Joint Audit

Meaning - The practice of appointing Chartered Accountants as joint auditors is quite widespread in big companies and corporations. Joint audit basically implies pooling together the resources and expertise of more than one firm of auditors to render an expert job in a given time period which may be difficult to accomplish acting individually. It essentially involves sharing of the total work. This is by itself a great advantage.

.Advantages of joint audit 

In specific terms the advantages that flow may be the following:

1 Sharing of expertise.

2 Advantage of mutual consultation.

3 Lower workload.

4 Better quality of  performance.

5 mproved service to the  client.

6 Displacement of the auditor of the company taken over in a take - over often obviated.

7 In respect of multi-national companies, the work can be spread using the expertise of the local firms which are in a better position to deal with detailed work and the local laws and regulations.

8 Lower staff development costs.

9 Lower costs to carry out the work.

10 A sense of healthy competition towards a better performance.

-Disadvantages of joint audit

The general disadvantages of joint audit  may be the following:

1 The fees being shared.

2 Psychological problem where firms of different standing are associated in the joint    audit.

3 General superiority complexes of some auditors.

4 Problems of co-ordination of the work.

5 Areas of work of common concern being neglected.

6 Uncertainty about the liability for the work done.