Do you need a new auditing firm?

Choosing the right auditing partner is an extremely important decision. It’s a relationship built on trust given how closely involved auditors are in your financial affairs. And when things start to get stressful, you want someone who has a clear understanding of your business and processes.  

In order to add value to your business, it’s essential that they bring the right combination of qualifications, experience and practical know-how, but what if they don’t? Here are four signs that it might be time to look for a new auditing firm.

It isn’t a true partnership

An auditing partner should be reliable and trustworthy as well as someone who can anticipate problems before they arise and who can work with you to resolve them quickly.  

You want someone who knows your business inside and out, who will treat your business issues as their own and who can work collaboratively with you and your team to alleviate any issues. However, this might not always be the case.

They lack experience

Sometimes when an auditing firm is first trying to win your business, they’ll wheel out the big wigs to try and wow you with their expertise and experience. Except that once you’ve signed the contract, you end up dealing with the junior members of the team who have much less experience in the auditing process. 

If this is the case, it’s probably time to look for a firm that values your business and will service it with the most experienced staff. It also helps if your auditing firm has experience within your industry as this means they will have a thorough understanding of the financial issues relevant to your industry.

You get hit with additional costs

Another way in which some auditing firms first get you across the line is by quoting a lower than average price that includes many assumptions and hidden costs when the work takes longer than expected.

As the client, it’s better to ask for a fixed fee arrangement which indicates that the firm is willing to build a long term relationship with you by writing off any extra costs in order to get the job done properly.

You’re not confident in their abilities

It’s stressful enough worrying about compliance without having to worry about your auditors missing something important. You want to have confidence in your auditing firm’s abilities and trust that they know what they’re doing because that’s what you pay them for. 

As a result, it’s worth choosing an auditing firm that takes the time to understand your business and who applies a solid auditing methodology that involves planning and scoping, fieldwork and reporting of results when undertaking their auditing process. And if you find that the directors and managers of your current auditing firm aren’t taking an active role in your business, then it might be time to look for a new firm. 

If you think it’s time to change auditing firms, talk to our team today and find out how we can help with your accounting and auditing needs.

About the author

Colin Grady is a trusted auditor and accountant drawing upon over forty years of extensive experience in Australia across a variety of industries. Colin builds strong working relationships with clients and prides himself on his professional, down-to-earth approach to achieving the best outcomes for our clients.