Ermessen und Ermessenskontrolle in Revision und Revisionsaufsicht

Judgement is of vital importance in the world of accounting and auditing. With a view to auditing, judgement is the auditor’s leeway in decision-making conferred upon by regulation and standards formulated in an open way. But the exercise of judgement is not at the auditor’s exclusive discretion; it has to be exercised with professional due care, which is conditioned by the observance of the following frameworks: (i) audit regulation (laws, ordinances, and administrative ordinances), (ii) intent and purpose of audit regulation, (iii) audit standards, and (iv) obligation to justify one’s own reasoning and appropriate documentation thereof. Professional skepticism and adequate audit documentation are of particular importance in this regard. The exercise of judgement can however be impaired by cognitive distortion (biases). Not least because of this risk, the legislator has created a public audit regulator, the FAOA, fully authorized to review the exercise of professional judgment.

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