Remote Audits - are they here to stay?

Remote Audits - are they here to stay?

The Covid pandemic has had a huge impact on the way we work. Some of these changes have shown us where we can improve on our usual processes and have moved from being a temporary measure to our new best practice. Phil Bolton explores what the future of audit may look like and whether 100% remote audits would be beneficial in the long run.  

A sea of change

Government restrictions have resulted in quite a sea change for those of us whose ‘normal’ work was entirely based around going out to clients. When it comes to audit,  that doesn’t just mean a couple of meetings at the clients’ offices, but often a week or more spent with them. Remote auditing has changed all that, but is it possible that the benefits and efficiencies presented by remote auditing means that this will be the favoured approach when in person audits are an option again?  

A remote chance of success?

Let’s start by looking at what those benefits actually are:

• Secure transfer of data – Online portals have been easily set-up to pass data to one another in a controlled and secure way.
• Reducing travel – A remote audit saves both time and the costs associated with travelling to and staying near a client, usually over several days.
• No extra burden for clients – We’ve been careful to structure our new working practices so that no additional effort falls to the client, that wouldn’t be fair and they wouldn’t thank us for it.
• Removing geographical barriers – Remote audits open up far more choice for clients, they no longer need to choose an auditor based on their proximity to them.

The human factor

But, and there is a but, nothing can really replicate physically being at the clients’ office. Intuition plays a huge part in audit, and you get a better feel for things talking face to face. Information can be lost in translation with emails pinging back and forth. You also lose the hands on access to the books and records you need. There is a certain rush that comes with being together in person to work on projects for a defined period of time. Being able to bounce ideas freely, in my opinion, often brings out the very best in people. Furthermore, some of the efficiencies I spoke of earlier can lead to other unforeseen problems with 100% remote audits. Having more time means that, instead of focusing on one job at a time, there is a lot more picking up and putting down. So, the answer for me, is that although we will keep the best parts of the remote service that have worked well for our teams and our clients, I don’t see a fully virtual audit being here to stay. You can’t replace being physically present, looking into the whites of a client’s eyes, and collaborating in person.  

For audit services or for general help and advice, get in touch with our team.