Four Unusual Ways Internal Audit Advisory Can Push Your Business Forward

Business owners often grapple with the volume of mundane tasks and time crunches to be completed every day. To add to these woes is the ever-changing market scenario which would end up making business owners overwhelmed. Even the most promising entrepreneurs struggle to keep up with the demands of running a business. The interminable tryst of creating new products, researching, experimenting, marketing, and networking, takes the focus away from other crucial tasks like establishing proper systems and controls. This might expose a business to numerous risks, misstatements, errors, inefficiencies, and fraudulent or scrupulous activities.

This struggle continues until Internal Controls come to your rescue!

The struggle is excruciating and real and can be combatted only by establishing Internal Controls (IC). IC are the processes with checks and balances embedded to ensure that the errors are self-corrected, progress is tracked, and achievement of objective is reasonably assured. This resultantly leads to more productive employees, compliance with laws and regulations, prevention of fraud and errors, and safeguarding of company assets.

You should know some unusual ways IA advisory can push your business forward:

1. Measuring Performance:
   Setting up clear goals and metrics for performance and then monitoring the same for business, employees, management, and vendors is crucial to understand how your resources are serving you.
You want to be assured that your vendor is complying with the contract, your employees are being productive, or if a particular department is underperforming.
2. Before, during and after major changes like:
   1. Implementing new technology
   2. Introducing new business process
   3. Migrating to new ERP / accounting software
Change can be a stressful time for the business. IC can help you ensure that changes are made in a controlled and systematic manner.
Robust IC help avoid data loss and unintended changes to ensure a smooth transition.
3. Verification and validation of Management Information and System Reports:
   1. Ensuring the MIS reports are accurate, valid, and complete.
   2. Identifying shortcomings and room for improvement in the reporting.
   3. Customization of existing MIS to give you more useful insight.
   Access controls and data validation will ensure the MIS is reliable.
4. Preparing for external audit:
   1. Ensuring your financials are accurate and complete.
   2. Ensuring your operations are leaving behind an adequate audit trail. Completeness and accuracy of financial statements are the crux of a successful audit outcome.
   IC helps the business in defending the accuracy and completeness of the financial statements to external auditors.

IC are the backbone of any organization’s risk management and governance framework. It can be an unbiased guide to review whether your efforts are going in the right direction and be like a mentor helping you strengthen your home base, just like the foundation that may not be visible but provides the necessary support and stability for the structure.

This is the key that helps you grow faster, spread your wings, and fly high without worrying!

Please contact Astute’s team of experts.