audit & assurance

thomson reuters brings al to audit solutions

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auditors can experience increased efficiency, enhanced accuracy and improved transparency.

by rick richardson
technology this week

thomson reuters, a global content and technology company focused on the public accounting profession, launched thomson reuters audit intelligence recently. this suite of ai-powered, data-driven audit solutions is designed to transform audit practices by reducing errors and enhancing confidence while enabling auditors to realize efficiency gains.

more: technology this week with rick richardson

the first tool in the suite, audit intelligence analyze, employs ai and machine learning to enhance audit quality and efficiency simultaneously. the solution focuses on high-risk areas by efficiently segmenting audit testing populations based on risk level and reducing the number of items to be tested. with advanced anomaly detection, analyze integrates directly within existing workflows, identifying unusual items often overlooked by humans and automatically generating all necessary audit documentation.
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are you using the right business model?

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own your expertise and price it accordingly – yes, even in audits. 

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

those firms that value the chargeable hour above all risk losing their best team members. the ones who want to think, innovate and come up with creative ideas that add value to the client and the firm will leave.

more: give advice while remaining independent |  stop mixing up your v’s and losing your best people | how to upgrade c and d clients | can a service center model solve audit staffing shortages? | move to advisory and assurance with relevance | use eight audit exit items to deepen client relationships | know your three audit w’s | planning lays the foundation of audit relevance | are you correctly identifying the relevance intersection?
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when audits are billed out on a flat-fee basis, is an hourly rate still relevant? tracking time isn’t a revenue system if it does not impact what the client pays you. the billable hour is nothing more than a cost accounting system. production is what the client pays for, so measuring that, plus instituting measures for accountability, more closely mirrors what brings money in the door.

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jeff joireman: how csr drives consumer behavior | know-how korner

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beyond its ethical implications, csr can bring tangible financial gains, including increased sales and market share.  

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know-how korner
with donny shimamoto
center for accounting transformation

corporate social responsibility has become more than just a buzzword; it’s a critical component of modern business strategy.

more: donny shimamoto

in the latest episode of know-how korner, donny shimamoto hosts jeff joireman, a distinguished professor of marketing at washington state university, who shares his extensive research on csr and its profound impact on consumer behavior.  read more →

kelly mann: be the bull in the china shop | the disruptors

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stop following saly. think about what you are trying to accomplish. plus 17 key takeaways.

this is a preview. the complete 1-hour video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to pro members | go pro here

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the disruptors
with liz farr

kelly mann wants firms to stop relying on saly – same as last year – for everything: “everything is same as last year, the way we give bonuses to people, the way we split partner compensation, the way we monitor hours, the way we prepare a work paper, the way we plan an audit,” she says.

more podcasts and videos: alicia katz pollock: create a human-centric business |  nancy mcclelland: be the one your clients ask first |alan whitman: stop accepting the status quo | sean duncan: discover your own genius | ingrid edstrom: true wealth is not financial | caleb jenkins: firm growth requires owners to shift roles | chris hervochon: be the leader you want to work for | ira rosenbloom: don’t merge for the money | adam lean: get out of the accountant’s trap

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when she started in audit, mann was told to “try not to be such a bull in a china shop.”  she saw many opportunities for improvement by departing from saly, but leadership told her, “don’t have crazy ideas, don’t mix everything up, because change is hard and change disrupts.”

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give advice while remaining independent

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find the magic 20 percent that could create clients for life.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

the pillars of our ethics are objectivity and integrity, and our profession has chosen independence to measure our objectivity as cpas. we can still offer advice and insight to our clients and remain objective. we cannot, however, act in the capacity of management. our clients must decide which ideas to use and implement them.

more: stop mixing up your v’s and losing your best people | empower your team by dumping c and d clients | eleven types of audit clients and which to fire | don’t take on audits in an industry you don’t understand | how ‘business expert cpas’ get their own business wrong | exceptional audit client service demands effective communication | five ways to prevent audit bottlenecks | how do we drive relevance in audit? | lack of relevance drives audit commoditization | four basic understandings every auditor must master
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

the tricky part comes when something we recommend fails. for example, let’s say a client asks for software advice, and they choose one of the three options we suggest. but that package isn’t working. now, can we be objective enough to admit that the advice we gave them and they paid for was wrong? do we have the integrity to tell the client they must write off the cost of that capitalized software? can we be objective enough to face the possible negative consequences and not just protect ourselves?

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stop mixing up your v’s and losing your best people

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when you take a value-based approach to your firm, you measure success in two ways.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

those firms that value the chargeable hour above all risk losing their best team members. the ones who want to think, innovate and come up with creative ideas that add value to the client and the firm will leave.

more: empower your team by dumping c and d clients | the new formula for an accounting business | don’t risk losing good employees for bad clients | four questions to make your firm more successful as a business | say adios to audit fee pressure | deliver more audit value by getting out of the conference room | six essential elements in audit planning | before the audit: more than just planning | five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership | put the ethics code to work for your clients and your firm
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

my associate corey told me about his experience and why he left his last firm. see if this sounds familiar:

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empower your team by dumping c and d clients

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keeping bad clients can do more harm than you might think.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

have you ever sat down with your team to get their honest opinions about what it’s like working with each one of your clients? this is an essential exercise if you want to build an empowered team. their experiences with the same client and people may differ vastly from yours. clients may treat the audit partner with respect but not the staff.

more: the new formula for an accounting business | how to upgrade c and d clients | can a service center model solve audit staffing shortages? | move to advisory and assurance with relevance | use eight audit exit items to deepen client relationships | know your three audit w’s | planning lays the foundation of audit relevance | are you correctly identifying the relevance intersection? | traditional audits don’t deserve premium billing | turning audit & accounting into assurance & advisory | stop sending the wrong message to audit teams
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

your team wants to do quality work, but they may struggle to deliver if the clients don’t honor their end of the agreement.

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the new formula for an accounting business

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productivity isn’t the same as putting in the hours.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

getting the right clients and projects goes a long way toward building a profitable and successful firm. but that’s only part of being business-minded about your firm. cpa firms have followed the same overall business model for generations, based on billing clients for the hours worked on a file. while that has been successful and has allowed many partners to achieve great wealth, a few forward-thinking firms are successfully challenging that model.

more: how to upgrade c and d clients | eleven types of audit clients and which to fire | don’t take on audits in an industry you don’t understand | how ‘business expert cpas’ get their own business wrong | exceptional audit client service demands effective communication | five ways to prevent audit bottlenecks | how do we drive relevance in audit? | lack of relevance drives audit commoditization | four basic understandings every auditor must master | wanted: great audit mentors | closing the audit expectations gap
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many firm owners obsess about chargeability and realization rates. but that’s missing the big picture: the only thing your revenue model needs to accomplish is bringing in enough cash to cover your expenses with leftover profit. we know how much we’re paying the staff working on the audit, and we need to collect two to three times their salaries for that work. that will give us the cash we need to pay them and all our other expenses, plus a return to the partner, and make up for the weeks when they’re not as busy or are in cpe or taking pto.

that’s why, instead of obsessing about chargeability and realization rates, a better way to measure success for your firm is by looking at your collected rate. read more →

how to upgrade c and d clients

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use relationship building and a little bit of detective work.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

ideally, if you’re practicing business-mindedness, you only keep the a and b clients. if a client is below that level, you must consider whether that client is salvageable. if the answer is no, you need to exit the relationship.

more: eleven types of audit clients and which to fire | don’t risk losing good employees for bad clients | four questions to make your firm more successful as a business | say adios to audit fee pressure | deliver more audit value by getting out of the conference room | six essential elements in audit planning | before the audit: more than just planning | five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership | put the ethics code to work for your clients and your firm | is audit in crisis because of definitions?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

for c and d clients, you want to try to grow them into a or b clients by developing a relationship with them. if they don’t reach that level within three years, they can be passed off to another firm. there’s always more than enough work to go around with a and b clients.

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rubik yeriazarian: smaller firms offer big opportunities for rapid skill development in forensic accounting | accounting arc

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don’t just follow the traditional path; seek mentors and learn constantly.  

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accounting arc
with donny shimamoto.
center for accounting transformation

for many accounting professionals, the big four firms represent the pinnacle of success—a destination for those with high aspirations. but for rubik yeriazarian, cpa, cfe, cff, they were just the beginning. specializing in forensic accounting, yeriazarian knew from his college days that this was the path he wanted to follow. “back when i was in college, big four were the only firms that offered forensic accounting,” he recalls. “i knew that was my ticket in.” 

more accounting arc

at the big four, yeriazarian was exposed to complex forensic cases that shaped his career. he learned the ropes in an environment that offered vast resources and support, but something was missing. “you have a lot of support at a big four, but i felt like i needed more hands-on experience,” yeriazarian says. this realization led him to a boutique firm—a move that many of his peers questioned. 

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eleven types of audit clients and which to fire

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bad clients can bring turmoil by increasing the likelihood of regulatory scrutiny, legal troubles and reputational damage.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

in the realm of auditing, client selection is a critical decision that can significantly impact the health and harmony of your team and your firm. auditors should be highly selective about their clients because engaging with entities that lack ethical standards, have complex or opaque financial practices, or demonstrate a history of compliance issues can lead to substantial risks and challenges.

more: don’t risk losing good employees for bad clients | can a service center model solve audit staffing shortages? | move to advisory and assurance with relevance | use eight audit exit items to deepen client relationships | know your three audit w’s | planning lays the foundation of audit relevance | are you correctly identifying the relevance intersection? | traditional audits don’t deserve premium billing

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

when we discuss the types of clients that our teams find challenging to work with, we can divide them into these categories:

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don’t risk losing good employees for bad clients

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keep the right kpis and the right clients, and you’ll keep the right staff.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

audit in the future will be much different than in the past. it’s going to require different skill sets. in the future, we need to teach more thinking and interpretive skills. the ticking and tying can be automated, but we’ll need people to interpret the anomalies that the bots and automation tools kick out. they’ll need to develop a deeper understanding of the industry, the client, and general business sense to discern whether an anomaly is just a mistake or a sign of something more profound.

more: can a service center model solve audit staffing shortages? | don’t take on audits in an industry you don’t understand | how ‘business expert cpas’ get their own business wrong | exceptional audit client service demands effective communication | five ways to prevent audit bottlenecks | how do we drive relevance in audit? | lack of relevance drives audit commoditization | four basic understandings every auditor must master | wanted: great audit mentors | closing the audit expectations gap
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

as the owner of a business myself, i understand the need to ensure there is enough cash coming in to keep the lights on and everyone paid. but sometimes, firms take on work just to keep people busy all year round. a prime example of this is ebp audits, which seem quick and easy but have their own risk factors. doing only one or two a year can be especially risky for your firm.

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can a service center model solve audit staffing shortages?

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providing superior client service eliminates the perception of audit as a commodity.

by alan anderson, cpa
transforming audit for the future

most firms have abysmal project management, which makes it nearly impossible to see if there’s any room to take on extra work. plus, piling all the work into busy season means your people already work far beyond 40 hours a week. and, if you’re relying on timesheets as a measure of capacity, you may not be capturing the time your staff eats because the work is taking more than 40 or even 60 hours in a week to complete.

more: don’t take on audits in an industry you don’t understand | four questions to make your firm more successful as a business | say adios to audit fee pressure | deliver more audit value by getting out of the conference room | six essential elements in audit planning | before the audit: more than just planning | five crucial attributes for successful audit leadership | put the ethics code to work for your clients and your firm | is audit in crisis because of definitions?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

during the 2020-21 covid-19 pandemic, some audit firms had to lay people off, or reduce work hours as projects got canceled or curtailed. but the long-term trend for years has been a shortfall in talent that will only get worse. burnout from overwork is the number one cause of employee turnover.

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