Communicate to achieve a positive audit experience

• Published date: 01 September 2017
• Date: 01 September 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.30530

8 Board & Administrator

DOI 10.1002/ban © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved

Communicate to achieve

a positive audit experience

An annual audit of the organization’s finances

emphasizes the importance of strong internal con-

trols and assures the board that the nonprofit isn’t

facing legal or financial issues.

Frequent communication throughout the year is

essential to the board’s understanding of the audit.

Conduct a preaudit interview in your office with

the board’s auditor and several board members

(the finance committee or audit committee would

be ideal) prior to the actual audit. This will allow

board members to become comfortable with the

auditors and review the prior year.

The board members can make themselves more

comfortable with the process and procedures the

audit requires by asking the auditors questions

about accounting processes while also answering

questions from the auditor.

This preaudit interview will make the process

flow smoothly by giving board representatives the

opportunity to offer perspective on the organiza-

tion’s financial issues and procedures. This inter-

view sets the tone for the rest of the audit.

Following this session, the auditors will conduct

the audit and compile the results. Each board

member should receive a complete copy of the

audit, although ideally the auditor should create a

presentation with 15–20 slides that are pertinent

to the organization’s issues and easy to under-

stand for lay board members.

The executive director should exit the meeting

room as the board spends time with the audi-

tor to ask any questions it may have. Then, the

board should vote to accept the audit and place it

on file. ■

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