For most small business owners, the thought of a financial audit is about as exciting as getting a root canal. But audits can reveal important information about the financial position and organization of a business, making them an invaluable tool.
Don Fornes, CEO and founder of Software Advice, wrapped up an audit of his company earlier this year and has the following tips to offer other business owners working with accountants to complete a full audit.
1. Start with organization.
Whatever your long-term aspirations are as a business owner and company, communicate this plan with your accountant and push them to track finances accordingly.
2. Align accounting and reporting.
Your accrual accounting should be on the same timeline as your reporting. For example, if you report on your finances monthly, conduct your accrual accounting monthly. This will avoid endless hours spent on reversals/corrections later.
3. Fix your fixed assets.
Fixed asset tracking is difficult for many companies. Software Advice created an Excel spreadsheet that you can download here, to properly take into account for taxes and services that are a part of the purchase value of fixed assets.
4. Keep a digital record.
It’s worthwhile to keep a digital record of everything so when the time comes, you can refer to a document instantly. For example, be sure to digitally file bank statements because older statements can be unavailable online and copies may be difficult to obtain.
5. Employee PTO counts.
While paid time off is tracked from an hourly or daily value from a human resources standpoint, it has to be expressed on your balance sheet in terms of dollars. One idea is to connect every hour of paid time off an employee earned to their compensation each pay period.
6. Factor in deferred rent.
Proper Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) accounting requires the value of a lease to be equally dispersed over a given period. So even if you get a few months of free rent, you need to recalculate for accounting purposes accordingly.
7. Correctly categorize expenses.
While audit financials may be rolled-up into broader categories (sales and marketing, research and development, general and administrative), granular tracking is common. But keep in mind which broader category each line item would fall under to avoid a difficult time allocating items later on.
8. Close your books each month.
Reconciling records each month ensures that expenses don’t fall through the cracks and makes it easier to catch any discrepancies.
9. Audit the team!
When interviewing potential auditors, ensure you’re communicating with the staff that will be helping you throughout the process. Knowing the team is a good fit from the start will help make the entire audit process go smoothly.
Financial audits are no small project, especially if you’re conducting one for the first time. Understanding how to conduct an audit now can make life easier for you in the long run.
Thanks for a great information.
Useful article ! Financial accounting does not based on only about cash flow and management or knowing about the profits and losses but it is the management of the financial flow across the business and thereby managing it to promote business growth and development. Throughout the flow the accounting equation has to be maintained that is, Assets should be always equal to the Liabilities plus Capital.
very well written article. last two points catch my eyes, close your book every month so there will not be any chance of misleading or wrong result. And audit the team regularly will help you to manage any future financial issues.
Thanks for the great tips Emily. From my experience, I have a suggestion. Try to provide trial balance one week in advance. It reduces unnecessary delays.
Great advice, Steve!
I liked that you talked about inspecting the books each month. That does seem like it would help you prevent accounting issues. After all, you would be able to catch problems and errors faster.
I like how you suggested starting with organization when preparing for an audit. My work is having a financial audit that I am helping with. I appreciate the tips for preparing for an audit.
thanks for the information
I would also like to add that it’s important to set everything organized in the beginning of the process and make sure to set a timeline for your financial audit. By preparing in advance, you may avoid any problems that could possibly occur and make everything smooth.
For most small business owners, the thought of a financial audit is about as exciting as getting a root canal. But audits can reveal important information about the financial position and organization of a business, making them an invaluable tool.
Thanks
My mom and I are going to start a business soon, and we want to know how we should prepare for a financial audit. I love that you talked about completely organizing all the records, and much more. Although I loved your recommendations, I do believe that when the day comes we’ll look for an auditing service.
I liked that you pointed out that it would be smart to consider looking at the PTO when it comes to dealing with an audit as a small business owner. Personally, I would want to get an accountant to help me handling any issues with the audit.
You make a great point about how PTO needs to be expressed in the balance sheet. That would be really hard to tabulate if you don’t have some kind of bookkeeping service and everything is done on paper. I’ll have to get a bookkeeper to track PTO and sales tax for the end of the year.
Although business owners traditionally regard an annual audit and preparation of year end accounts as a statutory evil and unnecessary cost, we look at it as an opportunity for our clients for an independent review of their financial and management systems. This can result in the identification of problems areas within our client’s businesses as well as an opportunity to review and improve areas of business performance.