No one enjoys audit season. But for some businesses, it’s more than just stressful – it’s a slow, expensive slog that drags on for weeks longer than it should.

And in almost every case, the audit delay isn’t caused by the auditor.

It’s caused by the business.

Here are three common finance function problems that hold up the audit – and how to fix them before they become a year-end blocker:

✅ 1. The balance sheet hasn’t been reconciled all year.

If you’re waiting until year-end to reconcile accounts, the volume of issues is going to be overwhelming. We see this most with control accounts (payroll, VAT, accruals, prepayments, etc.). They haven’t been cleared down monthly, so no one’s confident they’re accurate. That means delay – while your team scrambles to explain what should have been caught 10 months ago.

Fix: Move to monthly balance sheet reconciliation as standard. Ideally in line with your month-end reporting schedule.

✅ 2. You’ve got backups – but not backup for knowledge.

Your accounts team knows how it all works – until someone’s off sick or leaves. Then your auditor gets half-answers and guesses, instead of audit-ready files. Institutional knowledge walks out the door, and nothing’s documented.

Fix: Formalise your year-end prep pack and key schedules. Treat them as live working tools – not last-minute tasks.

✅ 3. There’s no clear audit lead.

If audit requests get passed around between team members, things fall through the cracks. Your auditor chases multiple people. Deadlines slip. Tensions rise.

Fix: Assign a clear internal lead for all audit communication – someone with visibility, authority, and capacity to respond.

A smooth audit isn’t just about making your auditor’s life easier. It’s a signal of how mature your finance function really is.

If the audit always runs late, it’s not just an audit problem – it’s a process problem.

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