The Importance of Forensic Audit and Differences in Relation to Financial Audit

Abstract

Financial statements are one of the most important factors affecting the overall business, in particular investment decision making. External audit aims to determine accuracy and objectivity of financial statements, i.e., disclosure of funds, resources and business performances in the financial statements, and to form an opinion based on the information provided. Therefore, the purpose of external traditional audit is not fraud detection that frequently appears in the background of an incorrect, unfair and unlawful presentation of financial statements. This has triggered the necessity to provide a new kind of auditing services that would be directed towards fraud prevention and detection. The answer to this need is the emergence of forensic audit, which differs from external audit in terms of its goals and character. There is no generally accepted definition of this concept, and the paper suggests differences in its definition and characteristics and differences in relation to external audit. The authors also attempt to point out to certain limitations that impede the development of a new audit discipline, which has justified its existence and indicated the necessity for its further development, both in theory and practice.