Audit is an independent examination with the goal of ascertaining the validity and reliability of information. The word "audit" translated from Latin means "hearing".

Audit is a form of financial control, the need for which appeared simultaneously with the birth and development of barter and monetary transactions. The first country to establish a system of financial control was China about 700 BC.

In today's business world, audit is not only an annual obligation, but also a great way to identify and correct any deficiencies and errors of the existing system taxation. Tax audit can be either external or internal, each with its own uniqueness.

Development of an audit has been closely connected with the history of financial and industrial markets of individual countries and was determined primarily by character of capital markets.