# Audit

*Professional & Ethics — Finicade finance glossary*

An audit is an independent examination of financial statements to give an opinion on whether they fairly present the position of a business. It's assurance, not a guarantee: auditors sample, they rely on management representations, and they are not designed to detect sophisticated collusive fraud. The expectation gap between what the public thinks an audit does and what it does is the source of most of the profession's reputational crises.

**Also known as:** external audit, internal audit, auditor

**Related terms:** [Internal Controls](https://finicade.com/glossary/internal-controls), [Financial Statements](https://finicade.com/glossary/financial-statements), [Independence](https://finicade.com/glossary/independence), [Disclosure](https://finicade.com/glossary/disclosure), [Going Concern](https://finicade.com/glossary/going-concern)

Source: https://finicade.com/glossary/audit