LEGAL STATUS OF AUDIT FIRMS AS SUBJECTS OF NON-STATE FINANCIAL CONTROL

The article studies the peculiarities of the legal status of audit firms as subjects of the non-state audit financial control conditioned by state significant public goals and whole-of-society objectives, achievement of which the institute of independent audit serves. The problem of the content of legal capacity of audit organizations is considered, the approaches to the concepts of special and exclusive legal capacity both in the scientific community and in law enforcement practice are analyzed. On the example of the legal status of audit firms the necessity of differentiation of legal categories of special legal capacity and exclusive legal capacity is substantiated on the one hand inseparably connected in their dialectical unity but on the other hand having clear legal criteria for their differentiation and fundamental differences in their essential meaning. On the basis of the conducted research the conclusion is made about the presence of both special and exclusive legal capacity of audit firms. The author points out the positive value of establishing for audit firms additional norms of both permissive and restrictive nature which are the basis for the emergence of exclusive and special legal capacity of audit firms, respectively since the combination of exclusive competence of audit firms to carry out audit activities is organically consistent with the establishment of additional legal restrictions in their activities, which serves the purpose of external control and supervision of audit firms as professional subjects of financial control, the result of which, in the form of expressing an opinion on the reliability of the audited entities’ financial statements is significant not only for potential investors and business owners but also for society and the state as a whole, and entails certain consequences of economic and legal nature being a legal fact.

audit activity, audit firms, legal status of audit firms, legal capacity of audit firms, exclusive legal capacity of audit firms, special legal capacity of audit firms, audit, finan- cial control, non-state financial control, audit financial control

Strelkova E. B. Legal status of audit firms as subjects of non-state financial control. Biznes. Obrazovanie. Pravo = Business. Education. Law. 2025;1(70):206—212. DOI: 10.25683/VOLBI.2025.70.1222.