There is a mantra in the auditing field: "Nothing more". "Not re" is the abbreviation of "irrational", which is "unreasonable" and does not conform to common sense. The duty of auditors is to check the authenticity and rationality of financial statements. In order to prevent being cheated, it is their professional habit for auditors to carefully examine whether every statement made by the company authorities is reasonable.

Give a simple example. The management will say, "revenue has increased by 50% this year because sales have increased by 50%." The auditor looked at the statement and said, "No, the cost has obviously dropped by 20%, and the inventory at the end of last year is also more than that at the end of last year. And I haven't heard of any technological progress that can greatly reduce the unit cost, so the cost reduction can only be due to the decline in production quantity. Is this not contradictory to sales growth? "

This example just confirms an old saying: "It's easy to lie, but difficult to lie." In order to make up a lie, you need to modify many related places, and they are not necessarily perfect. By looking for abnormal and unreasonable clues in accounting data, auditors put forward a series of questions to the company from all angles, digging up hidden and fabricated things like hounds.

These days, not only the company's financial lies are not well compiled, but even the tricks of scammers are "not re". Not long ago, I received an advertisement from Taobao, informing me that I won the prize. I log on Taobao and enter my password. Sure enough, there is a cash prize of 35,000 yuan waiting for me. The day before I received this advertisement, there was a lottery on Taobao, so I didn't realize it was a scam.

I went on to read that the award notice said that the tax law stipulated that the award could not be won in vain. As long as I post the VAT 1500 yuan to an account, they will give me a bonus immediately. I was just about to go to the post office with my ass up, when it suddenly occurred to me: Why don't you just deduct 1500 yuan from my 35,000 yuan bonus? Why do you want me to send money to the post office? I read the instructions carefully again and found a new problem: how to pay VAT? Value-added tax is usually paid when the factory imports raw materials. In this way, I saw through a "no ring" scam.

Auditors like to think about the rationality of things, which is actually the accumulation of common sense in daily life. However, if auditors bring this professional habit into life, it is not so cute. In life, people can't remember everything clearly, and it is inevitable that they will say something inaccurate. Moreover, couples sometimes tell little white lies and coax each other. If your other half is an auditor, congratulations, every white lie you tell will arouse the other side's doubts, and finally you will be asked, digging deeper and deeper until the lie is completely exposed.

Therefore, a person who dares to marry an auditor must be honest and open.

& lt2> Speak with numbers

People in China like to talk big about appearances, ideologies and trends, but they are too lazy to use numbers to support their views and test whether they are so. Auditors, on the other hand, need to add up certificates in many subjects. For example, salary expenditure, the auditor will multiply the total number of people in the company by the approximate per capita salary to get a total, and compare it with the figures on the report to see if there is any big difference.

It's important to speak with numbers. Because some things are right or wrong, you can't see them conceptually. You must actually calculate the costs and benefits before you can come to a conclusion. Only numbers can tell you the answer.

For example. Many western countries do not use a lot of taxpayers' money to develop competitive sports, but take the road of marketization and professionalism. In China, competitive sports are basically supported by the state finance. If a debate is held, at least 90% of China people support the development of competitive sports with the "national system", and I'm afraid less than 10% oppose it. Who is right and who is wrong?

We can estimate how much an Olympic gold medal will cost taxpayers if taxpayers sponsor it. Suppose 1 Olympic Games * * is selected from 1 000 athletes (as big as China, it should be no exaggeration for 33 provinces to practice one event on average). Athletes are not enough, but also logistics personnel, such as coaches, team leaders, team doctors and chefs. Suppose that on average, two athletes have one assistant. Ok, athletes+logistics personnel, one *** 1500 people, for an Olympic gold medal. This 1500 people are professionals. Suppose the state takes care of each of them for 20 years, including 10 years of training and 10 years of old-age subsidies. The monthly salary of each person is tentatively set at 1000 yuan. In addition, athletes also need to use sports equipment, live in dormitories, go out in different places and compete abroad. , per person per month 1000 yuan. The cost of such an Olympic gold medal is 1.5 million people ×20 years × 12 months× 2,000 yuan/month = 720 million RMB. At the Athens Olympic Games, China won 32 gold medals, so we spent 720 million× 30 = 23.04 billion RMB on these 32 gold medals.

I really don't know, but I'm scared. After the figures come out, the two sides can debate again. Even if no one can convince anyone, at least, they will shift the focus of the debate from simple "yes" or "no" to the balance of costs and benefits. This debate will take it to a higher level.

It should be noted that the above figures are all my own estimates and are not taken from any government budget report. This is a very helpless thing. I have never seen the government give a detailed budget. So I don't know how much of the tax I pay is used for education, competitive sports, medical care, civil servants' salaries and business entertainment ... but it doesn't matter, each of us has common sense and brains. Just like the calculation of the cost of Olympic gold medals in the past, we can rely on the existing knowledge to make a rough estimate of many things. It takes a little effort, but it's better than nothing.

I hope everyone can get into the good habit of speaking with numbers and asking them for answers.

& lt3> leave evidence when doing things.

In the audit work, a very important principle is: "If you don't write down what you did, it means you didn't do it." For example, who you asked, what was the result of the inquiry, and what documents you read should be recorded in the working paper. Auditors especially like to ask customers for information: contracts, invoices, internal documents, and the reputation of management authorities. All these materials are like treasures, which are clearly marked and included in the audit working papers. Only when the evidence is complete can the figures in the report be based.

Speaking with written evidence is undoubtedly an improvement compared with oral agreement. Only by leaving verifiable evidence in every link can a dispute be justified. Unfortunately, many domestic enterprises always like to say one thing in the contract, but in fact they verbally agree on another, unwilling to update the contract in time. When there is a dispute, both sides hold their own words. I think, with the improvement of the judicial system in China, those enterprises that are unwilling to use contracts will suffer more and more.

Actually, the audit report itself is a kind of written evidence. Users of accounting statements need to see the audit report issued by certified public accountants to ensure that accounting statements are true and fair. There are many investors these days, but not many investors will read the annual report, let alone pay attention to who the accounting firm is when reading the annual report. If you just "buy stocks" instead of "invest" in stocks, the audit report is really dispensable.

"Leave evidence when doing things"-from another angle, this sentence means "Don't leave evidence that shouldn't be left". For example, the auditor found that the enterprise had some minor problems, but they were not too serious and did not need to be solved. Then the auditor * * just didn't know it at all and didn't mention it in the working paper. If it is mentioned, but it is not solved, it is easy to be caught by the regulatory authorities. There used to be a saying that the purpose of auditing is to obtain appropriate audit evidence while earning audit fees, and try to shift the responsibility to the management of the company as much as possible. Although this statement is a bit explicit, it is undoubtedly true.

& lt4> express your views concisely and clearly.

"We must persist in reform and opening up, correct unhealthy trends and crack down on economic crimes; We must resolutely reform and open up, correct unhealthy trends, and crack down on economic crimes; If reform and opening up is a long-term task, so is correcting unhealthy trends and cracking down on economic crimes. " -Li Ruihuan, 1986 Speech at the Central Forum on Correcting the Party Style.

You may be tired of reading the above paragraph. If he were an auditor, how would he express the same meaning? I think he will probably say, "Reform and opening up, correcting unhealthy tendencies and cracking down on economic crimes are tasks that need to be adhered to for a long time. Moreover, we must be determined when implementing it. "

This is the requirement of commercial society: from the reader's point of view, express your views as simply as possible. If the reader can easily understand your meaning, he will hopefully become your customer and your expression will be successful. If he doesn't understand, or it sounds difficult, and the communication cost is high, your expression will fail.

When I was working on my first audit project, I was led by a senior auditor in the third year. I remember that she always did things quickly, but she always dawdled when she wrote "notes" on the working paper. Every note, she wrote and wrote, changed and changed, constantly trying to express it clearly and concisely, so that the manager could understand it at a glance. She spends far more time on words and sentences than she saves for the manager. Because she thinks that more consideration of readers' needs can make readers quickly grasp the key points of information, and such a manuscript is qualified.

Under her influence, I also learned to improve the efficiency of expression so that others can understand without thinking. If what I want to say is not too complicated, I will go straight to the point, throw out the conclusion in the first sentence, and then write down the reason: <1> ……，& lt2 & gt……，& lt3 & gt……。

If what I want to say is complicated, I need to introduce the background knowledge first, and then deduce it, so that others can understand it. I will write a, b, c ... from the shallow to the deep, make one thing clear, say the next thing, and proceed in turn. If each road has multiple branches, I will add the serial numbers A 1, A2, B 1, B2, so that readers can clearly know which road and house number they have "walked".

I have seen many people write long speeches, always writing wherever they think, without combining the same meaning or adding the serial number, writing ABCBDAE stroke by stroke, which makes people feel that they are walking in a maze. Take Li Ruihuan's words as an example. The first sentence "insist" and the third sentence "do it for a long time" obviously mean the same thing, but he wants to split it into two sentences and throw it around. When we are writing a long speech ourselves, don't be such a "littering box" Wukong.

In the usual reading, we often see that the authors of some articles tend to fall into a dream of talking to themselves, condescending, showing off literary talent and erudition, regardless of whether the articles are clear, concise or understood by others. Zhang Wuchang's articles written in recent years are a typical example, half written and half written, with jumping ideas. It's a good thing that a person's thinking is brilliant. But if he is not good at expression, it will make readers feel confused and confused. Because "the transaction cost is high and the transaction cannot be reached", this is really a regrettable thing.

& lt5> Question is a good way to improve the article.

The so-called Q means that an independent third person reads the audit draft, points out that there are mistakes or unclear places in it, and then submits it to the drafter for revision and improvement.

In the Big Four, employees don't like the manager's Q, the manager doesn't like the partner's Q, and the audit department doesn't like the tax department's Q. No one likes being given Q, however, when they give Q to others, they are merciless.

Q is really a good way to improve the article. I summarize the advantages of this method as follows:

& lt 1 & gt； The so-called "bystanders are clear." There are some things that the manuscript editor thinks are very clear, but others may still not understand. Let an independent third person look at it and ask him questions, and you will find something less clear.

& lt2> can condense the wisdom of many people. A good manuscript needs constant improvement in order to fully absorb the good ideas of different people. Managers and partners point out deep-seated problems through q, which is equivalent to injecting the knowledge accumulated in their career into the manuscript. Employees can modify and imitate, improve next year, improve the quality of manuscripts, and so on. This is not only the evolution mode of working papers, but also the evolution mode of human civilization.

& lt3> avoids face-to-face contact, thus improving communication efficiency. This advantage is a bit funny, but it is true. Everyone has self-esteem and rebellious mentality. According to my observation, if you point out the shortcomings of other people's papers in person, it will usually cause the other party to explain, defend and refute. Struggle, the problems in the manuscript have not been solved. If it is Q, it will be much faster. Anyway, I have pointed out the problem for you. If there is, change it. If there is nothing, add a "remark" to make it clear in the manuscript, so as to avoid others misunderstanding you every time.

The devil exists in the details. Q is to dig out the "goblin" hidden in the manuscript. In the Big Four, all good papers are Q, and they are massive Q and repeated Q. No one likes to be given Q by others, but Q can greatly improve the quality of manuscripts. I hope that when you clear Q, you will understand the truth that "strict teachers make excellent students" and actively adjust your mentality.

& lt6> uses binary tables to transmit a large amount of information.

Happysun wrote an article on this issue, which made it clear. I have nothing to add. I quoted a long passage from his article below.

Explaining problems with tables is the embodiment of a methodical thinking method.

There is a problem. Today, a hotel has 20 rooms, 8 rooms per day at 100 yuan, 7 rooms per day at 150 yuan and 5 rooms in 200 yuan. What is the income of this hotel today?

This is a very simple topic. The point is not the answer, but how to express your calculation process. I once asked this question in the class of nearly 100 college graduates, and the expressions in the calculation process were all like this:

100 yuan x 8+ 150 yuan x 7+200 yuan x 5=2850 yuan.

This is not a happy result. A better expression is this:

Room unit price, room quantity income

A B C=A x B

100 yuan 8800 yuan 150 yuan 7 1050 yuan 200 yuan 5 1000 yuan, totaling 2850 yuan.

Everyone can see that this expression embodies a database structure, which is very beneficial for another person to review the whole calculation process. Auditors should be good at using such expressions in working papers.

However, I can't blame those college students. Just found a news on the Internet, which read:

"The macro policies introduced frequently last year have greatly restrained the rapid development of Beijing's property market. Although the supply of existing houses and faster houses has increased to varying degrees every year, it has obviously shown a trend of oversupply. Affected by this, residential sales in this city were very hot last year, with the sales rate of existing homes and the pre-sale rate of faster houses reaching 97.5% and 92.3% respectively.

The reporter learned from the Beijing Municipal Construction Committee yesterday that the sales area of commercial housing in this city totaled 22.858 million square meters last year, up 296.5438+0% year-on-year. Because the growth of supply is obviously less than the demand, the existing home market formed last year has been basically digested, and the sales rate is as high as 97.5%, which is 12.4 percentage points higher than the same period in 2003.

Auction sales in this city have also entered a golden age. On the premise that the approved pre-sale area of commercial housing auction only increased by 5%, the pre-sale registration increased by nearly 60% year-on-year, and the pre-sale rate was 92.3%, which was 30.4 percentage points higher than that in 2003.

Relevant persons of the Construction Committee said that the above data proved that the city's real estate market has a strong digestion and absorption capacity. This strong trend of sales and pre-sales will continue this year. Jinghua Times) "

This passage is a typical narrative that can be transformed into a table.

Unit: ten thousand square meters, growth rate/percentage of growth rate in 2004 and 2003.

The sales area of existing houses is 2285438+0,770.38+0%.

The completed area of existing houses is 2344.4438+02080.338+02.7%.

The sales rate of existing homes is 97.5%85. 1% 12.4%.

The pre-sale registration area of the auction house is 1.575438+0.0057.2%.

The pre-sale area approved by the auction house is 1.705438+0.625.4%.

The auction sales rate is 92.3%6 1.9%30.4%.

I tried to express the above words in a table myself, and found that there are so many benefits, which can not only provide readers with more detailed and rich information, but also make the expression clearer.

In addition, I also found that mathematically, the above data about auction sales is also very interesting. For some reason, the reporter did not give any specific data about the auction, but only gave a few percentages, but these percentages are mutually restrictive and self-contained. So I assume that it doesn't matter whether the sales area of the auction house is 1 or 1000. Therefore, I can't work out any specific figures for this area. In mathematical language, according to the currently known conditions, there are infinite solutions to the area of auction house.

In fact, not only journalists in China seldom express these figures in tables, but also foreign journalists prefer to describe them in words. If you look at the first page of the Wall Street Journal, there is often a long paragraph discussing certain figures. Even the listing documents submitted by many companies to the SEC often use long paragraphs to describe some figures.

I guess reporters are willing to express these figures in words for the convenience of oral reporting. Oral report is a one-dimensional linear information output, and it is difficult to read two-dimensional tables. But writing work papers and publishing newspapers and magazines, information output is a two-dimensional way, and table expression is a clearer and more efficient way.

Journalists are of course free to choose the expression they like, but in order to make their ideas as clear as possible and to make others (such as partners) finish their work easily, auditors had better express their ideas in tabular form.