AUDIT FIRMS
For auditors facing growing complexity, seasonal workload spikes, and rising client expectations, partnering with a specialist audit delivery firm offers a powerful advantage.
Our ex-Big 4 professionals integrate seamlessly as an extension of your team, bringing deep technical expertise to flawlessly execute your audit tasks without disrupting your client relationships or your brand.
By combining forces, we can help you scale your capacity on demand, stay ahead of evolving regulations, and uphold the highest standards. We can perform the audit and prepare the file for your review, allowing you to assess and challenge our work before signing the report. We can also act as registered auditors for your clients, whereby we complete the audit and also sign the report.
The Audit Experts execute tasks with precision, so let us handle the heavy lifting. We provide you with the confidence to meet deadlines, relieve the pressure on your staff, and allow you to focus on building client relationships and growing your practice. We will work closely with you to ensure we meet and exceed your expectations, using a model designed to enhance the profitability and quality of your audit engagements, leading you to see noticeable improvements.
WHY PARTNER WITH THE AUDIT EXPERTS?
Maintain Regulatory Compliance
Both the ICAEW and ACCA have tightened their compliance criteria in recent years and are now expecting more from audit firms in terms of compliance and quality. If you are unable to complete an audit for any reason, you can assign it to us, allowing you to continue to retain your clients and minimise disruption to the business.
Case Study:
We assisted a firm that was unable to accept new audit clients due to restrictions imposed by the regulators. The firm was required to make improvements to its audit quality before undertaking further work. The audit firm introduced us to one of their potential new clients for auditing purposes, and they secured the contract with them to provide accounting and tax services.
Case Study:
We assisted a firm that was unable to accept new audit clients due to restrictions imposed by the regulators. The firm was required to make improvements to its audit quality before undertaking further work. The audit firm introduced us to one of their potential new clients for auditing purposes, and they secured the contract with them to provide accounting and tax services.
Comply with Ethical Principles
It is essential for audit firms to adhere to ethical principles. If your firm also provides accounting advisory services, you may be compromising objectivity and independence. Passing your auditing obligations to a non-competing firm, such as The Audit Experts, will ensure you remain compliant.
Case Study:
We recently helped a firm that held an audit licence but was unable to perform a specific audit due to a recent change in ethical standards. The updated standards required firms to consider fee dependency across entities under common control, and as a result, the client exceeded the suggested threshold. We stepped in and performed the audit for them.
Case Study:
We recently helped a firm that held an audit licence but was unable to perform a specific audit due to a recent change in ethical standards. The updated standards required firms to consider fee dependency across entities under common control, and as a result, the client exceeded the suggested threshold. We stepped in and performed the audit for them.
Reclaim Time to Focus on Profitable Engagements
If you find you have more work than you can cope with, hiring more staff might seem like the only option. But if the extra audit workload is only seasonal, recruitment is not a viable solution. Delegating your less profitable or complex audit activities to us, or recommending us as your audit partner, allows you to continue to retain all your clients for accounting and advisory work and frees your time to focus on more important, and profitable, client projects.
Case Study:
A small firm had surrendered its audit licence due to increased compliance requirements in the UK. They asked us to perform their audits for them, while they continued to provide their clients with advisory services.
Case Study:
A small firm had surrendered its audit licence due to increased compliance requirements in the UK. They asked us to perform their audits for them, while they continued to provide their clients with advisory services.
Connect with Technical Experts
Our technical specialists remain available to help with any accounting matter you face while executing your audit. You can reach out to our team to discuss audit judgements and ensure management accounting treatment complies with the relevant standards. Our specialists can also help maintain compliance with recent changes, including ISA 315 and the risk assessment and disclosure requirements relating to ESG.
Case Study:
We were asked by an audit firm to act as a technical reviewer on the audits they performed. We were involved in all stages of the audit, from planning to completion, and challenged the audit team’s conclusions. This provided comfort to the Responsible Individual before they signed the audit opinion and helped the audit firm improve its documentation and testing process.
Case Study:
We were asked by an audit firm to act as a technical reviewer on the audits they performed. We were involved in all stages of the audit, from planning to completion, and challenged the audit team’s conclusions. This provided comfort to the Responsible Individual before they signed the audit opinion and helped the audit firm improve its documentation and testing process.
Access Specialist Resources
Auditing is a specialised skill that requires considerable investment, particularly in human resources. For audit firms with less than a dozen audit engagements, it can be difficult and expensive to hire specialist audit staff. We are well-versed in auditing standards (ISA), accounting standards (IFRS, IAS, FRS 101, FRS 102), and industry laws and regulations. Our team of dedicated audit specialists, including ex Managers and Directors from Big 4 and Top 20 firms, are experts in the areas of IT, CASS, Valuation, and ESG. Our team also has experience working with UK audit regulators and fully understands their expectations, enabling us to raise your firm’s audit quality to the level expected.
Sell Blocks of Audit Fees
If you have a block of audit fees that you are unable to serve, The Audit Experts can take them off your hands. Whether you are a sole practitioner with a small number of audits or are considering purchasing an accounting firm with existing audit work that you cannot perform, you can sell them to us.
TRAINING
In addition to providing audit services, we also offer customised audit training programmes. Our team members have significant expertise, having previously worked with Big 4 and Top 20 audit firms. They are also experienced in dealing with audit regulators, including the Financial Reporting Council, so they understand their expectations of audit firms. Highly competent in accounting standards, with years of experience providing accounting and technical support, The Audit Experts is the ideal choice to train your staff on auditing standards and processes. We can also provide guidance on the standardisation of audit working papers, challenge your firm’s testing approach, and help your team improve audit documentation.
Review Hot and Cold Files
We assist audit firms in conducting both hot and cold reviews of their files. A cold file review entails a comprehensive examination of audit files that have been finalised and signed off. This assessment aims to verify that the audit was conducted in compliance with applicable accounting and auditing standards, as well as the firm’s audit methodology. It also identifies potential areas for improvement in the audit process. In contrast, a hot file review is performed on audit papers prior to being approved. This evaluation is beneficial as it identifies any concerns that must be resolved before sign-off. Both reports include important practical recommendations for enhancing audit quality and highlight areas where efficiency can be improved.
Our Tailored Approach
When you collaborate with The Audit Experts, we will familiarise ourselves with your audit methodologies and software to make the process as seamless as possible. We will complete the audit and prepare a working paper file that aligns with your methodology for your review. You will then be invited to assess and challenge our work before signing the audit. We can also act as registered auditors for your clients.
We are familiar with numerous audit methodologies, including those used by Big 4 and Top 20 firms. For example, Mercia, PCAS, and HAT Group methodologies. We also have experience working with a variety of audit software programs, including myworkpapers, CaseWare, Inflo, and PCAS Audit Files.
Please contact us for an initial discussion about how we can help your audit firm – whether you are considering outsourcing your services, would like assistance reviewing hot or cold files, or require technical support. We’re happy to provide you with details of our references so you can obtain the perspectives of audit firms we currently work with.
