Crisis of Confidence in Auditors: Russian Experience

The present research on auditing of Russian commercial banks demonstrates why users of financial reports no longer have confidence in the auditor's reports. The example of the banks placed in liquidation illustrates the fact that audit has not allowed users of financial statements to mitigate their information risks. Further inspections showed that 90% of the auditor's reports prepared for Russian commercial banks did not prove to be reliable.Speaking about the activity of audit firms – the Big Four, medium and small businesses – in Russia, it might be stated that auditing of financial statements has many facets; it may serve as:•a tool of total monitoring of activities performed by key players of national economies at the age of globalization•an element of investment marketing•a democratic institution of independent financial control.