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The Need to Distinguish Between Accounting and Auditing
For the unversed, accounting and auditing are part of the same process: finance. To some extent, we can give them the benefit of the doubt, but not before ensuring that there is stress put on the fact that “they are quite distinct in the roles they play.”
With that, we have a starting point around the difference between accounting and auditing. For seasoned accounting professionals, this whole exercise might seem futile. However, it is integral for charting the clear paths for both roles within any organization.
Accounting and auditing play distinct roles in the widespread financial landscape. Yet, they are equally crucial in determining overall accuracy, transparency, and financial health for every business. This is why, to maintain an organization’s financial integrity, you must have a clear distinction between accounting and auditing.
It will allow you to ensure compliance with the regulators and help you establish a flourishing relationship with stakeholders and make insight-driven business decisions. A comprehensive view of these two functions can help you chart the path to success and sustainability for your business, so let us look closely at the difference between accounting and auditing.
Understanding Accounting
Accounting – The Definition & Its Scope
In its purest form, accounting is a business process of measuring, identifying, communicating, and recording financial information about an establishment to internal and external stakeholders.
The financial information shared by the accounting function can be used for making informed business decisions, assessing the organization’s financial health, and even ensuring compliance with regulatory organizations.
As a function, the scope of accounting is to manage the organization’s financial data by tracking financial transactions, analyzing financial performance, and preparing financial statements.
Let us have a deeper look at the different types of accounting:
Types of Accounting
- Financial Accounting: Financial accounting is the process of delivering transparent and accurate financial information to external stakeholders such as creditors, investors, the general public, and regulators. The process involves preparing the organization’s income, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. These financial statements give an inside view into the organization’s financial performance in the form of their profitability, financial position, and the status of cash flow.
- Management Accounting (Cost Accounting): Management accounting, also known as cost accounting, provides financial information to internal stakeholders such as management, employees, Etc. This information helps the management make suitable business decisions for better control and planning for the future. Management accounting involves the creation of budgets, analysis of variance, cost allocation, and preparation of other reports that can help managers make decisions on the operational and strategic front.
- Tax Accounting: Tax accounting is associated with tax regulations and is all about adhering to compliance and optimizing tax strategies for maximum benefit. Tax accountants are responsible for calculating taxable income, delivering tax advisory, and calculating taxable income for minimizing tax liability and adhering to tax regulations.
Understanding Auditing
Auditing for any organization is a process involving systematic evaluation and examination of the financial records of an organization. These financial records involve transactions, expense trackers, or any other internal record. Auditing makes sure that all your financial records are accurate, reliable, and compliant with the regulatory authority. These records give assurance to the internal and external stakeholders in the organization that the data given in the report can be trusted.
Auditing and Its Purpose:
As a process auditing involves objectively examining the financial information of an organization. It can be done independently or with internal controllers within an organization. The primary purpose of auditing is to give assurance to the stakeholders such as creditors, shareholders, and regulators, that the financial information shared in the report is compliant to the accounting regulations and standards, accurate, and complete. Auditing allows you to identify and rectify any discrepancies, errors, or deceitful activity that can hamper the integrity of your financial reporting.
Types of Auditing:
- External Auditing: External auditing in the modern business landscape is conducted through independent auditors or auditing firms, who normally are not part of the organization that is being audited. The primary aim of external audit is to ensure that the financial statements of the organization are fair and free from any misinformation. External audit is done in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
- Internal Auditing: Internal audit is done by the teams within the organization. Internal auditors focus primarily on assessing the usefulness of the operational processes, management practices, and internal controls. The main aim of internal audit is to give recommendation for improving the operational efficiency, risk mitigation, and compliance with the policies and procedures of the organization.
Emerging Trends in Accounting and Auditing
With the advent of the technology world, the accounting and auditing fields are undergoing severe advancements and regulatory changes, shaping the business landscape for the future. 
Let us have a closer look at some of the most influential and prominent trends in accounting and auditing that we believe you must monitor to prepare your business for the future:
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Integration
 Automation has already transformed several accounting and auditing processes. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), we will see the rise of Robotic process automation (RPA) to the next level as organizations harness them for fraud detection, data analysis, and predictive modeling.
• Blockchain Technology
The growing acceptance of Blockchain as distributed ledger technology has severely boosted the security and transparency in modern financial transactions. Organizations have started embracing Blockchain for real-time auditing, verifying the authenticity of financial records, and minimizing fraud.
• Cloud-Based Accounting
The rise of Cloud-based accounting and auditing software has given organizations the required scalability, convenience, and real-time collaboration. The days of traditional on-prem accounting and auditing systems are nearly over, and organizations have started embracing Cloud-based accounting and auditing solutions to enhance data security and sharing.
• Regulatory Compliance
Modern regulatory frameworks focus primarily on transparency and accountability from organizations. Auditors and accountants alike must stay updated on the regular changes happening in the standard regulatory frameworks to ensure complete compliance and avoid attracting any penalties.
These are just four of the many emerging trends shaping the accounting industry for the future. As an accountant or an auditor, staying updated on these emerging trends can help you grow as an individual and help your organization prepare for the future by enforcing compliance and effective decision-making.
Conclusion
While from the above details, we can quickly establish the difference between accounting and auditing functions; it’s crucial to understand that they are intrinsically interconnected. Accounting and auditing rely on each other for financial information’s accuracy, integrity, and transparency. Once you acknowledge the interdependence between the two, you can easily maintain the credibility of the financial information presented in the reports and uphold the trust of internal and external stakeholders. If you are looking to strike a balance between your accounting and auditing services, write into us at [email protected], and we will help you get started.
