Charting the audit process: what to expect, stage by stage
An audit is more predictable than most people expect. Here ishow one actually runs, from the first conversation to the signed opinion.
If you have not been through an audit before, the word tends to suggest somethingadversarial — someone arriving to find what you got wrong. In practice it is astructured process with a defined shape, and most of it is collaborative. Knowingthat shape in advance makes it markedly less disruptive.
The stages below apply whether you are a company, a trust, a club or a charity.The depth of work changes with the size and complexity of the organisation, butthe sequence does not.
| Stage | What happens | What we need from you |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Planning | We agree scope, timing and who does what. | Your reporting deadlines and key contacts. |
| 2. Understanding your organisation | We learn how your finances actually work and where the risks sit. | A conversation, and access to your systems. |
| 3. Fieldwork | We test transactions, balances and controls. | Records and explanations, as requested. |
| 4. Completion | We review findings and resolve open questions with you. | Responses to queries; sign-off from those charged with governance. |
| 5. Reporting | We issue our opinion and talk you through it. | Time to read it properly. |
1. Planning
The first stage settles the practical questions: what is being audited, when itneeds to be finished, and who we will be dealing with. Deadlines usually come fromoutside — a funder, a registrar, an annual meeting — so we work backwards from thedate that actually binds you.
Why this stage repays attention
Most audits that become stressful became stressful here, because a deadline wasassumed rather than confirmed, or because the people who needed to be availablewere not asked early enough.
2. Understanding your organisation
Before testing anything, we need to understand how money moves through yourorganisation — who authorises what, where the records live, and which areas carrythe most risk of error. For a small organisation this is a conversation. For alarger one it is several.
The point is not to catch anyone out. It is to spend our time where therisk actually is, rather than spreading it evenly over things that cannot go farwrong.
3. Fieldwork
This is the stage people picture when they think of an audit: testingtransactions and balances, confirming figures with third parties, and checking thatwhat the records say matches what happened.
Expect questions during this stage. A question is not an accusation — it usuallymeans we need to see the evidence behind a number in order to conclude on it.
What makes fieldwork go quickly
- Records that are complete before we start, rather than assembled as we go
- One named person who can answer questions or find the answer
- Bank, investment and loan records available for the whole period
- Prompt responses — a query that waits a week holds up everything behind it
4. Completion
We bring the findings together, resolve anything still open, and discuss with youanything we think your board or committee should know. If we have found something,you hear it here — not for the first time in a written report.
5. Reporting
Finally we issue our opinion: a formal statement on whether your financialstatements can be relied upon. We will also talk you through what it says, andanything we noticed along the way that is worth your attention.
A note on what an audit is not. An audit is an independentexamination. Our independence means we report on your financial statements ratherthan advise you on your finances — a distinction that protects the value of theopinion for everyone who relies on it.
Talk it through
If you are planning an audit or a review and want to understand what it wouldinvolve for your organisation, we are happy to talk it through before you commit toanything. See our services orget in touch.