Quora Answer: According to Shari’ah, is It Permissible for Muslims to Work in Audit Companies?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “According to shari’ah, is it permissible for Muslims to work in audit companies such as PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG?” 

Audit companies objectively examine, evaluate and verify the financial statements of the audited entity to ensure that the records are an accurate representation of the transactions, and that said transactions are in compliance with all legal requirements.  In what way would that be contrary to shari’ah?  If the claim is that they are witnesses to riba’, usury, then I contend that this is nonsense.  The auditor is not party to the transactions.  This is before we even contend on whether this is actually riba’.  There has to be a sense of perspective and logic.