The History of Auditing :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

The History of AuditingAbstractThe evolution of auditing is a complicated history that has incessantly been changing through historical events. Auditing always changed to meet the take of the business environment of that day. Auditing has been around since the ascendant of human civilization, focusing mainly, at first, on finding efraud. As the United States grew, the business world grew, and auditing began to play more than important roles. In the upstart 1800s and early 1900s, people began to invest money into large corporations. The Stock Market crash of 1929 and various scandals made auditors work that their roles in society were very important. Scandals and stock market crashes made auditors aware of deficiencies in auditing, and the auditing community was always quick to fix those deficiencies. The auditors job became more baffling as the accounting principles changed, and became easier with the use of internal controls. These controls introduced the need for testing not an in-depth detailed audit. Auditing jobs would have to change to meet the changing business world. The invention of computers wedge the auditors world by making their job at times easier and at times making their job more difficult. Finally, the auditors job of certifying and testing companies financial statements is the gumption of the business world. IntroductionAuditing has been the backbone of the complicated business world and has always changed with the times. As the business world grew strong, auditors roles grew more important. The auditors job became more difficult as the accounting principles changed. It also became easier with the use of internal controls, which introduced the need for testing, not a complete audit. Scandals and stock market crashes made auditors aware of deficiencies in auditing, and the auditing community was always quick to fix those deficiencies. Computers played an important role of changing the way audits were performed and also brought along so me difficulties. A Brief History of Early AuditingAuditing has existed since the beginning of human society. Auditing was used mostly for the detection of fraud and was done through extensive detailed examination from ancient times until the late nineteenth atomic number 6 (Lee, 1988). Fraud was a great concern during the early history of auditing, because internal controls were not used or not used effectively until the twentieth century. The late nineteenth century was a turning point in auditing history, when laws like the English Companies Act of 1862 were enacted.