{"id":225249,"date":"2023-03-21T18:00:08","date_gmt":"2023-03-21T18:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markperlbergcpa.com\/how-a-continuous-audit-helps-your-atlanta-business\/"},"modified":"2023-03-21T18:00:08","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T18:00:08","slug":"how-a-continuous-audit-helps-your-atlanta-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prosperlcpa.com\/blog\/2023\/03\/how-a-continuous-audit-helps-your-atlanta-business\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Continuous Audit Helps Your Atlanta Business"},"content":{"rendered":"
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My quick take on SVB: Don\u2019t let it rob you of your focus for building the business under YOUR control.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In other words, let noise be noise \u2026 and focus on what\u2019s most important: your immediate world.<\/i><\/p>\n

But I will say that this crisis is a perfect example of why you should keep regular tabs on your Atlanta business\u2019s financial state. Thank goodness the feds were able to jump in on that mess and help avert an \u201cextinction-level event,\u201d but it could have been (and maybe still could be) worse if things don\u2019t change. <\/p>\n

Let me frame it this way: Think about your very first car purchase. It was a huge deal, right? One \u2014 because of the freedom it afforded, and two \u2014 because of the sense of pride over getting to own something that was a big purchase. <\/p>\n

But, unless you were well prepared for what car ownership looked like, you probably overlooked the ways to keep that car operating at optimal conditions. And sometimes that ended with the real \u201cpain of ownership\u201d \u2014 in the form of big-time auto repair fees as you didn\u2019t know what needed to be regularly checked (or failed to have someone in place to help you figure it out).<\/p>\n

Now, I want to apply that same principle to business ownership. If you have a \u201cset it and forget it\u201d mindset about this thing you take so much pride in, you\u2019re most certainly going to experience big pains in your ownership\u2026 with much bigger stakes involved. <\/p>\n

To keep your business operating optimally, you have to prioritize regularly checking in on the state of affairs \u2014 especially the financial side of things. One way to do that: the continuous audit.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Flying by the seat of your pants isn\u2019t going to work in business ownership. There are too many factors to juggle and too many things to track to only check on things once a year.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start by taking a look at how your business is performing right now. The Mark Perlberg CPA PLLC team is ready to help you get your business in shape. If you\u2019re ready to do that too, book a time here:
calendly.com\/mark-perlberg-cpa<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s get into the continuous audit and why you need to do it in your business (even with \u201cthe price tag\u201d seemingly attached to it)…<\/span><\/p>\n

How a Continuous Audit Helps Your Atlanta Business<\/strong><\/span>
\u201cTo pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.\u201d – Mary Oliver<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

As a business owner, you\u2019ve likely tried several different strategies to maximize your business\u2019s success \u2014 technological strategies among them. And these can help your small business in a lot of ways, of course. But one of the last things tech can do, if ever, is change the ownership\u2019s mindset about a business process like auditing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sure, audits have their place in setting a company back on course. But why do businesses run audits only sporadically or annually? Why\u2019s that company off course when the capacity exists now to catch a problem early? <\/span><\/p>\n

Continuous auditing (CA) can solve this problem by potentially spotting an issue far quicker than a yearly financial statement audit would. It sounds pricey and high-tech, only for big multinationals \u2014 but it\u2019s actually not. <\/span><\/p>\n

So\u2026 what is CA, and how can you start? <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

More is more<\/strong>: A Reason for Continuous Audit<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

A comprehensive, bird\u2019s-eye view is almost always better when you\u2019re looking at your company\u2019s processes to analyze what you can do better or to find mistakes to fix. But \u201ccomprehensive\u201d doesn\u2019t mean just \u201chow much\u201d \u2014 it also means when?<\/i> <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I mean: Why examine just a snapshot of samples against your ideal numbers (controls) when you could constantly be looking? In these days of unending cyberattacks and rampant past dues, why wait months or more (and lose money) before you can find a trend or trouble that needs fixing?<\/span><\/p>\n

When done correctly, a continuous audit assesses controls and risks automatically and more frequently. Your auditors have a schedule, right? Under CA, that\u2019s intensified: Your auditors\u2019 teams check your books throughout the year or drop by your office every week or so. The point here is frequent eyeballs on your operation. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Just to clarify: A continuous audit is never intended to replace traditional auditing. It\u2019s just one more tool in your box. And it\u2019s not to be confused with: <\/span><\/p>\n