An audit can be an additional burden for the finance team in any type of company. Whether it’s an internal audit, a regulatory compliance audit, or a financial audit conducted by an external firm, the process can be daunting.

Let our experienced audit team at Fiander Tovell handle your UK company’s audit with minimal disruption, fitting around your schedule. Within the statutory process, we can focus on the areas important to you, providing valuable feedback on internal controls and risks.

To ease your mind, this guide will help you prepare, ensuring your business is organised, compliant, and ready for a successful audit.

Preparing for an Audit

Planning

Planning is crucial. The first part of preparing for any task is to confirm the deliverables and the deadlines to enable a full plan to be developed. In the lead up to an audit, our team will be in contact with you to ensure that we build a clear timeline and communicate what we will need from you

Throughout the financial year, keeping records up to date can reduce pressure as the audit approaches. Ensuring that reconciliations of key balances are completed regularly and that all the supporting source records are readily available will make the process smoother and more efficient.

Accounting Standards

Accounting standards and legal requirements change frequently. It’s essential to keep your finance team informed about new developments from regulatory bodies. Staying current with these updates reduces the time needed to track data and implement necessary changes to comply with regulations.

Our team can help ensure your finance team is always up-to-date, streamlining compliance and making the audit process more efficient.

If you’ve been audited before

If your company has been audited before, it’s important to consider any changes in its financial situation since the last audit. Significant changes, such as new transaction types or material balances, can impact the auditing process. Non-financial changes should also be considered, such as internal control system updates or changes in key personnel. Our team can help you identify and address these changes to ensure a smooth and accurate audit.

Prepare your data

Make sure you have all the items on our preparation checklist ready before the start date. This type of information requested will depend on your organisation but is likely to include:

• Access to the accounting system or specific reports from the system
• Supporting reconciliations for all key balance sheet items
• Copy bank statements
• Going concern assessment including supporting budgets and cash flow forecasts
• Other source documents such as invoices for sample testing

They may also request minutes from relevant meetings with directors and other organisational documents. It’s important to verify what is needed, even if you have successfully completed an audit before.

Next Steps

If your business needs an audit, please consider us to handle the process with minimal disruption to your team and in line with your timescales. Our specialist team of experienced auditors will plan and organise the audit with a focus on efficient delivery whilst providing valuable insights and feedback on internal controls and inherent risks. Trust us to deliver a smooth and efficient audit experience that adds real value to your business.

For more information or to make an enquiry, please contact our Head of Corporate, Adam Buse, at adambuse@fiandertovell.co.uk to get the ball rolling today!