Benchmarks as Regards the Financial Auditor's Role in the Current Economic Context

• Author: Laptes R.
• Position: Transilvania University of Brasov
• Pages: 157-164

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşo v

Series V: Economic Sciences • Vol. 11 (60) No. 2 – 2018

BENCHMARKS AS REGARDS THE FINANCIAL

AUDITOR’S ROLE IN THE CURRENT

ECONOMIC CONTEXT

Ramona LAPTEȘ1

Abstract: From the moment of the first financial audit practices, initiated

since Antiquity, and so far, the financial auditor’s role has become ever more

nuanced and has acquired new valences throughout the evolution of society.

Society’s current challenges, in the “era of the global village”, require the

extension of the financial auditor’s role and responsibility, from the

increased credibility of the financial information, to its direct involvement in

the process of preventing and combating money laundering and terrorist

financing. The latest legislative modifications, adopted in 2018, increase the

financial auditors’ professional obligations, especially in the area of the

detailed knowledge of audit clients, by means of the risk analysis of the

clientele.

Key words: the financial auditor’s role, money laundering, the European

Directive no. 2015/849, The Good Practice Guideline of C.F.A.R.

1. Introduction

The apparition and development of financial audit is closely related to the apparition

and evolution of accountancy. Accountancy and audit are among the oldest professions

in the world (Neamțu, Roman and Roman, 2012).

Since Antiquity, when the foundations of accountancy were set in its incipient form,

there was a general need to identify frauds and to punish the authors. The evolution of

the financial audit, from its origin and so far, has been gradual.

Until the 18th century, there was a rudimentary form of the financial audit, it s

objective being to prevent and discover the frauds and to punish t he authors .

Until the 16th century, auditing practices aimed at testing the honesty of t he people

with financial responsibilities. The audit was not based on internal control and did not

have the purpose of verifying ho w the transactions or economic-financial events were

accounted for (Dobroțeanu and Dobroțeanu, 2002).

Moreover, until the 18th cent ury, the auditing proceedings were carried out by priests

and accountants, renowned for their moral qualities, as they were solicited by kings,

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, ramona.laptes@unitbv.ro