PCPS Update.

Smarter Audits

Does your firm perform audits in the most efficient way? Is it possible to cut the amount of time spent on the process without sacrificing quality? The answer is YES!

The PCPS Task Force on Adding Value to Peer Review, whose mission is to discover ways for PCPS members to gain added benefit from the peer review process, commissioned a survey on best practices in audits of not-for-profit entities (NPOs) and has released the results in a pamphlet, Smarter Audits. Why did PCPS target the NPO sector? Because it poses many challenges to audit efficiency. By surveying practitioners in this sector, PCPS can find valuable lessons that can be applied to any industry. Smarter Audits outlines the best practices identified in the NPOs.

The study found that there are four fundamental steps to achieving audit efficiency:

1. Managing and training the client

2. Retaining clients and staff

3. Proper planning

4. Risk assessment

The ultimate goal of any CPA firm is to add the most value for its client. When firms work efficiently, they are better equipped to identify problems and solutions that make audit engagements more valuable to clients. Firms in the survey took advantage of their ability to provide guidance and ideas for improvement whenever possible, and their overall goal was to better position themselves as business advisers.

The following steps were cited consistently as contributing to audit efficiency:

* Streamline the process.

* Adopt an approach based on risk and...