Banking Audit - Towards a Higher Degree of Harmonization

TIn the last decade, the role and nature of the statutory audit of credit institutions have became controversial, on the base of reconsidering the importance of audit of credit institutions in prevention, detection and managing of the financial crisis. The aim of the study is critical analysis of key aspects regarding the contemporary banking audit, with an emphasis on aspects that affect the quality of banking audit (normative, procedural and organisational aspects of banking audit, the “auditable” character of some banking elements etc.) and on the tipology of audit reports of credit institutions (Audit Report to the General Meeting of Shareholders, Additional Report to the Audit Committee of the credit institution, Reports to banking supervisors and Transparency report of auditor). The paper analyses for 27 European states the way in which banking auditors report on the conformity of the credit institution with organisational regulatory rules, regulatory requirements, financial reports to supervisors or special reports to supervisors. The conclusions bring to the foreground major normative changes in the area of the European credit institutions, through reforming strategies of banking audit, through a gradual and an inscreasingly restrictive progress of audit activities and of independence requirements, rotation of auditors, reporting and transparency of credit institutions.