Improving the auditor and audit client experience

When firms lack efficient internal operations, it is difficult to produce audits that deliver the high value and clear insights demanded by clients. Firms that lack the technology for an integrated, paperless audit workflow will face tremendous challenges in a post-pandemic work environment defined by cloud solutions and remote work.

There are seven common problems with audit workflows that drain efficiency and hurt the quality in a post-pandemic work environment. At most firms, problems within audit workflows arise from one or more of these issues:

Ongoing integration issues

If the staff has to switch back and forth between multiple legacy audit software systems that lack integration, it causes inefficiencies. Rekeying data is not a productive use of an audit professional’s time and can result in costly errors.

Lack of automation

Automating the way data flows to minimize manual data entry will increase the quality and profitability of each audit.

Unreliable compliance management

Older audit systems weren’t designed for compliance with today’s complex and rapidly evolving auditing standards.

Lack of visibility

Everyone on the audit team needs to be able to determine what’s going on with the audit from a single source of truth. If the audit steps are contained in separate systems, it’s difficult for partners or managers to see the status of the engagement. 

Difficult collaboration

On‑premise systems make it difficult to share work with team members, share documents across multiple office locations, or review and provide feedback for the team while they are out of the office.

One‑size‑fits‑all audit checklists or programs

When the firm’s risk assessment and audit planning don’t tailor audit steps to the client, staff members may not really understand why they are performing audit procedures. This can easily lead to over- or under-auditing.

Unmanageable data

Auditors may feel as though they don’t have the knowledge or training to perform data analytics procedures and do not know how to interpret the results of analytical procedures. Robust analytic tools can be costly and, therefore, not accessible to every auditor and every audit. 

If your firm is struggling with any or all of the above, consider downloading Auditor’s Reality Post‑Pandemic, a white paper by Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP, MBA

Jim explains how firms can achieve higher quality and more efficient audits, reliable audit solutions, and how to stay ahead of emerging changes with timely and comprehensive accounting and audit information tools in a post-pandemic environment. 

Complete the form below to download Auditor’s Reality Post‑Pandemic, a white paper by Jim Boomer, CPA.CITP, MBA