audit

Definitions (2)
Related Terms
1. Accounting: Systematic examination and verification of a firm's books of account, transaction
records, other relevant documents, and physical inspection of inventory by qualified accountants
(called auditors). See also external audit and internal audit.
2. Quality control: Periodic (usually every six months) onsite-verification (by a certification authority)
to ascertain whether or not a documented quality system is being effectively implemented.

WHAT IS AUDITING?
Although the purely philosophical aspects of L. Ron Hubbards works are
sufficient in themselves to apply in everyday existence,
only auditing provides a precise route by which individuals may travel to
higher states of spiritual awareness.
The goal of auditing is to restore beingness and ability. This is accomplished
by: (1) helping individuals rid themselves of any spiritual disabilities; (2)
increasing spiritual abilities.
Obviously, both are necessary for an individual to achieve his full spiritual
potential. Auditing, then, deletes lifes painful experiences and addresses and
improves ones ability to confront and handle the factors in his life. Through
auditing one is able to look at ones own existence and improve ones ability
to confront what one is and where one is. There are vast differences
between the technology of auditing, a religious practice, and other practices.
There is no use of hypnosis, trance techniques or drugs during auditing. The
person being audited is completely aware of everything that happens.
Auditing is precise, thoroughly codified and has exact procedures.
A person trained and qualified to better individuals through auditing is called
an auditor. Auditor is defined as one who listens, from the
Latin audire, meaning to hear or listen. An auditor is a minister or ministerin-training of the Church of Scientology.
A person receiving auditing is called a preclearmeaning a person not yet
Clear. A preclear is someone who, through auditing, is finding out about
themselves and life. The period of time during which an auditor audits a

preclear is called an auditing session. A session is conducted at an agreedupon time established by the auditor and preclear.
Auditing uses processesexact sets of questions asked or directions given
by an auditor to help a person locate areas of spiritual distress, find out
things about themselves and improve their condition. There are many, many
different auditing processes and each one improves the individuals ability to
confront and handle part of their existence. When the specific objective of
any one process is attained, the process is ended and another can then be
used to address a different part of the persons life.
An unlimited number of questions could, of course, be asked, which might or
might not help a person. The accomplishment of Dianetics and Scientology is
that L. Ron Hubbardisolated the exact questions and directions to bring
about spiritual freedom. The questions or directions of the process guide the
person to inspect a certain part of their existence. What is found will
naturally vary from person to person, since everyones experiences
are different.
Regardless of experience or background, however, the individual is assisted
in locating not only areas of spiritual upset or difficulty in their life, but the
source of the upset. By doing this, a person is able to free themselves of
unwanted barriers that inhibit, stop or blunt their natural abilities and
increase these abilities so that they become brighter and more spiritually
able.
There are no variables in the technology of auditing, no random results of
haphazard applications. Auditing is not a period of vague free association.
Each process is exact in its design and in its application and attains a definite
result when correctly ministered. Scientology auditing can bring anyone from
a condition of spiritual blindness to the brilliant joy of knowing.

Audit
What is an 'Audit'

An audit is an objective examination and evaluation of the financial statements of an

organization to make sure that the records are a fair and accurate representation of the
transactions they claim to represent. It can be done internally by employees of the
organization, or externally by an outside firm.
The IRS can perform audits to verify the accuracy of a taxpayers returns or other
transactions. When an audit is being preformed by the IRS, it usually carries a negative
connotation and is seen as evidence of some type of wrongdoing by the taxpayer.

BREAKING DOWN 'Audit'

Audits preformed by outside parties on private companies can be extremely helpful in
removing any bias when it comes to the state of a company's financials. Audits look for what
can be called a "material error" in statements on any specific object. They help
provide stakeholders with a sense of accuracy when regarding the state of the subject being
audited and can help enable them to make better, more informed decisions regarding the
subject being audited. When audits are performed by third parties, the opinion on whatever
is being audited (a business books, an organization as a whole or a system) can be candid
and honest without it effecting daily work relationships.
Most all companies receive an audit once a year, while even larger companies can receive
audits monthly. For some companies, audits are a legal requirement due to the compelling
incentives to intentionally misstate financial information in an attempt to commit fraud. For
some publicly traded companies, auditors are used as a resource to evaluate the
effectiveness of internal controls on financial reports.

Types of Auditors
When it comes to external auditing, there are two different categories of auditors. First, there
is an external or statutory auditor who works independently to evaluate financial reporting,
and then there are external cost auditors who evaluate cost statements and sheets to see if
theyre free of misstatements or fraud. Both of these types of auditors follow a set of
standards different from that of the company or organization hiring them to do the work.
Internal auditors, as the name implies, are employed by the company or organization for
whom they are performing the audit. To the best of their ability, internal auditors provide
information to the board, managers, and other stakeholders on the accuracy of their books
and the efficacy of their internal systems.

Consultant auditors, while not working internally, use the standards of the company they are
auditing as opposed to a separate set of standards. These types of auditors are used when
an organization doesnt have the resources to audit certain parts of their own operations.

Oversight, Rules and Regulation

In the United States as in many other countries, an audit has to meet a general set of
accepted standards as established by their respective governing bodies.
Standards for external audits, called the Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) are
set out by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. A separate set of
International standards, called the International Standards on Auditing were set up by the
International Auditing and Assurance Board.
Rules for audits of public companies are made by the PCAOB, the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board established in 2002.

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