Getting Ahead of the Audit: EduFin’s Guide to Success
Top Tips for a Successful Audit
Get Your House in Order: Core Reconciliations
These are the non-negotiables that form the foundation of a clean audit.
Check your Opening Balances: Ensuring they agree to last years’ audited financial statements
Master Your Control Accounts: Ensure every balance sheet control accounts— e.g. bank accounts, debtors, creditors, and payroll—are fully reconciled. Any unexplained balances are a red flag for auditors, so resolving these now is crucial.
Maintain a Watertight Payroll Reconciliation: Your payroll is your biggest expense and will face the most scrutiny. You must be able to reconcile your monthly payroll reports to the finance system. Furthermore, ensure you have a clear evidence trail for all starters, leavers and changes during the year.
Check Your VAT Returns: Your submitted VAT returns should be reconciled to HMRC remittances; ensuring all VAT has been declared / claimed in a timely manner.
Master the Details: Assets, Cut - Off, and Funds
These are common areas where audit adjustments occur, so paying close attention here will save you significant time.
Keep Your Fixed Asset Register Flawless: Your fixed asset register must be a perfect reflection of reality. Ensure it is fully updated with all additions and disposals from the year, and that depreciation has been calculated and posted correctly.
Be Diligent with Accruals Concept: Review transactions to ensure they are accounted for in the correct financial year. Post all necessary prepayments, accruals, deferred income and accrued income; maintaining detailed schedules the auditors can follow. It’s also good practice to review the opening balances to ensure they were reversed correctly at the start of the year.
Reconcile Your Funds: All transactions in year should be allocated to their relevant fund type, allowing a fund reconciliation to be completed. Ensure clear reconciliation of capital spend against grants; especially with those projects straddling year ends.
Our Audit Assurance service is specifically designed to help you with these critical areas. Our consultants can provide an expert, independent review of your accounts before the auditors arrive, identifying and resolving potential issues proactively.
The goal is a "no surprises" audit. By preparing thoroughly and ensuring your documentation is meticulous, you minimise disruption, reduce risk, and provide your board with the ultimate assurance: a clean audit report that validates the financial health of your Trust.
Let us help you make this your smoothest year-end yet. Discover how EduFin’s Audit Assurance service can provide the expert support and peace of mind you need.
Want to make year-end a little easier? Our Free Audit Preparation Checklist breaks down the essential steps so you can stay on top of things and feel prepared when audit time arrives. Enter your email address and we’ll send the checklist straight to your inbox: