Basic postulates of auditing which were identified by Mautz and Sharaf in "The Philosophy of Auditing" and can be summarized as follows: • Truth and fairness – The auditor is concerned that the financial statements under examination conform to law and best practice. • Independence – The auditor is independent through status and is truly objective in expression of opinion. • Evidence – An auditor arrives at his opinion through the systematic collection of evidential data on which his judgment is based. • Responsibility – The auditor does not prepare financial statements or guarantee their accuracy nor does he value the business. He is not responsible for the prevention or detection of immaterial fraud. • Data – Financial statements and financial data are verifiable. • Management support – There is no necessary conflict of interest between the auditors and the management of the enterprise under audit. • Fraud – The financial statements and other information submitted for verification are free from collusive and other unusual irregularities. • Internal Controls – The existence of a satisfactory system of internal control eliminates the probability of irregularities. • Fair representation – Consistent application of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) results in the fair presentation of financial position and the results of operations. • Operational consistency – In the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, what has held true in the past for the enterprise under examination will hold true in the future. • Professional behavior – When examining financial data for the purpose of expressing an independent opinion thereon, the auditors act exclusively in the capacity of auditor. • Audit support – The professional status of the independent auditor imposes commensurate professional obligations.