Auditors began to more often identify reservations in the reporting of companies
According to the results of the reporting of Russian companies in 2024, it is noticeable, in some cases by 7-15%, the number of conclusions with reservations increased. Thus, the auditors draw the attention of investors to a significant violation of the opening of the inspeced organizations. The actions of the participants of the audit market are related to the tightening of control by the SRO and Treasury, as well as the decisions of the business entities themselves to restrict information disclosure in the conditions of sanctions.
According to the results of the reports of the reporting of Russian economic entities for 2024 (IFRS, RAS), the number of audit reports with reservations increased on the market, they told Kommersant in the audit companies Finexpertiza, Taxes and Financial Law and Cliff. According to the founder of the Russian Law Firm, Vladimir Butovsky, the number of such conclusions in the company increased by 10-15%. “We fix the growth of conclusions with reservations for new customers, compared to last year, it amounted to 7%,” said Ekaterina Voronkin, Deputy Executive Director of Donaudit.
A reservation is an auditor’s appeal to a significant violation of the client’s bunch. It is necessarily disclosed in the audit conclusion and indicates that it was the auditor that did not suit. In particular, the reservation may concern the completeness of disclosing information, unconfirmed costs, etc. Moreover, the number of only socially significant organizations in respect of which a mandatory audit is carried out is estimated at about 10 thousand.
According to experts, the increase in the number of reservations was primarily contributed to the tightening of inspections of the participants of the audit market by the SRO and Treasury of the Russian Federation. Attention to the activities of the auditors is growing, their responsibility is growing, in response to these trends, “the price of advisability and excessive softness for auditors is also growing,” explains Pavel Mitrofanov, the general director of the business expert of business recruitment. According to the adviser to KLIFF, Inga Skvortsova, the SRO check is carried out once every two years, and taking into account the checks of the treasury, the audit company is checked annually.
Moreover, the Treasury announced plans to tighten the audit and punishment, it is planned to pay special attention to the implementation of the norms of anti -laundering legislation (see “Kommersant” of June 17, 2024). Increasing the intensity of measures to prevent violations of the legislation under/FT has been included in the measures for the implementation of “the main areas of stateliness in the field of accounting, financial statements and audit activities until 2030” (see “Kommersant” from January 29). If the audit company has not passed the audit, “measures of responsibility can be applied to it – significant penalties, suspension of membership and exclusion from the SRO members,” Mrs. Skvortsova notes.
The increase in the number of reservations was also facilitated by changes in the real sector. The reason for the audit conclusions with reservations is that “in some cases both due to sanctions risks and due to the uncertainty of the business environment, and in some cases due to the position of shareholders and management of the company minimize the disclosure of information,” said the investment strategist of the Aricapital Criminal Code Sergey Suverov. In recent years, Russian companies have been forced to adapt to the regime of strict sanctions, adapt to the changed conditions of economic activity and look for alternative ways to ensure their development, experts note. “Reorganization was carried out in a short time, and, as a result, errors could be made in accounting and in the preparation of accounting (financial) reports due to lack of experience or high loading of accounting and financial services,” explains Ilgiz Baimuratov, vice president of Finiesxpertiza. In addition, the very high current value of borrowing “can cause uncertainty for individual companies regarding the possibility of continuing activities in the foreseeable future,” said Igor Tokarev, senior managing partner of the DRT company.
For investors, such reservations are a serious signal. “For investors, a reservation and its content are a spotlight that shines to the problem area of the company,” says Mr. Mitrofanov. If the reservations consist of the inability to confirm the amount of assets or the correctness of the accrual of reserves, they directly affect the reliability of financial statements, and “investors can relate to the wary of both the reporting and the investment attractiveness of the company,” explains Mr. Suveurs.
At the same time, attracting a new auditor in the current conditions for companies will not be easy. “If earlier it was possible to quite easily change the auditor for loyal, now, in the conditions of a limited choice from registers and even more limited from auditors with a reliability rating, it will be increasingly difficult,” says Mr. Mitrofanov.
