The Role and Responsibilities of External Auditor in Corporate Governance

Abstract

Corporate governance presence is a must in today’s business world for sustainability and success. Implementing the principles of good corporate governance allows the company to have a positive and improved environment in terms of finance and operations. One of its principles is transparency which refers to reporting. The stakeholders will increase their trust in the financial report generated by the company if an independent CPA or external auditor will verify and validate the fairness and reliability of the said record. External auditor plays a vital part in corporate governance. He is with indirect responsibility in terms of corporate governance. The fairness and reliability of financial statements and responsibility to check the misappropriation of assets due to fraud or error still lie in the management though an external auditor provides opinion in the financial statements.  In the light of the essential role of external auditor in corporate governance, assuming that all applicants for external auditor already passed the licensure examination of being an accountant, there shall be set of criteria to consider when hiring an external auditor such as technical know-how, professional skepticism, professional judgment, independence in fact and in appearance, objective mindset, eloquent communicator, with teamwork spirit, embrace and exhibit the professional ethics, courageous act with humility and loyalty and time management skills. Likewise, once an external auditor is chosen, assessment of the performance shall be measured to sustain the effectiveness of corporate governance in terms of reporting with transparency, reliability, objectivity and integrity.