Audit Readiness & Support Consultants: What Do They Do?

Whether you’ve been through an audit many times before or are gearing up for your very first one, it’s important to understand that the auditing process doesn’t become any less complex over time.

Changing laws and regulations, the need to procure years’ worth of historical financial data and documents, and the potential for unexpected costs to accrue are some of the many challenges companies face when being audited.

It’s essential to get ahead of them and do everything in your power to ensure a successful audit by turning to an audit readiness and support consultant for guidance.

Everything you need to know about Audit Readiness and Support consultants:

1. What is Audit Readiness and Support?
2. What does an Audit Readiness and Support consultant do?
3. How do Audit Readiness and Support consultants help your business?
4. When should you hire an Audit Readiness and Support consultant?

What is Audit Readiness and Support?

Audit readiness and support involves analyzing systems, processes, internal controls, documentation efforts and more to ensure they’re in accordance with today’s standards and best practices.

With the proper preparation and access to the right expertise, audit readiness and support activities are helpful tools used to identify potential areas across your business that may be vulnerable to risk or aren’t in compliance with today’s laws and regulations, allowing you to implement measures that strengthen your business well before auditing season rolls around.

Audit Readiness and Support activities:

• Cash to Accrual Accounting: Converting organizations to the accrual accounting method to develop better reporting accuracy, provide real-time visibility and offer more options for scaling
• Technical Accounting: Ensuring compliance with standards such as ASC 606 (Revenue Recognition), ASC 842 (Leases) and ASC 326 (Credit Losses); Handling complex debt/equity arrangements, and purchase price accounting
• PCAOB Audit Preparation: Integrating measures to achieve a higher level of financial transparency and ensure the gathering of the right data and disclosures
• Ongoing Audit Support: Reviewing company procedures on an ongoing basis to ensure continuous compliance

What does an Audit Readiness and Support consultant do?

Audit readiness and support consultants combine technical capabilities with extensive financial expertise to analyze your business for areas of improvement and implement measures that ensure adherence to accounting standards and best practices, helping to reduce the complexity of the auditing process, overcome the potential for unexpected costs to accrue and maximize operational efficiency.

Skills of Audit Readiness and Support consultants:

• Developing roadmaps, checklists and assessments for audit readiness
• Preparing financial statements
• Documenting complex finance and accounting procedures
• Assessing the financial health of the business
• Analyzing and reworking KPIs, operational procedures, systems, internal controls and more as needed
• Ensuring adherence to finance and accounting standards, best practices and compliance with laws and regulations

How do Audit Readiness and Support consultants help your business?

• Conducting assessments to ensure audit readiness well ahead of time
• Ensuring the gathering of accurate financial data and documentation in preparation for an audit and to provide real-time visibility into company ongoings
• Reducing risks and threats by identifying areas for improvement across your finance and accounting functions and implementing measures to overcome potential issues
• Coordinating with auditors, audit committees and more to conduct proper testing and ensure laws and regulations are being followed, giving you more time to focus on overall goal development
• Working across departments with high-level executives to assign audit-related duties as needed, leading to a smoother auditing process overall

7 Tips for a Successful Audit, Plus Best Practices

When should you hire an Audit Readiness and Support consultant?

While auditing season typically occurs from January to April, audit readiness and support activities need to be conducted on a continuous basis in order to reduce the potential for timeline delays, unexpected costs, control deficiencies and many other issues that can arise.

In order to ensure a successful audit and avoid problems along the way, hiring an audit readiness and support consultant is essential.

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