The Role of Financial Audit in Ensuring the Reliability of Financial Statements

Abstract

The audit of financial statements is positioned as an integral part of an unbiased assessment and control of financial activities. It is aimed at ensuring their reliability and compliance with generally accepted standards. It is necessary to actualize the role of financial audits due to the dynamics of conditions and factors affecting companies' activities. This study aims to substantiate the role of financial audits as a guarantee of financial statements' reliability. Furthermore, the article seeks to develop proposals for improving financial audit methodology. The research was carried out by using general scientific methods of cognition. These include logical and structural analysis, comparison, abstraction, specification, and generalization. The study examines the role of financial audits in ensuring the reliability and accuracy of financial statements in terms of the directionality and functionality of the phenomenon under study. The authors paid special attention to the identification of financial audit's place in the management paradigm under current economic realities. The article generalized the essence of financial statement audit and analyzed its procedures. The authors highlighted the potential risks related to the phenomena of improper implementation of the financial statement audit or neglect of the need for its conduct. In particular, it has been established that the primary negative consequences of such phenomena will affect investment planning and financial stability. The study proves that due to the unstable economic environment, an effective financial audit serves as a prerequisite for improving the quality of financial reporting and optimizing the sectoral management paradigm.