Pre-Audit Jitters
I sent my files over to the auditors today at 4pm and felt such a great sense of accomplishment that I decided to leave the office early.
On my way home I remembered some potential bad news that came up during the pre-audit meeting yesterday with the Audit Committee (me, my boss, his boss, the auditors, a Board member and an outside advisor/former Board member). The audit will have some different procedures this year. Instead of testing many areas lightly, they will test fewer areas more heavily.
I'm a bit aprehensive about it since I don't really know what to expect. I fear I will get into trouble for not being careful enough. My boss and I tend to let things slide a bit too much because we trust each other and the rest of the staff and don't always insist enough on proper approvals and documentation.
A big part of what the auditors will be looking for is proper internal controls. I think we've been improving in the area of having more people involved in approval processes and oversight but it might not be good enough and we might have to get written up for it. I sure hope not!
What happens if they find something and you get written up for it? I am just wondering because we are doing a lot of work to be Sarbannes-Oxley compliant even though we are a private company. The banks want us to be compliant.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of S-O but the auditors mentioned it once today. I don't think it affects us too much.
ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, the auditors have to include a letter with the audit describing any internal control weaknesses they think are significant.