A smooth audit can be hugely beneficial for a business. They allow you to monitor the health of the business in a number of different areas: be it financial, data or compliance. Below, we explore how you can carry out a smooth financial audit in your company.
Work with an experienced team
To ensure that the audit runs smoothly, you’ll need to work with an external team. An auditing team should offer experience and the right skills for your industry. When hiring you should also consider how well you’ll be able to work with a team – a strong relationship is crucial for the process to run without any trouble.
Transparency
For an audit to run smoothly it’s best for the process to move quickly and efficiently. One of the key ways to achieve this is by having all the relevant information instantly available for the auditors. The more transparent your business is, the easier it should be for your team to navigate the audit.
Build rapport with the team
Ideally, you’ll have a good relationship with your auditors. This can ensure that you’re on hand to solve any issues as they arise, plus the team will be comfortable sharing the process with you. The trick here is to stay engaged with the whole process. You should be able to assist with any data requests the team has and act as a bridge between the auditors and the rest of the business.
Work out a plan
Your audit plan is crucial. If everyone understands the process and the role they’re playing in it then there’ll be fewer nasty surprises. Get the plan sorted at the start of the audit and look into past audits to see if there’s a way of making your operations run more efficiently here.
Organise your data
The audit will create plenty of data – you want this to be organised and kept securely. In terms of organisation, try creating plenty of sub folders for the data to be sent to. Then, make sure that the folders are safely secured on your server and be careful about who has permission to view them.
A smooth audit bodes well for a healthy business. Just make sure that you pick the right financial auditing team to assist on the project and maintain a good relationship to ensure that it runs according to plan.
