Audit Executive Summary is a short section of an audit report. It is the summary that is usually developed for the executives of the organization so that they can understand the whole report only by reading the summary. It is the summarized form of the whole report that the auditor or the audit committee has prepared after the auditing process.
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How to Prepare an Audit Executive Summary?
Step 1: The First Paragraph
The first paragraph of the executive summary should be catchy and interesting so that it can compel the readers or the executives to read the rest of the summary. The first paragraph should be the most interesting and compelling so that the executives of the organization feel the need for reading the rest of the details as well.
Step 2: The Guidelines
There is no particular structure for the executive summary but there are certain guidelines that are to be followed so that the executives and the readers pay attention to the elements of the audit report that are necessary for them to know.
Step 3: The Tone of the Summary
You need to understand the nature of your reader. This will help you to set the tone. If you are aware of your readers, you will be able to understand exactly how you need to prepare the summary. The language of your summary should be able to resonate with your reader. They should be able to identify the level of their understanding with the summary that you have prepared.
The Audit executive summary is a professional and official document therefore it is advisable to make use of the tone which is formal yet simple in terms of understanding.
Step 4: The Length of the Report
The length of the summary should be decided based on the importance and the nature of the report. As the one you are preparing is the summary of an audit report hence it is of great importance for an organization. Therefore the length of the executive summary can be a maximum of two to three pages. But make sure that it is not too long that it seems that original report.
Step 5: To the Point
The aim of the executive summary is to give the reader clear, concise and to the point explanation. Therefore it is necessary that you avoid unnecessary exaggeration and vague ideas. You need to hit straight to the point but in an interesting way so that the readers do read the summary.
What are the Types of Audit Report?
There are four types of Audit Report:
Unqualified Opinion
This type of audit report is prepared when after the auditing the auditor finds that the records and the documents were free of misrepresentation. It is also prepared when the auditor finds that everything, the process, functioning, and the system were in accordance with the guidelines and the principles.
Qualified Opinion
This type of report is formulated by the auditor when the reports are not maintained as per the set guidelines but there was no misrepresentation found in the documents and the report. The writing is similar to the unqualified ones but with an additional paragraph explaining the reason why the report is not unqualified.
Adverse Opinion
This is the worst kind of report that an auditor can issue about the company or an organization. In this report, the auditor mentions that the records and the documents and not maintained and are also misrepresented. This kind of report indicates fraud.
Disclaimer of Opinion
There are occasions when an auditor is unable to complete the report on the audit he conducted. The report that is presented is not accurate. There can be various reasons for that. In cases like this, the auditor issues a disclaimer of opinion which states that the auditor was unable to determine the status of the whole audit that was conducted. That means he was unable to find any result or conclusion.
What Can be Stated as the Good Audit Report?
An audit report is to be prepared after an audit is conducted. The purpose of the report is to report what has been seen and the evaluated result. The contents of the report are very important as it is the record of the audit that has been performed.
Why is an Audit Executive Summary Important?
An audit executive summary is an important part of any audit report. This document or the section of the report is prepared at the end of the formulation of the report but mentioned on the first page of the report. The idea behind preparing the summary is to give the reader a brief idea about the main content.
Therefore the executive summary is an imperative section to be submitted whenever an audit report is formulated. To help the reader understand the main idea it is necessary that a brief explanation is presented. The audit executive summary plays the same role as an audit report.