How New Digital Tools Can Benefit Your Practice

Picture this: You have completed a client audit and are now presenting your report to their leadership team. During the meeting, you reveal findings that have more depth and detail than they have ever seen from an audit report. Your presentation reveals deep-hidden risks that can now be addressed and avoided. The client can move forward with confidence based on a wealth of knowledge about their business that they had never realized existed. 

Not to mention that all of this work has been completed on time and on budget, with a smooth, stress-free workflow for your team.

How is such a happy scenario possible? With the use of exciting new digital, cloud-based tools that are transforming the face of the audit industry. And the best part? They are available right now.

Here are some of the key benefits they can bring to your practice.

• Automation: Digital technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotic process automation take care of the simple, repetitive tasks that auditors spend an inordinate amount of time performing. Now, they can shift their focus to more valuable tasks, such as those that help provide deeper client insights. Connecting new technology to practical applications in audit enables the auditor to see the full picture and tell a richer story.
• Data Discovery: Accounting firms typically have access to an abundance of data that holds valuable information and insights into the patterns and behaviors of clients and the overall performance of the practice. However, this data is usually scattered and hard to access. Cloud-based digital platforms relieve this problem by bringing it all together in a centralized location. The data can also be easily catalogued for simple and efficient access. This kind of improvement is crucial for engagement teams that are under constant pressure to deliver on time and within budget, and that are always challenged to provide the same services, if not more, at reduced costs. Learning from this data can streamline the assurance process and revolutionize how engagements are conducted.
• Deeper Analysis: These new technologies not only enhance the client experience but also let firms analyze business performance from new perspectives, discover new growth opportunities, and act confidently with how to move their practice forward. They help identify gaps and uncover blind spots in the audit workflow that were previously unknown. Firms can then create new strategies and execute plans in a whole new way. Discovering patterns in client behavior enables firms to direct clients down the right path with confidence.

Adopting new technologies will drive greater efficiencies within the engagement workflow and allow teams to learn new skills and find creative ways to work with data. 

As these powerful technologies take hold, the auditor’s role will begin to shift from a purely standard audit role to a more strategic business advisory one. Technology will identify where the risk lies, putting auditors in a position to create more value for both clients and the stakeholders of the audit opinion. In the larger picture, clients will also grow to have different expectations about what services and value an auditor should provide.

The Caseware Cloud Platform

It is important to be on a platform that can scale as you integrate this technology deeper into your practice. At Caseware, we continue to evolve our Cloud platform. Developed to move your firm to a full cloud-based practice or to integrate with current Caseware desktop solutions for a more hybrid approach, Caseware Cloud lets you benefit from the capabilities of both platforms. 

Easy collaboration with colleagues, seamless and secure communication data transfer with clients, and the ability to work from anywhere on any device are key to producing quality results for every engagement. 

From importing data to the flow of information from one engagement type to the next, and from client requests to the output of financial statements, it is important to consider a solution that is fully integrated with all other tools and packages and within its own suite of products and services. Caseware provides just that: an integrated solution that covers all aspects of the workflow in one place.

To learn how Caseware can help you stay ahead of the curve with an advanced and versatile cloud platform, contact us today.