Article

Auditing services for the growing company

January 14, 2025
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Audit

This article was originally published on July 21, 2022, and has been updated.

Choosing the right audit firm for your expansion plans

As a growing company, you may be contemplating geographic expansion or new avenues of financing. Perhaps you’re considering an acquisition or entering new markets or service areas. Whatever exciting growth initiative you pursue, it’s essential to have an auditor with the requisite geographical reach, as well as the business and industry experience and insights to support your financial reporting needs.

Consider the following criteria when selecting an audit firm for your growing company.

1. An auditor that can service you through your growth

You may be focused on the challenges and opportunities you face today, but do you know what is coming as your business expands and grows? Perhaps you are on the verge of making acquisitions, expanding internationally or entering new markets. As your business grows, matures and becomes more complex, an audit firm that can support your evolution will provide insights about the necessary financial reporting and related challenges.

For example, consider a growing company in the software industry with an innovative software solution to a complex problem. To exploit this market opportunity, the company needs to expand into cloud-based distribution of its software.  Such a change could have a significant impact on the timing of your revenue recognition.

Another challenge involves the financial reporting necessary when, for example, a services company is diversifying into new areas. It begins to partner with other companies in those new markets in order to exploit opportunities, entering into complex contractual arrangements. The revenue recognized under these arrangements would be affected by whether the company is a principal or agent in the arrangements.

Your auditor can provide the requisite guidance to help you carefully consider the relevant facts and circumstances in making the appropriate financial reporting determinations.

2. Deep industry knowledge

While many aspects of financial reporting are consistent from industry to industry, there are industry-specific nuances too.

Auditors who are steeped in a particular industry can help you navigate the intricacies of industry-specific accounting issues, the latest developments and best practices. Additionally, auditors with extensive experience in your industry understand relevant benchmarks and can point out areas of focus for your business.

An audit firm should have command of industry trends and cultivate its auditors’ industry knowledge through formal and informal internal education programs. An audit firm with industry specialists is more capable of anticipating relevant specific requirements common to your industry—today and in the future.

3. A commitment to technology—and the people who use it

As businesses increasingly deploy advanced technology to make their processes more efficient, accurate and valuable, they should look for an auditor that is doing the same by also investing in its own technology to optimize the audit process.

Our approach to innovation and technology is driven by RSM Luca, our digital audit ecosystem, which focuses on three pillars to increase efficiency, minimize disruption and uncover new information.

These pillars are:

  • Digital experience: RSM’s ever-evolving technology ecosystem is structured to ensure your audit engagement features tools that streamline communications, maximize efficiencies and provide valuable business insights. Our secure, cloud-based collaboration platform allows clients and engagement teams to organize and track all document requests and status updates.
  • Artificial intelligence: Machine-learning algorithms, natural language processing and data analytics tools empower our auditors to process vast amounts of financial data efficiently and devote more time to analyzing it. AI’s audit impact is evident in such functions as risk assessment, anomaly detection, fraud identification and compliance testing.
  • Analytics: Data mining and extraction tools analyze data and illuminate insights about risks and controls. Our professionals can address a vast array of business questions with tools ranging from simpler knowledge-based business rules to more advanced statistical and simulation models.

At the same time, leaning too heavily on technology may not provide the appropriate level of personal attention or the necessary technical insights.   By being mindful of how a combination of technological efficiencies and human insights provides value for your organization, you can find an audit firm that strikes the right balance for you.

4. A strong relationship

While it’s crucial to work with an auditor who possesses the technical expertise to navigate your business’s growing complexity, the value of a personalized, relationship-driven approach cannot be overstated.

Technology and algorithms are powerful for analyzing data, but the human element—informed, independent, probing and synthesizing—brings perspectives technology alone can't produce.

Auditors with deep industry experience not only understand your unique needs, but they also build stronger, more meaningful relationships with you. This enables them to identify opportunities, mitigate risks and ask smarter questions that lead to deeper insights. By leveraging this knowledge, they act as a trusted advisor and sounding board, empowering you to make more confident decisions and drive better business outcomes.

Final word: An auditor that grows with you

As your company grows, having a high-quality audit firm can help you stay on course. An auditor that possesses a deep understanding of your industry and business can provide tailored insights to help you make more confident decisions. Further, an audit firm with a national or global footprint can help you anticipate your next moves, identify opportunities and mitigate risks. When your audit firm can scale with your business as you grow, it can help keep you within reach of your goals—no matter how lofty they are.

Is it time to change your auditor?

From reassessing your audit firm to successfully switching, here’s what you need to know.

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