Accounting, Audit and Financial Reporting

Banks and regulators often require audits to gain an added level of comfort over a Company’s internally prepared reports. An audit is performed to provide an opinion that the financial statements fairly represent the company’s financial condition and operating results and involves obtaining an understanding of a company’s processes, information technology, and internal control structure;, and performing in-depth analytics over the company’s data, testing selected transactions and obtaining outside confirmation of certain information. In addition to the standard audit there are some more specialized versions, including:

• Governmental “Yellow Book” audits
• Single Audits (OMB Circular A-133)
• Retirement Plan (ERISA) audits
• Health and Welfare Plan (ERISA) audits
• Agreed Upon Procedures

Internal control studies are focused on identifying risks of errors and fraud in transaction processing and can take a variety of forms, such as:

• Opinion about the effectiveness of internal control as a result of an audit or a stand-alone engagement
• Opinion on the design of controls
• Report on the internal controls of a service organization (SOC-1)
• Communication of significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in internal control noted during a financial statement audit

Benchmarking performance against that of competitors can help a business establish internal goals, pinpoint market opportunities, exploit competitor weaknesses, and create the kind of esprit de corps to unify and motivate their team.

Accounting manuals contain pertinent accounting rules and other information for a business or organization along with guidelines for various policies and procedures. They also specify duties within the finance and accounting function as well as directions for processing specific transactions so that assets are safeguarded and financial reports are accurate.