Client Resources
Practical guidance to help your business stay prepared.
Onboarding Process
Learn about our streamlined onboarding process and how we get new client engagements up and running.
Audit Readiness
Prepare your business for a smooth and efficient audit engagement.
Common Audit Issues
Understand the most frequently encountered issues in financial statement audits.
Onboarding Process
Initial Conversation
We start with a conversation to understand your business, industry, and specific assurance needs. This helps us determine the right engagement for your company and obtain the relevant information needed to accurately prepare a proposal.
Audit Readiness
Year-end Closing of the Books
All account reconciliations, schedules, accruals, and accounting estimates should be completed and finalized prior to fieldwork. Make sure all reconciliations and detail schedules agree to the general ledger. Confirm all prior year audit entries have been recorded and prepare a final year-end trial balance.
Common Audit Issues
Frequent areas where private-company audits hit friction.
PY Audit Entries Not Recorded
Prior-year adjustments missed in opening balances
Audit adjustments from the prior year are sometimes never posted to the books in the current period, causing opening balances to disagree with the prior year audited financials and creating recurring reconciliation issues.
Equity Does Not Rollforward
Beginning balance fails to tie to prior year-end
Equity sections often fail to reconcile from beginning to ending balance. Net income, distributions, contributions, and stock activity must tie mathematically and agree to the prior year audited equity balances.
Incorrect Reconciliations or Schedules
Reconciliations don't agree to the general ledger
Account reconciliations and detail schedules for cash, AR, AP, inventory, and fixed assets are sometimes provided without tying to the trial balance — requiring additional rework during fieldwork and delaying the audit timeline.
Insufficient IC Documentation
Process narratives are missing or out of date
Auditors are required to obtain an understanding of internal controls over financial reporting. When companies lack documented process narratives or haven't updated them for recent changes, the engagement team must rebuild that documentation — expanding scope and timeline.
Related Party Transactions
Transactions with affiliates not properly disclosed
Common related party items include owner loans, intercompany activity, and rent paid to entities under common control. Without complete identification and disclosure, financial statements may not comply with ASC 850 requirements.
Lack of Supporting Documentation
Source documents unavailable for testing
Invoices, contracts, bank statements, and other source documents are sometimes missing or not easily accessible. Without supporting evidence, auditors cannot complete substantive testing for the related transactions or balances.
