Preparing for your annual audit doesnโt need to be time consuming or costly and it may well save you and your auditor plenty of time during the process itself. The below tips should help you to ensure that everything is ready for your audit, saving you time when โthat time of yearโ comes around!
1 โ Reconcile your bank accounts
This is a fairly simple step, especially for smaller firms, and one youโll probably be used to doing anyway, but making sure your accounts are reconciled can save a lot of time for you when the audit process itself starts. Addressing anything that doesnโt reconcile now, rather than during the audit, is another big time saver.
2 โ Make sure any changes made throughout the year have been applied properly
Changes to how businesses operate and account for their operations are common but whenever this happens and thereโs a need for something to change in your accounts make sure youโve double checked how the change was carried out: clearly, this is an area where there is a higher-than-normal likelihood of a mistake.
3 โ Where practical, carry out an internal โmini auditโ
This wonโt be to the same level as when we review your accounts for your formal audit, but carrying out an internal audit is obviously good practice and can help to flag up problems before they become more serious. Getting someone with some accounting experience involved, perhaps from a different part of the company, can have a lot of added value.
4 โ Organise for audit!
You might know where everything is in your office but your auditor likely wonโt, even if they come to your offices every year. Have everything prepared and in a position for them to get access to it easily and quickly. You donโt want to spend the entire audit hunting for that pile of receipts you โjust thought were in that drawer!โ
5 โ Questions? Just ask!
If thereโs something you know doesnโt look right โ perhaps something new or an accountancy procedure youโve never dealt with before โ just let us know up front. Weโll be happy to help talk you through it and knowing about it will help the rest of the audit procedure to operate smoothly.