The paper is devoted to the difficulties of interpreting the profession and determining the qualifications of auditors in Russia, which have become aggravated in recent years due to significant changes in the audit legislation and the self-regulation of the profession. With the help of a brief excursion into the distant and modern history of auditing in Russia, it is shown that the problem of establishing the requirements for the educational level and the competencies of auditors has always been problematic. The paper also introduces a new model of competency-based assessment of auditors—2020 which is centered around the verification of prospective auditors’ competencies pursuant to the International Education Standards.