Can Audits Be Outsourced? Finding the Truth Behind This Trend

Have you heard about leading accountancy and audit firms outsourcing their audits to an external provider? The trend is really picking up, but wait, since when did audits become outsourceable?

That’s one sentiment we encountered in abundance at Accountex 2024: unawareness! A staggering 8 out of 10 accounting firms revealed they did not know that audits can be outsourced, and moreover so, to offshore teams.

So, what’s the truth? Can audit and assurance services really be outsourced? If yes, what and how much of it can be delegated to an external provider?

In this blog, we uncover the truth behind the growing trend of outsourcing audit support services and when and why you must consider it.

Yes, Audits Can Be Outsourced!

Let’s clear the air: Yes, audits can be outsourced just like any other service within your accountancy firm!

As a growing audit firm, you are likely flooded with multiple audit projects that can overwhelm your team. Auditing isn’t easy, after all! There’s a pile of paperwork to handle and deadlines to meet. This is where audit support services are crucial.

If you are a small audit firm with limited clients, you likely want to widen your client base and service portfolio. However, the admin and compliance work can keep your team occupied, leaving you little time to focus on clients. Outsourcing can be a crucial resource in this situation.

As firms grow, it becomes important to focus on client relationships and higher-value tasks. Outsourcing helps support your firm with the basic admin and compliance grunt work so you and your team can shift focus to strategic initiatives.

Also read: Outsourcing Audit and Assurance Services: Everything You Need to Know

Why Outsource Audit and Assurance Services?

As a founder or partner of an audit firm, you know your business well. You do everything to keep clients happy by delivering top-quality results. However, the constant pressure to meet deadlines and get everything right can take a toll on productivity.

Additionally, the FRC has imposed stringent regulations on audits in the UK, which means your team now has more work to do.

If you are sailing in the same boat, outsourcing audit planning and support services can greatly help. Here’s how:

Access to Talent: Amid the hiring crisis, outsourcing provides access to a global talent pool with the latest skills and technical expertise.
Cost Savings: A recent study highlighted growing employee salaries in the audit industry. Amid the crisis, outsourcing helps you hire resources at up to 50% of your in-house costs.
Quality Assurance: Outsourced audit support services with Managed Solution provide a four-eyed review system, minimising the scope of errors from your audit and ensuring top-notch quality.
End-to-End Support: Which part of your audit process takes the most time? Is it planning, audit testing, reporting, or something else? You can outsource particular aspects of audit or end-to-end audit support to get help every step of the way.
Offshore & Onshore Staff: Did you know you could outsource audits offshore? Yes, that’s possible! With audit support services, you can access talented auditors who are available to work both offshore and onshore according to your needs. You can also choose a hybrid team with a dedicated onshore POC.

If you are unsure whether it’s the right time for your firm to consider outsourcing, this quick video about ‘when to consider outsourcing’ can help.

Which Aspects of Audits Can Be Outsourced?

As mentioned earlier, you can outsource a part of an audit or the entire process. On a broad level, the following aspects of an audit can be outsourced:

Assistance in Engagement Planning and Risk Assessments
Audit Testing and Evidence Gathering through Test of Details and Analytical Procedures
End to End Processing of Statutory Audits compliant with UK GAAP and ISA’s
Specific Agreed Upon Procedures
Review of Audit Files
Onshore Audit Support – both short-term and long-term

Tailored Audit Support with QXAS

Are you seeking professional support with your client audits but don’t know where to start? We can help!

QX Accounting Services, a premium outsourcing provider for accounting firms, provides end-to-end audit support solutions tailored to your needs. We bring a unique People First approach to each of our projects, with tech innovation and quality assurance, making us a market leader in the outsourcing space.

Our Audit Support Services provide you access to 100+ trained and highly experienced audit professionals who work on all the latest software and technologies. These resources undergo regular training to stay abreast of the UK’s ever-changing audit laws and regulations.

We are a 100% GDPR-certified outsourcing firm with over two decades of industry experience. Our customised next-generation outsourcing solutions have helped over 300 audit firms scale their services and make audits hassle-free.

Curious to know how we can help your firm? Give us 15 minutes of your time, and we’ll show you how we can make a difference. Connect with our experts at +44 208 146 0808 or drop an email at [email protected] to get started.

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We hope you enjoyed reading this blog. If you want our team to help you resolve talent gaps, reduce costs and transform your business operations, just book a call.

Pooja Kshirsagar

With a rich experience of curating content for various industries, Pooja believes in the power of words in marketing and building brands. She enjoys experimenting with different forms of content and is currently on a mission to add value to the accounting industry through her detailed and researched write-ups.

Unauthorized copying or plagiarism of our content is a violation of intellectual property rights. We take such matters seriously and will pursue legal action to protect our original work. Anyone found engaging in such activities will be held accountable under applicable laws.

Originally published May 30, 2024 02:05:29, updated Aug 07 2024

Topics: Audit, audit planning, Audit Support, Auditing, Outsourcing