Q. Now that we have completed our unaudited actuals, we need to get ready for the financial audit by our external auditors. Do you have any suggestions to make this process flow as smoothly as possible?
A. After countless hours of reconciling cash, setting up accruals, and counting inventory, another challenge you have to contend with is the audit of the unaudited actuals. Listed below are practices you should emulate to alleviate the stress sometimes caused by your auditors’ presence in the district.
· Assign an audit coordinator/liaison. This gives the auditors one person to contact for requests. Also, it will minimize the disruptions to you and the district staff.
· Provide auditors with:
§ An appropriate amount of space conveniently located to the accounting department—private, if possible. In case you haven’t noticed, auditors require lots of space for the audit team, laptops, ledger reports, etc.
§ Full access to phones, faxes, and copiers. If your district uses passwords, provide the auditors their own password
§ The ability to freely meet with key staff throughout the visit. In spite of the audit coordinator/liaison, inform the auditors of the direct phone numbers and office locations for staff such as the accounting manager and others crucial to the audit process
§ Clerical assistance
· Offer to run special computer reports and prepare schedules in advance
· Consider allowing auditors direct view only access to certain files in the computerized accounting system from a terminal
· Gather data for the auditor in a timely manner
· Finalize key reports on time
· Be available to answer questions
Based on my experience as an auditee as well as an external auditor, I believe the above practices will make a positive contribution to ensuring that the audit road is smooth with minimal speed bumps.
[Posted to the Internet 8/29/07] —Lewis Wiley, Jr.