 First edition (UK) with original title | |
| Author | Bruce Marshall |
|---|---|
| Country | Scotland |
| Publisher | Constable |
Publication date | 1958 |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 285 |
| Preceded by | Girl in May (1956) |
| Followed by | A Thread of Scarlet (1959) |
The Accounting is a 1958 novel by Scottish writer Bruce Marshall, published as The Bank Audit in the UK. [1]
The scene of this novel is Paris, where the branch of a well-known London bank is being audited. A normally routine affair, this year's audit is different—the auditors have reason to believe that there may be fraud or embezzlement at play.
How do the auditors know this? A few indiscreet words overheard at a Paris nightclub.
Our attention is turned to each player, some major and many minor, the bank officials and overseers of the audit of course, but mostly to the underpaid, unhappy junior and senior auditors, each a prisoner of his own private conflicts and aspirations, and each seeing the discovery and proving of the fraud as his chance for promotion.
The novel makes the seemingly boring task of auditing understandable and delves into the hearts of those who make business their life's work. [2]
The Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 is a United States federal law that mandates certain practices in financial record keeping and reporting for corporations.
KPMG International Limited is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations.
An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon.” Auditing also attempts to ensure that the books of accounts are properly maintained by the concern as required by law. Auditors consider the propositions before them, obtain evidence, and evaluate the propositions in their auditing report.
A financial audit is conducted to provide an opinion whether "financial statements" are stated in accordance with specified criteria. Normally, the criteria are international accounting standards, although auditors may conduct audits of financial statements prepared using the cash basis or some other basis of accounting appropriate for the organization. In providing an opinion whether financial statements are fairly stated in accordance with accounting standards, the auditor gathers evidence to determine whether the statements contain material errors or other misstatements.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) in the United Kingdom is the government official responsible for supervising the quality of public accounting and financial reporting. The C&AG is an officer of the House of Commons who is the head of the National Audit Office, the body that scrutinises central government expenditure.
The European Court of Auditors is one of the seven institutions of the European Union (EU). It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg in order to improve EU financial management. It has 27 members supported by approximately 800 civil servants.
Forensic accounting, forensic accountancy or financial forensics is the specialty practice area of accounting that investigates whether firms engage in financial reporting misconduct. Forensic accountants apply a range of skills and methods to determine whether there has been financial reporting misconduct.
In May 2003, following the invasion of Iraq in March of that year, the Central Bank of Iraq-Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) account was created at the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York at the request of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) Administrator. A part of the fund has been transferred to Baghdad and Iraq, and the DFI-Baghdad account was opened at the Central Bank of Iraq "for cash payment requirements". The fund also eventually received money from seized and "vested" Iraqi bank accounts and funds seized by coalition forces. $650 million of this amount belongs to Uday Saddam Hussein, the older son of the former Iraqi president. The DFI have been disbursed mainly for "the wheat purchase program, the currency exchange program, the electricity and oil infrastructure programs, equipment for Iraqis security forces, and for Iraqi civil service salaries and ministry budget operations".
An auditor's report is a formal opinion, or disclaimer thereof, issued by either an internal auditor or an independent external auditor as a result of an internal or external audit, as an assurance service in order for the user to make decisions based on the results of the audit.
The Cour des Comptes is France's supreme audit institution, under French law an administrative court. As such, it is independent from the legislative and executive branches of the French Government. However, the 1946 and 1958 French constitutions made it the Court's duty to assist the Cabinet and Parliament in regulating government spending. The Court thus combines functions of a court of exchequer, comptroller general's office, and auditor general's office in common-law countries. It is also a Grand Corps of the French State and mainly recruits among the best-ranked students graduating from the Ecole nationale d'administration.
An information technology audit, or information systems audit, is an examination of the management controls within an Information technology (IT) infrastructure and business applications. The evaluation of evidence obtained determines if the information systems are safeguarding assets, maintaining data integrity, and operating effectively to achieve the organization's goals or objectives. These reviews may be performed in conjunction with a financial statement audit, internal audit, or other form of attestation engagement.
The Audit Commission was a statutory corporation in the United Kingdom. The commission's primary objective was to appoint auditors to a range of local public bodies in England, set the standards for auditors and oversee their work. The commission closed on 31 March 2015, with its functions being transferred to the voluntary, not-for-profit or private sector.
Lieutenant-Colonel Claude Cunningham Bruce Marshall, known as Bruce Marshall was a prolific Scottish writer who wrote fiction and non-fiction books on a wide range of topics and genres. His first book, A Thief in the Night came out in 1918, possibly self-published. His last, An Account of Capers was published posthumously in 1988, a span of 70 years.
Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization's operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes. Internal auditing might achieve this goal by providing insight and recommendations based on analyses and assessments of data and business processes. With commitment to integrity and accountability, internal auditing provides value to governing bodies and senior management as an objective source of independent advice. Professionals called internal auditors are employed by organizations to perform the internal auditing activity.
The Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector is an elected Constitutional officer for the U.S. State of Oklahoma. The State Auditor and Inspector is responsible for auditing and prescribing bookkeeping standards of all government agencies and county treasurers within Oklahoma. The office in its current form is a consolidation of the office of State Auditor with that of the office of State Examiner and Inspector, both of which dated back to statehood in 1907. The two positions were combined in 1979 after passage of State Question 510 in 1975. Tom Daxon was the first person to hold the combined office and the first Republican as all previous occupants of either position were Democrats.
The Internal Audit Service or IAS is a Directorate-General (DG) of the European Commission that was established in 2001 to provide an increased accountability of the Commission.
Ultramares Corporation v. Touche, 174 N.E. 441 (1932) is a US tort law case regarding negligent misstatement, decided by Cardozo, C.J. It contained the now famous line on "floodgates" that the law should not admit "to a liability in an indeterminate amount for an indeterminate time to an indeterminate class."
Under the French monarchy, the Courts of Accounts were sovereign courts specialising in financial affairs. The Court of Accounts in Paris was the oldest and the forerunner of today's French Court of Audit. They oversaw public spending, handled finances, protected crown estates, audited the accounts of crown officials, and adjudicated any related matters of law.
Accounting scandals are business scandals which arise from intentional manipulation of financial statements with the disclosure of financial misdeeds by trusted executives of corporations or governments. Such misdeeds typically involve complex methods for misusing or misdirecting funds, overstating revenues, understating expenses, overstating the value of corporate assets, or underreporting the existence of liabilities. It involves an employee, account, or corporation itself and is misleading to investors and shareholders.
The auditor of public accounts of Nebraska, more commonly known as the "state auditor", is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the U.S. state of Nebraska. Twenty-five individuals have held the office of auditor of public accounts since statehood. The current auditor is Mike Foley, a Republican.