Key Steps to Make Financial Audits More than Just a Compliance Check

Posted by Thomas Sutter, Global Solutions Centre of Excellence
The audit, typically a cumbersome, unwelcome task for the finance department, needn’t be such a burden. In fact, if done right, it presents an opportunity for process improvement, career advancement and strengthening the bottom line.
Try this exercise. Challenge one group in finance to find the errors in the books. Challenge another to create reports and tag the data. When the auditors come in, many of their questions are already answered. Plus, it presents a teachable moment for staff, both when it comes to reporting and in learning about gaps in the system and the audit process itself.