Audit Preparation
One of my primary and somewhat unique services is my “audit prep” services. In its simplest form I prepare the audit or review workpapers (see below) to be delivered to the auditors. I am engaged and paid by the client being audited keeping the CPA firm independent. This service can have many variations. This usually starts with organizations that have particular accounting or staffing issues and the work is not "as clean" as desired. In other cases, I may only assist in a particular area where the client’s resources are not sufficient, such as preparing stock options schedules or calculations (SFAS 123 R), accounting for income taxes (deferred income taxes) (SFAS 109), depreciation, lease accounting and so on.
These services are beyond your typical outsourcing assignment. In some cases, you may use typical outsourcing services, however, there times when you need a higher level of expertise, backed by years of experience, the ability to work quickly, and to fully understand the objectives behind the work. I bring these and many other attributes to the assignment as well as the ability to indentify issues and amount of work required under the circumstances. Of course, I'm working closely with the client and the auditors during this entire process.
Due to the nature of the reasons for needing audit preparation services, many times accounting weakness are noted. Sometime these are internal control weakness, sometimes there's fraud discovery or other areas that are at-risk. This gives rise to other services to assist the company improve its operations or perform fraud discovery and/or prevention services. Forensic Accounting and Fraud Services
$25 M venture capital based technology company with operations in three countries. Clean-up and preparation of audit workpapers including consolidation.
$36 M sales, manufacturing company with multiple locations. Minor clean-up, preparation of audit workpapers, working directly with auditors, revision of procedures where appropriate. Separately, managed a substantial portion of a an IRS tax audit.
Private foundations subject to California's Nonprofit Integrity Act requiring GAAP audits. Annual accounting, date of death and transfer valuation, preparation of audit workpapers, working directly with auditors, preparation of tax return (major GAAP / Tax differences).
Church with a first time audit need. Issues of GAAP conversion and revenue recognition.
Midsize manufacturing company with limited staff with sales to both wholesale and retail customers resulting in several revenue recognition issues.
Midsize government contractor developing green technology
These are the schedules provided to the auditors to support general ledger accounts or groups of accounts. Properly prepared workpapers saves the auditors time, reduces fees and gives them a higher degree of satisfaction.
Are these workpapers actual paper workpapers or electronic workpapers and files? This depends solely on the what the CPA firm requires. In today's audit and accounting environment most all the work is done in Excel. Where appropriate, supporting documentation is scanned as PDF files and linked to the related balance. While the CPA firm takes the lead with this, my 20 years of doing this type of work and extensive knowledge and use of Excel makes this a powerful audit/audit prep team.
Because of the nature of audit prep work and the needs of both the CPA firm and the client, the electronic workpaper are prepared "print ready", meaning the pages are formatted to properly print, if needed. At the request of the CPA and/or the client, dual sets of workpapers may be created, electronically and printed.
