Needs for the improvement of audit accounting estimates procedures in a financial statements audit

Abstract

Audit reports about financial statements are efficient tools for enterprises’ managers. However, for the purpose of “attractive” financial statements, the managers use some different methods to make financial statements “be under a spell”. One of these methods is using accounting estimates. Accounting estimates are based on the subjective judgements and prepared in an uncertain condition about the results of occured events or events maybe arise. Because of those, financial statements with accounting estimates have a high risk and many errors. This article will summarize international and Vietnamese researches with the related subject, analyze accounting estimates’ characteristics and the real financial statements of some enterprises, and analyze the errors related with accounting estimates, and make a survey about the fact of accounting estimates are audited. The article finds the importance of audit accounting estimates in a financial statements audit and makes some recommendations to improve the audits of estimates.