Abstract: In the process of enterprise development, audit plays an important role in the regulation on enterprise behavior. Emerging economies have common features and peculiarities in the formation of audit markets, which is illustrated by the example of China and Russia. The article presents a retrospective of the modern history of auditing in China and Russia. Based on the method of logical addition of chronological dominants of normative and technological development of audit (the method was developed by the professor I.N. Guzov on the analysis of the audit in Russia), this research identifies six periods in the evolution of audit in China: the origin of audit ("wild" audit), the formation of pro-government auditing, government regulation and emergence of statutory audit, strengthening of audit independence and standardization, convergence and transition to international standards ,self-regulation. The common elements of the audit history in the above countries are the stages of "wild audit" and government regulation, the transition to ISA and the trend towards self-regulation in auditing, based on national characteristics.