Outsourced Audit Support Services For CPAs: 9 Factors to Consider

Whether you are looking to delegate a labour-intensive workload, trying to solve staffing woes, or want to take advantage of the numerous advantages of outsourcing, the task simply doesn’t end there. You might even be confident about your requirements and choice of partner for outsourced audit support services, but CPA firm owners must consider other essential factors before signing the deal.

Auditing is one of the critical duties of a company’s financial department. Keeping that in mind, organizations mostly keep it in-house. However, external auditors are unbiased and ensure greater credibility & better efficiencies. In fact, audits are one of the top functions that businesses choose to outsource. However, remember that there are key factors you should consider before partnering with the right audit support service provider for your accounting firm.

1. THOROUGH INTERNAL ANALYSIS:

CPA firm owners should do a thorough internal analysis to determine the requirements prior to approaching an outsourcing partner. You might need help with a particular client’s task, whereas you might be able to manage others with the help of your in-house team. Analyzing your requirements can clarify the volume and nature of work you wish to outsource. Also, it is essential to consider the size of your client’s business and the volume of transactions. Moreover, your outsourced audit support services provider will also help you with the right pricing and engagement model to suit your requirements and budget.

2. A SOLID REPUTATION

When it comes to outsourcing crucial accounting processes like audits, you need to partner with a company that is well-recognized and has demonstrated expertise. That will help you establish standards for auditing and assessment practices. The ideal partnership is with an outsourced audit support services company with experience in your particular business area. The whole auditing process gets more straightforward if the auditors are qualified, experienced, and familiar with your industry’s goals and pain points.

3. PRICE FACTOR

Before partnering with an external auditor, ensure you get the most out of service for the price you are about to pay. But at the same time, some outsourced audit support service providers might be a little expensive as they provide better quality services compared to the rest. Therefore, finalizing your budget and choosing your outsourcing partner to get your book of accounts audited is best. Additionally, ensure your outsourced audit support services do not incur hidden costs before signing up.

4. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEAM:

It would help if you were cautious about hiring an external audit support service team that you can trust, considering how they will have to deal with your client’s sensitive information. It is, therefore, essential to learn about the accountants’ qualifications, education, and experience to understand the quality of services that will be delivered. Never cut corners on the quality of vital accounting services like audits. Onboard an outsourced accounting team that has hands-on experience with auditing services.

5. RESOURCES & TECHNOLOGY

Given how audit services are crucial for accounting firms, evaluating your outsourced resources’ skill set and competencies is very important. An audit is an intricate and tedious task best left to audit support service providers with a good track record and higher experience. Check with the third-party provider about the tools, technologies, and software they will use for your project. That will help you assess your service provider’s capabilities to handle your outsourcing requirements. If they happen to be experts in software technology, then the quality of your project would be exceptional.

6. RELIABILITY & FLEXIBILITY:

Trustworthiness and consistency are critical to ensuring the outsourcing provider’s credibility. Do a thorough check on the same and verify all the certifications, achievement remarks, and quality standards of their services. And it is equally important to find out if their approach is flexible. Sometimes you might have to renegotiate your contract or might be looking for a specific engagement model when it comes to pricing.

7. COMMUNICATION:

Needless to say, communication is key to a successful business partnership and ensuring the delivery of quality work. Many accounting firms consider communication barriers a significant disadvantage, making them reluctant to outsource. You must check whether your outsourced staff has good communication skills and if they will be able to clearly understand the scope of work and promptly reply to your queries while handling your CPA firm’s audit services.

8. DATA SECURITY MEASURES ADOPTED

Data security is the biggest concern when zeroing in on an outsourcing partner, considering how accounting firms deal with sensitive information. You must verify all the evidence they provide pertaining to their physical security, data management, as well as records disposal practices. Do not settle until you are convinced about all the security measures in place to ensure that they can safeguard your clients’ data and prevent data breaches or other mishaps.

9. EMPLOYEE RETENTION

Employee retention rate is regarded as a crucial factor when it comes to shortlisting your accounting firm’s outsourced service partner. This is furthermore important in outsourced audit support services. It would be best if you found out how they value their employees. After all, happy employees deliver a fantastic quality of work in shorter turnaround times.

Moreover, stability of operations is also an absolute necessity to gauge the consistency of services they provide. Verifying the past records of your outsourcing partner will help you establish the trust required for an effective partnership. Selecting a provider with more experience in audit services will give you confidence that they can offer quality work. It is a great idea to review the ratings provided by their clients to foresee how a potential partnership would turn up to be.

WRAPPING UP

Outsourced audit support services are a true savior considering how they are cost-effective and help optimize your accounting firm’s operations better. Considering the abovementioned factors while zeroing in on your outsourcing partner, you would be safe and enjoy the enormous benefits. It would be best if you felt confident in the auditors you onboard that they show a genuine understanding of your business and your industry. Moreover, auditing requires the cooperation and attention of the management too. Considerable thought and importance should be given when choosing your audit support service provider, given how auditors maintain the financial health of a business.

YOU’LL REALLY APPRECIATE THE OUTSOURCED AUDIT SUPPORT SERVICES FROM QXAS

At QXAS, we understand you have numerous choices when you need audit support services. We offer the best quality audit support for your accounting firm without the expensive price tag usually attached to hiring an experienced set of auditors. Not only do we let you interview our candidates, but our process is so seamless that you can also onboard our auditors within 48 hours.

QXAS ADVANTAGE

• Less tedium & more precision guaranteed: Enjoy access to hundreds of highly qualified auditors who will take the tedium out of auditing
• 12+ years of experience in outsourced audit support services & accounting outsourcing
• Quick onboarding: Seamless process via which you can interview and preferred onboard candidates within 48 hours
• India’s first GDPR & SOC 2 compliant accounts outsourcing company
• Listed under IAOP’s top 100 global outsourcing list
• 100% quality and security assured as we fully comply with ISO 27001 for information security and ISO 9001 for quality.