Good news - your company’s annual financial statement audit does not have to cause anyone anxiety given the alternative solutions available.
Every auditor has walked into a business at the start of fieldwork and been greeted with a long sigh and a phrase along the lines of, “Oh no, it must be that time of the year again.” Good news - your company’s annual financial statement audit does not have to cause anyone anxiety given the alternative solutions available. Imagine an audit where nearly every stone has already been turned and your auditors are greeted with an audit package that has been blessed by CPAs and fellow financial professionals. The following tasks are just a few of the steps your company may need to go through in order to prepare and complete your company’s audit.
You run a business and therefore should not have to perform all of these tasks by yourself given all of the “hats” that CFO’s, controllers, managers, etc. wear on a daily basis. Can you truly afford to interrupt the day-to-day operations of your company to get ready for your company’s annual financial statement audit or review? Here are just a few reasons why your company should consider an external resource for financial statement preparation services.
Unexpected overages and excess billings in financial statement engagements constantly plague growing businesses that lack prepared accounting teams. Rather than unnecessarily or prematurely expanding the company’s accounting department, a team of CPAs and technical accountants can perform these tasks quickly and efficiently drastically reducing excessive fees. This avoids creating a permanent solution for a temporary problem.
By preparing for your audit in advance of your auditors’ arrival, your company is in a better position to complete audit work papers and documentation well in advance of the required deadlines set forth by the financial statement users.
Regulators are closely monitoring and enforcing auditor independence rules; thus, your audit firm will not be able to assist like they used to. An audit preparedness team can partner with your public accounting firm to create and continue an amicable relationship during your company’s audit. Having a subject matter expert working with the company is music to your auditor’s ears.
As noted previously, your accounting team can focus on day-to-day accounting and financial duties, saving potential bottlenecks in business operations. Your finance team leaders will be able to focus on tasks better suited for company profitability, with minimal time obligations spent on the annual audit.
You can dictate how much involvement you want throughout your audit – ranging from assistance with the most technical issues to having the audit preparedness team act as your main audit reporting function.
Given the increased focus on audit quality in today’s world, the level of effort needed to complete your company’s annual financial statement review or audit is constantly growing. Engaging an expert team of technical accountants and audit professionals may be the resource you need to ensure your company’s financial statement audit progresses smoothly. The time to prepare for your company’s financial statement audit is not after your books are closed - the time is now!
To learn more or inquire about how Clearview Group can help your organization, please reach out to:
We are a full-service management consulting and CPA firm covering all aspects of audit, compliance, risk management, accounting, finance, tax, IT risk, and more. Just let us know what you need help with and an expert will be in touch!
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