTER TWO

2.0 Literature review

2.1 Review of related literature

2.2 Who is an auditor

2.3 Duties of an auditor

CHAPTER THREE

3.1 Summary of findings

3.2 Conclusion

Reference

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

In this study the researcher's intention is to know the auditors role on reporting on illegal acts.

We all know that both private and public or government organizations are involve on one irregularity or the other and nobody checks the organization to know their financial standard. This makes the people celebrating their positions and at the same time leads the company or organization to it's grave by winding in up. That is why an auditor is set up by the law of Nigeria to check the financial statement of all the registered company's.

The researcher have wants to know the auditors role and other things as provided by the law that enable the auditor to give a perfect report on irregularities in any place he founds himself.

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The practice of an auditing in a primitive form can be traced

back to ancient times accounting existed before the advert of reading and writing in those early stages metal records where adequate demand. Audit is derived from Latin word "Audire" meaning to "here" the word auditor soon acquired a secondary meaning i.e. one who examines the accounting statement and satieties himself as the truthfulness and fairness of the statement.

Under the method of primitive forth but with the advert of writing and increasing complexity of business activities. Stewards began to keep some forms of writing records and the master examine such records so that act of book keeping and the practice of auditing involved side by side originally most enterprises where owned by individuals who finance privately and so the capital available to industry was strictly limited, there was therefore no need for audit as it exist today as enterprises greatly expanded and due to the evolution of mechanized factories provision for finance has to increase, as a result of this, men who entered into contractual relationship with one another, there arose the need to ensure the accuracy and liability of the resulting information.

Under the method o limited liability, share holders are usually disposed and majority of them do not have the technical knowledge of understand how there funds are being used. The share holders appoint a body to which then delegate the day to day running of the business to enable the share holders know the financial positions and performance of the company.

This body know as the board of directors present an account to them at the end of each financial period, a problem was then problem is that of believing that they funds have been honestly and prudently managed to take care of the practice of appointing auditor whose duty it was to verify on behalf of the share holders the account of directors and to report there on to ht share holders developed.

The joint stock company act of 1844 was the first enactment in the UK to require all incorporated company's to have their annual financial statement audited. Under the act professional qualification was not a prerequisite to the auditing assignment. The auditor should also not be independent on the management.

It was the company act of 1990 which first made if legally compulsory for every company to have an independent auditor and provided for him a remuneration, but the auditor was required to report on the "truth and correctness" of the company's financial affairs as shown in the balance sheet this at recognize the need for him to be professionally qualified.

Auditing is not limited to liability company's account only, it also extends to government accounts, therefore auditing also has it's origin form formation of nations and the need to account properly to the citizens who own the resources. Auditing usually arise when a group of persons handle money or money worth on behave of some other group of persons. This is done to satisfy the beneficial owners of the funds that their funds are being honestly and prudently managed.

1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

In this section, the researcher wants to know the following

Problems:

a. The auditors role on reporting in illegal acts

b. The things that militates auditors indecency

c. Auditors inability and efficiency to carry out his job

d. Drop of professional ethics by an auditor

e. Auditors relationship with some directors and share holders

f. Lack of information from expected people

The above are the problems that can make the auditor not to play

his role on reporting an illegal acts.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

The objective that made the researcher to go into this topic

are as follows:

a. to find the role of an auditor on reporting in illegal acts

b. to find a way that can help eliminate illegal acts

c. To create year and improve honesty in the liefe of any article working under any organization or company

d. To increase the trust of share holders and encourage investors to invest more.

e. To let auditors know the professional ethnics, be perfectly independent any make share holders to lie and trust the auditor.

f. To end irregularities and fraud

g. To encourage the practice of auditing nation wide, and to let auditors know that they are watch do and life of any organization.

1.4 SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

In a study of this nature one would like to accumulate data

from many areas. But, in view of length of time allowed for this research such a wide range sample study was almost external difficult, the researcher therefore concentrated his field in auditors role on reporting on illegal acts because of the time factor allowed and upon practical considerations including the fact that he has knowledge about auditors role on reporting in illegal acts.

Beside, there were many other problems that stemmed up during the research work in which some of them are as follows.

a. Financial Constraint; As a student there was no enough capital to spend in transport and fact finding and borrowing of necessary literature that would have helped in the writing of this research work.

b. Management Constraint/Information: respondents, especially some directors and auditors, did not co-operate as was expected. Also some share holders in different companies visited were as well reluctant in answering some of the questions asked.

All this problem not withstanding, did not prevent the

continuation of this projects.

1.5 DEFINITION OF TERMS

IRREGULARITY:

This is a system by which some figures in the accounting statement presented to or an auditor to verify is not correct.

FRAUD:

Fraud is anything contrived or intended to deceive.

INDEPENDENCE :

This is a system by which an auditor is perfectly independence of himself when conducting his job.

REPORT:

Is a written statement presented by an auditor to the management or share holders. It explains whether the financial statement presented to him shows a true and fair view.