2015 Year-end Audit Tips

With financial statement audits for 2015 well underway, our team at CFGI has assembled a few best practice tips to successfully manage your audits:

1. Proactively manage the audit, align on timeline and goals, check in on the status in a recurring meeting
2. Prominently distribute the key milestone calendar including disclosure and audit committee meetings
3. Prepare an account reconciliation for every account, even the accounts with no activity
4. Align with specialists on deliverables and timing to ensure coordination across groups (income taxes, valuation specialists, and investor relations)
5. Know what the hot topics are for the audit (e.g. segment reporting, management ownership of PBE information, etc.) – get this list from your auditor, peers, or other experts
6. Identify any unique non-recurring transactions and document the applicable accounting treatment
7. Document the accounting for these significant accounting transactions in the form of white papers and provide them well ahead of the audit to proactively engage your auditor
8. Internally perform post-close disbursement testing to be ready for auditor inquiries
9. Prepare an accounts receivable roll-forward on your aged receivables to support collectability
10. Perform an internal review of shipment cut-off
11. Have the electronic binder of support prepared in advance of the auditor’s arrival, which should include third party support for material areas (bank statements, invoices for significant capitalized assets, and accruals)
12. Prepare fluctuation analytics and know the answers to the auditor questions ahead of time
13. Ensure that any reliance on third party reports (valuations, etc.) are properly understood, inputs are verified, and calculations re-performed where appropriate for your controls
14. Compile your Financial Statement tie-out in a single binder with copies of all information to support your financial statements and disclosures
15. And most important of all, remember to keep the candy dish full!