THE OBJECTIVE AND PROBLEMS OF THE AUDIT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS / ՖԻՆԱՆՍԱԿԱՆ ՀԱՇՎԵՏՎՈՒԹՅՈՒՆՆԵՐԻ ԱՈՒԴԻՏԻ ՆՊԱՏԱԿԸ ԵՎ ԽՆԴԻՐՆԵՐԸ

The audit of financial statements is a multi-stage process formed in parallel with accounting and reporting, which allows clients of such audit services to solve a few problems related to the activities of the audited organization. In the process of an independent audit of financial statements, auditors and audit firms pursue certain important goals, to achieve which they solve several problems during the planning and execution of the audit engagement. The result of achieving these goals is the issuance of an auditor’s report. Defining the audit objective and problems, both in general and at the beginning of each audit assignment specific to that audit, is necessary for the auditor to understand what sufficient appropriate audit evidence must be obtained to conclude that the financial statements are free from material misstatements. The sharp increase in complaints and lawsuits against audit firms in the last decade gives reason to think that despite the development of auditing, yet there are certain shortcomings. These shortcomings may also be due to the definition of unclear objectives and problems. The more active involvement of academic circles with their studies and science-based proposals can also greatly contribute to the future development of auditing.