Audit activity is a variety of service industries, and cannot be developed independently of the major trends in this area. A strategicdirection in the development of audit is creation of the international market of auditing services with unified rules and standardsregulating audit, and creation of uniform quality criteria. This article examines the concept of quality audit service, analyzes themain problems of legislative and methodological character in the area of external and internal audit control in Latvia, and considersopportunities and ways of improvement based on international experience. The research results can be applied to construction anddevelopment of the systems of external and internal audit control, which will be providing the most reliable information about thestate of business of companies-customers, their performance and prospects for sustainable development. The financial stability ofa company, confirmed by the independent, objective opinion of an auditor, increases the growth of investments, the price of shares,improves the company’s reputation in the financial market and ultimately contributes to the stable development of a region.
In condition of global financial crisis companies and investors pay greater and greater attention to the reliability of financial records. An efficient system of internal control (ICS) contributes significantly to this effect. The aim of the research is to consolidate the international experience in the sphere of the development and regulation of the system of internal control, to assess the feasibility of its application to various Latvian enterprises, and to propose a conception and a model of realisation of ICS in medium and small companies. According to the author, there are two main obstacles to the application of the studied theories relevant to the field of internal control in Latvia. The first one is the insufficiency of legislative framework, intended only for listed companies, and the second one is a start-up phase of business development, when the owner and top management are often combined in one and the same person and, therefore, they may believe that all is under their control and there is no need to create a special system of control. The theoretical and methodological foundation of the research was derived from the study of a wide range of activities in the field of corporate management and internal control as well as provisions of regulatory and legislative acts defining the scope of requirements to ICS. In order to achieve the set aim, several objectives were realised: the regulation of ICS in the area of corporate legislation of the USA and the EU was analysed; the conceptual principles and existing models of internal control were summarised; the concept of development of the ICS for medium and small enterprises was formulated, and the necessity to introduce recommendations to the currently effective legislation of Latvia was substantiated.