PARTICULARS INVESTIGATION AUDITING :

PARTICULARS	INVESTIGATION	AUDITING
1. Meaning	Investigation implies systematic, critical and special examination of the records of a business for a specific purpose.	An audit is independent examination of financial information of any entity, when such an examination is conducted with a view to expressing an opinion thereon.
2. Nature For others,	Voluntary	Mandatory for Companies. it is voluntary.
3. Conducted by Any person,	who may not be a  Chartered Accountant.	A Chartered Accountant within the meaning of the Chartered Accountants Act 1949.
4. Appointing Agency	Owners or Management or even third	Owners/Shareholders of the enterprise
5. Protection of Interests	Work is carried out from the viewpoint of the appointing agency.	Work is carried out on behalf of the owners, even if the power of appointment is delegated to say, Board of Directors.
6. Scope and Coverage	Specific – Seeks to answer only those questions laid down in the engagement letter.	General – when compared to investigation – seeks to form an opinion on the Financial Statements.
7. Period Covered	Not necessarily restricted to a financial year. It can extend for a period  consisting of a number of years.	Generally a period of one financial year.
8. Pre conceptions	Its essence lies in going into the matter with some pre-conceived notion suited to the objective.	Audit is not based on suspicion unless circumstances exist to arouse suspicion.
9. Evidence	Seeks conclusive and corroborative evidence.	Much of audit evidence is persuasive rather than conclusive.
10. Form of Reporting	There is no statutory form of investigation report.	The matters to be covered in the audit report are sometimes prescribed by law.