SMEs see audits as 'mechanical'
Around half of small to medium sized companies view their audit as a largely mechanical process that adds little or no value, a survey has found
Of the 200 companies surveyed by KPMG, 56% said they saw their audit as more
or less exactly the same each year. Only 40% agreed that the audit was useful in
providing recommendations and learning points for the business as a whole.
Nearly half of companies – 47% – only occasionally or never meet with their
auditor outside the audit season, despite the fact that nearly two thirds of
them – 62% – recognise that there is a strong link between the strength of the
relationship that they have with their auditor and the value they derive from
it.
KPMG’s head of audit, Richard Bennison, said a strong and open relationship
between a company and its auditor is vital if the audit is to produce the
far-reaching benefits it is capable of producing.
‘However, our research suggests that companies in the middle market fall into
two roughly equal camps: those that are getting real value, and those that are
not. Our profession could in some cases do more to deliver a greater range of
insights,’ said Bennison.