The word “audit” can strike dread in the hearts of business
owners or managers. It conjures images of IRS agents camped out in
corporate offices, combing through the books, questioning every
transaction. In reality, however, the importance of auditing is for evaluating the effectiveness of internal controls in your company. Regular auditing from Whyte & Associates, Inc. in Rancho Cucamonga can help you avoid an unpleasant IRS scenario, and these services provide many additional benefits in managing your enterprise.
You have ambitions for the success of your business, and you
have put programs into place to achieve them. Are they working? An
internal audit helps to answer that question and highlight areas that
may need adjustment to meet your corporate objectives.
Auditing services delve into business processes, evaluating the effectiveness of:
You probably already have a manager and bookkeeper on staff,
who have deep insight into how current processes work. So why use an
outside accounting firm for the audit function?
First, those individuals who have been involved in
development of processes tend to unconsciously defend workflows, even if
there are inefficiencies or other flaws. It is simply human nature to
protect what you have helped to build. Second, employees most qualified
to audit systems are also those most likely to be involved in
irregularities. Third, auditors aren’t always popular. Some employees
will not be pleased at having their work closely examined. Using a
third-party auditor avoids conflict among employees or between employees
and management.
Internal auditing results in documentation of irregularities
found (which management may choose to investigate further), and
informal proposal of improvements. With Whyte & Associates, Inc.
auditing services, there is no pressure about how to proceed – just the professional advice you need to make informed business decisions.
A company’s financial reports are meant to be an accurate
reflection of assets and liabilities. That information is essential in
determining how to allocate resources to projects, equipment, and
salaries. It indicates which product lines are returning the most and
least profit. Reliability of financial reporting is also critical to a
potential investor or buyer.
Are your company’s financial reports dependable? A material
misstatement, whether intentional or inadvertent, could create havoc in
your organization’s viability. Internal auditing assesses the risk of
misstatement, and pinpoints appropriate modifications that help you produce goods or services with consistent profitability.
A 2017 article in Forbes indicated small businesses (less than 100
employees) suffer a fraud loss of $154,000 on average, from customers,
employees, and others. It commonly occurs in the form of:
Internal auditing services are instrumental in revealing fraud and laying the groundwork for prevention. Audits can help you protect corporate financial information and accurately track payroll transactions. Auditors guide employee education programs in spotting illegal currency and return fraud. An audit program helps your company set up systems to document everything you need to report and defend workers compensation cases.
Audit serves another vital role in fraud prevention – deterrence. Having a reputation for an aggressive audit system and tight controls can keep your organization from becoming a target for fraud.
Let’s work together to keep your company operating smoothly and successfully. Call (909) 575-0080 to talk with one of the accounting professionals at Whyte & Associates in Rancho Cucamonga about auditing services.
