How to Get Your Auditors In and Out of Your Office in No Time!

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Do you dread your year end audit?  Does having the auditors in your office stress you out and make for a long week?  Here are few steps to ensure your year end audit goes smoothly and quickly and gets the auditors out of your office ASAP!

1. Be prepared and plan ahead.

Communicate with your auditors before the audit and let them know about any big events, major changes, or large expenditures during the past year.

Typically, your auditor sends out a letter prior to the audit with a listing of items and documents they will want to see and review. Ensure these items are printed out or that electronic copies are available. We can provide a link so these documents can be easily sent to us using our share file web portal. This will result in fewer questions from the auditors and less time spent in your office!

Another way to ensure everything is ready, is to go through your balance sheet and ensure there is documentation or a reconciliation for all the balance sheet accounts. Your auditor will be asking for this, I guarantee!

Providing anything you can prior to audit will allow for the auditors to do pre-work before coming out, if possible.

2. Offer to prepare items or documents for them.

If there are documents normally prepared by the auditor that you think you can prepare, having these completed and reconciled will allow them to just review the work of reconciliation done instead of having to do the reconciliation themselves.

3. Do a pre-review of the trial balance before sending the records.

Doing a quick review of your trial balance and ensuring accounts reconcile to supporting documentation you are providing, will allow for a much more efficient audit and fewer questions. This includes reviewing income statement accounts and having knowledge of any major changes from prior year.

4. Be available.

Audits are typically scheduled well ahead of time. Ensure your schedule is clear during that time so you are available to answer questions when the auditors are on-site.

Just following these few steps will have those auditors in and out of your office in no time. See your year end audit doesn’t sound so bad now, right? 😊

 

How to Prepare for a First Time Audit

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The term “audit” is often intimidating, especially when you are going through the process for the first time. However, if you work closely with your auditor and plan ahead, the process can be smooth and non-intrusive.

Steps to prepare for your audit:

1. Set out a realistic schedule

When you are preparing for your first audit you need to set out a realistic schedule. The process does require a time commitment, especially in the first year. You will need to set aside time for pre-work, which will include the preparation of the documents that the auditor has requested. Next, you will need to be available for the auditor’s questions during their field work. Finally, there will be additional follow-up questions and meetings. Being aware of the time commitment and setting up a schedule will help with making the process run smoothly.

2. Have a pre-audit meeting with the auditor

Pre-audit meetings are crucial to allow the auditor to fully understand the business, including the policies and procedures that are in place. This meeting is also a great time to sit down and go over the required documents to ensure that you are aware of what the auditor is looking for. Finally, this meeting provides an opportunity to outline everyone’s expectations to ensure that all parties are on the same page.

3. During the field work

In order to have your fieldwork over with quickly, it is best to have the requested documents prepared in advance, and available prior to the auditor’s arrival. This avoids any inefficiencies of having to wait for requested documents. During the fieldwork you will also need to be available for any questions that the auditor may have. Assuming that the documents are prepared this shouldn’t be too time consuming.

4. Ask questions

As auditors we are aware that this is your first time being audited and available to answer any questions. If you have questions be sure to ask, we are here to help.

A first-time audit can be very frightening, however if you are aware of process and expectation it can be non-intrusive and over before you know it!

Extended Office Hours during April 2023

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Tax Season Office Hours: In addition to our regular office hours of 8:00am - 5:00pm, Monday to Friday, our office will be open extended hours during the month of April 2023.

April 15 (Saturday): Open 10:00am - 2:00pm

April 17-21 (Monday to Friday): Open an additional hour until 6:00pm

April 22 (Saturday): Open 10:00am - 2:00pm

April 24-28 (Monday to Friday): Open an additional hour until 6:00pm

April 29 (Saturday): Open 10:00am - 2:00pm

Please also note that our office will be CLOSED on Friday, April 7 for Good Friday.  It will also be CLOSED on Friday, May 5 to give our team a well deserved rest after a busy tax season!