PLANNING STAGE OF AUDIT

Not every company has a 31 December accounting year end – in fact, audit firms have been known to offer reduced / discounted fee charges for companies that have accounting year ends other than 31 December

So audit work / assignments are spread more evenly throughout the calendar year

However, many companies continue to have 31 December as their accounting year end and, for audit offices where many clients continue to use the calendar year as their accounting periods the 4 or 5 months after 1 January are extremely demanding of the time of the audit personnel

On many teaching days, particularly in Eastern Europe, I had students in the class that were barely able to keep their eyes open – they had worked through the night on a client’s assignment

When I taught for a week in Zambia it was a legal requirement for companies (I’m not sure if that was all companies or just those with state involvement) to have 31 March as their year end so the local offices of the big 6 (as they were then) would bring in temporary staff from the same firm’s offices in other countries

But where there is such a heavy load for a period of 4 or 5 months of the year, that is compensated for by having really quiet 7 or 8 months where audit staff may well not be required to attend in the office but, so long as they are capable of being reached in an emergency, they can stay at home or within a reasonable distance of work

OK?