How an audit goes, with us in the room.
Six stops. The line draws as you scroll. In practice it draws across the year, so the audit itself is the short part.
- 01 · Planning
Scope before scramble.
What will be examined, by whom, against which standard. We write it down while the year is young and agree it with your auditors.
- 02 · Coordination
One calendar, every party.
Requests, owners and dates in one place. Your team knows what is coming, and nobody learns about a deadline from the auditor.
- 03 · Documentation
Evidence, filed as it happens.
Approvals, reconciliations and policies captured in the month they occur. The audit file grows with the year instead of being rebuilt at the end.
- 04 · Risk management
Controls tested before they are tested.
Internal audits on the areas most likely to draw a finding, so the finding is ours to fix and not theirs to report.
- 05 · Training
Your team can explain it.
Internal-control and best-practice training for the people who run the process, so the answer in the room comes from your staff and not from a consultant.
- 06 · Filed
It leaves clean.
Fewer findings, shorter fieldwork, and a file that already answers next year's first question.
Twelve months. The same rhythm every one of them.
A finance function runs on a repeating beat. Close the month, report on it, close the quarter, report on that. Scroll through the year. The items marked in gold are the ones WiseOwl runs for its clients. The rest sit on your calendar and we chase them early.
- Day 5December books closed. Year-end cut-off held.
- Day 8Reconciliations complete.
- Day 12Internal reporting pack complete, plus the full-year view.
- Mid-monthPrior-year evidence handed to your tax accountant and your auditor.
- Day 5January books closed.
- Day 8Reconciliations complete.
- Day 12Internal reporting pack complete.
- MonthAudit request list answered from the file we already keep.
- Day 5February books closed.
- Day 8Reconciliations complete.
- Day 12Internal reporting pack complete.
- MonthAudit fieldwork window for calendar-year companies.
- Day 5March books closed. The quarter closes with it.
- Day 8Reconciliations complete.
- Day 12Q1 internal reporting pack complete, with management accounts, variances and cash.
- MonthControl walkthroughs refreshed for anything that changed.
- Day 5April books closed.
- Day 8Reconciliations complete.
- Day 12Internal reporting pack complete.
- MonthPost-audit findings logged, each one with a named owner and a date.
- Day 5May books closed.
- Day 8Reconciliations complete.
- Day 12Internal reporting pack complete.
- MonthMid-year review of the balance sheet, account by account.
- Day 5June books closed. The quarter closes with it.
- Day 8Reconciliations complete.
- Day 12Q2 internal reporting pack complete, with the half-year read.
- MonthVendor and customer master data cleaned.
- Day 5July books closed.
- Day 8Reconciliations complete.
- Day 12Internal reporting pack complete.
- MonthProcess review: what took longest this half, and why.
- Day 5August books closed.
- Day 8Reconciliations complete.
- Day 12Internal reporting pack complete.
- MonthAudit planning for the year ahead, agreed with your auditor.
- Day 5September books closed. The quarter closes with it.
- Day 8Reconciliations complete.
- Day 12Q3 internal reporting pack complete.
- MonthBudget cycle opens off actuals, not off last year's budget.
- Day 5October books closed.
- Day 8Reconciliations complete.
- Day 12Internal reporting pack complete.
- MonthYear-end checklist issued. Cut-off procedures agreed in writing.
- Day 5November books closed.
- Day 8Reconciliations complete.
- Day 12Internal reporting pack complete.
- Dec 31Cut-off held. Accruals estimated on a rule, not on a discussion.
Answer a few questions. We come to the call briefed.
Thirty minutes, no deck, no pitch. You leave knowing whether we are the right firm for what is stuck.