Is it worth having an audit for my small business?

QAI own and manage a business that falls below the size requirements for an audit. I am told, though, an audit could be beneficial. With all the recent bad press about big company audits, is there any real benefit? MANY business owners believe an audit takes considerable time and cost.

So why have a company audit if you don’t need to?

For a public company, an audit should (at least in theory) protect the shareholders (the owners) from being misled by the directors.

This is where much of the recent audit controversies lie.

In many smaller companies, like yours, where management and shareholders are the same, will save considerable time and expense later.

But there is another good reason for having an audit – and that is that quite simply, an audit can pay for itself.

The cost of having an external audit can be recovered by improvements to systems. Having a third party examining the workings of the business can help streamline financial and management processes. Not only that, whilst audits will not guarantee the uncovering of fraud, they act as a significant deterrent in what is, sadly, a growing area of financial loss to businesses large and small.

An audit ensures that the company’s financial information is reliable – fundamental in instilling confidence, generating trust and increasing credibility.