Ways to Address Audit Inconsistencies for your Small Business.
Small businesses need to be prepared and organised while facing an audit in the UAE. As an entrepreneur, you will be required to answer the questions posed by the auditors regarding your operations. You will also need to furnish documentary evidence for the transactions that are being reviewed by the auditors in Dubai. Auditors from reputed audit firms in Dubai test the transactions for a wide range of factors to check whether your business is legitimate and sufficient controls and checks are in place to prevent wrongdoings and unauthorised use of the powers and money.
Auditors identify the problems and reveal the audit inconsistencies or findings in their report submitted to the management. As part of the management, you need to address the audit findings with the auditors and seek out a proper solution for each concern. If you need certain useful tips on how to address such inconsistencies, read on…
a) Discuss Your Concerns with the Auditor
It is acceptable to discuss with the auditors the initial operational or financial concerns that are daunting to your small business. Remember, for the auditing process to take place in an efficient way you must acknowledge any existing problems that remain unresolved. It really helps your business if you are opening up about unresolved problems.
For instance, if the resolution to the problem is delayed due to your lack of knowledge in the specific area, sometimes the auditor may suggest actionable insights or show you a proper course of action you can adopt. The auditor or audit firms in Dubai are capable of providing you effective guidance due to their previous experience in your particular industry. Here, you need to take a proactive stance regarding the unresolved issues as it would prove to the auditor that the management is part of the solution and not the problem.
b) Be Open to Findings in Audit Report
As a proactive entrepreneur, you need to have an open mind to the findings in the audit report. The findings in the audit report should be addressed in detail. Auditors will present you with all the audit findings in the audit report at the close of an audit. Auditors from the best audit firms in Dubai usually will have a talk with you about the audit findings once they are identified.
This most often happens even before the issue of the audit report because the auditors can obtain and assess your likely course of action. By doing so, you will be able to include a proposed corrective action for each audit finding featured in the audit report. It is also advisable to provide the auditor with documentary evidence to show that the issue has been corrected.
c) Retain Documentation after Taking Action
Once a course of corrective action has been identified you need to implement it. However, that alone won’t suffice. You also need to retain documentation on the execution of the corrective action and the results. Commonly, most audit findings would need time to correct and additional resources are also required for it. Sometimes, these additional resources may not be readily available for you to implement the corrective action.
Once the resources are acquired you need to implement the corrective action that was critical for resolving operational and financial issues identified in the audit. Most importantly, you need to meticulously document how you have performed the action and the performance results you have achieved. You will be thankful for this tip if the auditor performs a follow-up audit to check whether the issue has been resolved or not. Further, having documentary evidence protects you and your business in case of any future legal disputes originating from the issue.
Consult with Trusted Audit Firms in Dubai
During an audit, an auditor may pose questions about the company’s operations. For the smooth functioning of the audit process, the management is required to answer such questions and provide documentary evidence for any transactions that are being reviewed. The auditors may identify certain inconsistencies in their audit report and the management needs to be organised and prepared to know how to address this. Working with the best audit firms in Dubai such as Jitendra Chartered Accountants (JCA) enables the companies to address the inconsistencies efficiently.
JCA is one of the most experienced audit firms in Dubai and our experience in a wide range of industries helps us to advise a corrective course of action for the clients. JCA has a team of highly qualified Chartered Accountants who are registered auditors in the UAE. Getting the books of accounts audited from JCA auditors increases the credibility and minimizes the risk of improper accounting entries.