Services

Auditing


Annual Audits

As auditors, our main fields of activity are the statutory and voluntary audits of annual financial statements and consolidated financial statements.

Due to the uncertainty of future developments, each business activity entails opportunities and risks. Our auditing therefore takes a risk-oriented approach, which is developed according to the clients’ individual circumstances.

This audit approach identifies critical areas from the auditing angle to meet the ever-increasing demands for quality and economic efficiency.

Our audit approach assesses the clients’ accounting systems, the relevant internal control systems and the organisational processes. Likewise, we draw on our knowledge of our clients’ business activities as well as legal and economic environments when determining audit procedures. Therefore the annual audit is not only a means of establishing and confirming the correctness of the annual financial statements but also allows us to make concrete suggestions for financial improvement to our clients.

We conduct our audits using modern methods and techniques. Our auditing is supported by software which includes the instruments necessary to process large amounts of data, so that the entry, indexing and analysis of information can be achieved quickly, completely and properly.

Part of the statutory audit for quoted companies is the risk management system set up in accordance with § 91 Paragraph 2 AktG under German legislation. The board of directors is obliged to establish a control system that enables developments endangering the continued existence of the company to be recognised in time. The increasing importance of the Corporate Governance Principles requires even non-quoted companies to establish an appropriate risk management system, which should also be subject to regular external monitoring. We perform audits on risk management systems not only within the framework of statutory requirements for quoted companies but also as an extension of the statutory scope of the audit of the annual statements of accounts to other companies. The audit of the risk management system is not just limited to companies subject to German legislation but also applies to those under the regime of foreign countries, i.e. the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the United States, SOX-404.


Registered at the PCAOB

Under this regulation, each non-U.S. public accounting firm has to be registered at the PCAOB in the event of an international audit. The Public Company Oversight Board approved our application to the Board on January 26, 2006. Registration at the PCAOB requires a public audit company to have a documented and executed quality control system. As evidenced by the peer review successfully passed for the third time in 2008, Verhülsdonk & Partner GmbH has proved that it meets the quality standards required.

As at January 26, 2006, 1,611 accounting firms are registered with the Board. Of these registered firms 27 are domiciled in Germany.

 


Special Audits

We perform statutory and voluntary special audits at the request of our clients. Special audits include:

  • audits of special financial statements
  • audits of incorporation and conversion financial statements in connection with company foundations and/or reorganisations
  • audits according and corresponding to § 142 AktG (German law for incorporations)
  • audits of internal control systems
  • audits according to § 53 HGrG (German law for public sector companies)
  • audits of investment and financing plans
  • profitability checks
  • credit-worthiness checks
  • audits on fraud
  • due diligence work
  • audits in the field of ÖPNV (public transport authorities)
  • checks on the correct applications of funds
  • audits under special regulations for specific industry sectors

IT Audits

Existing processes are replaced by new IT techniques continually, which means that the auditing object “bookkeeping“ has changed considerably. The complexity of the business processes implemented and of the integration in an application system requires an audit of the IT-system that is designed to be risk and process-oriented.

As a result of professional standards and expert opinions, it has become standard to include an examination of the IT systems in the annual audit to recognise any possible threats.

Complementary to this obligatory audit, we offer separate IT system audits (e.g. audits to test compliance with regulations, project-linked audits, process-oriented procedure audits, etc.).

Furthermore we offer support to our clients in reorganising systems or larger IT-sided transformation processes (such as the selection, introduction and adaptation of process systems), assessing software and hardware configurations and analyses in the area of SAP.