It can sometimes be a challenge for auditors to effectively communicate the impact of a good audit and clearly indicate when an audit has failed to serve its purpose.
While we can, and frequently do, cite studies and data that demonstrate the positive impact that audits can have on business growth, sometimes there is nothing more effective than having a real-world example to point to.
The local councils in England are facing an intense amount of financial distress with many succumbing to bankruptcy and the entire chaotic mess is, in no small part, the result of bad auditing practices.
We want to highlight where things have been going wrong so that you can more effectively communicate to clients how your audits will benefit them.
How has a lack of quality audits impacted local councils?
The responsibilities of local councils are far-reaching and the financial burden they are under as a result is severe.
While most of the money a local council has to use comes from taxes or Government initiatives, there are options for generating additional income through the use of land and assets and from trading services.
Given the challenges faced in generating revenue, local councils need guidance on strategic investments and sustainable growth with a clear focus on making the most out of the money they have.
It would not be unfair to say that, for local councils, effective audits are essential as poor financial planning and economic gaps can result in essential services degrading due to a lack of funds.
Into the delicate balancing act of local council financial management came David Cameron’s decision to abolish England’s council spending watchdog which helped to monitor and standardise the quality of audits conducted for local councils.
Without this, the quality of audits has decreased almost in direct proportion to their cost.
Despite some audits costing 620 per cent more than previously, only one per cent of audits were delivered on time in 2022-23.
This has resulted in economic ruin for local councils, and the imminent time-bomb of deferred SEND bills is only set to make the problem worse.
How can you use the chaos with the councils to guide businesses?
As mentioned, we do prefer to focus on the ‘carrot’ of audits and the ways that they can help businesses thrive.
However, sometimes business owners need to be reminded of the ‘stick’ so that they can understand what will happen if they do not get audited effectively.
The real takeaway from this issue is that the audits took far too long to be effective and cost way too much to be practical.
If you are worried about creeping costs and missed deadlines impacting the quality of your audits, we want to help.
Glasscubes is designed to streamline your audits so that you can deliver faster, higher-quality results to clients.
The inbuilt real-time reporting and tracking allow you to monitor client information requests seamlessly while our cutting-edge AI streamlines your workflow to make even complex tasks more manageable.
The end result is less time spent tackling tedious tasks and more time spent applying your expertise.
Your clients will benefit from the greater focus and care you can provide as our automated reminders mean that constant information chasing does not have to sour your relationship.
We can see firsthand the damage that inefficient audits cause which is why we want to work with you to improve the quality of audits.
Book a demo to find out how Glasscubes can empower you to deliver more effective audits more efficiently.
