Pet peeves of auditors. Do you have any?

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  • #176086
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Any auditors out there have any pet peeves? I’ve got one, when you ask a client for support for a complex journal entry they posted and all they give you is a printout from the accounting system of the posting.

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 29 total)
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  • #397073
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    When they tell me “I was taught to do it this way. We've always done it like this.” My response “Then you've always done it wrong.”

    #397074

    @Kricket

    “we always done it this way !” or “what do I know, I was told to record it this way by …”

    Becker Class of Jan - Aug 2013: FARB DONE!!!!
    CPA license pending 🙂

    #397075
    Mayo
    Participant

    -“Do you really need this?” Umm, yah…I wouldn't have requested it if I didn't need it.

    -“Why are you testing X account? You didn't do it last year.” Stuff changes dumbass.

    -Me: Ok can you tell me which bank account this GL entry is for? I mean, since you're the one who entered it and all…?

    Client: ummm, yah..no.

    Me: -_-

    Mayo, BBA, Macc

    #397076
    CPA_Runner
    Member

    I'm in corporate finance so I see the other side of these haha.

    There is no excuse for “we've always done it this way”. That's crazy talk. That's basically saying “I don't know what I'm doing.”

    AUD - 80 (05/23/2012)
    FAR - 75 (08/09/2012)
    BEC - 81 (12/05/2012)
    REG - 71 (10/16/2012); 70 (02/12/2013); 78 (04/08/2013)
    Ethics - 98

    #397077
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    For the record, I don't do corporate audits, only Governmental and I have no desire whatsoever to enter industry. If I could do gov audits without a CPA license, I wouldn't be on this slow train ride through hell.

    Another pet peeve of mine goes like this:

    Me: I need copies of your 3rd and 4th Q 941 and L1 (state withholding report).

    Client: I'll see what I can find.

    2 hours have passed and I'm finished auditing citations in the police department…

    Me: Do you have those payroll reports?

    Client: Um, No. I can't find my copy of the 4th Q 941 but I'm sure I filed it.

    Me: Ok. Then I'm going to need your W3 and proof of 941 deposits.

    Client: That's going to take a while. When you say proof, what do you mean? What kind of proof do you need?

    Me: (shakes head and walks away muttering expletives under my breath)

    **How do you file a 941 and not make a copy of it?**

    #397078
    Jennifer241
    Member

    At the beginning of all my audits I send my clients an entire audit list of everything we needed last year. Sometimes we won't need all this documentation for the current year but it keeps their records more organized. When they file their 941 reports they KNOW that I request them every year, even if its the third year with no deviations in the past and I don't need it, I will still request it. I send this list out 1-2 weeks before I get to their office. Now that we are paperless they can email me these items and I can get the majority of my audits done on the weekend at home through my email!

    Sometimes I have clients that have piles and piles of the stuff I requested ready for us when we get there, it's much faster for me and them.

    My biggest pet peeve is scheduling an audit for a particular week and they call me the Friday before and try to reschedule. I schedule all my audits months in advance so my calendar is FULL. If I do reschedule I put it WAY out of their comfort zone of timeliness so that they NEVER do it to me again.

    AUD - Jan 9,13 Pass
    REG - Aug 30,13 Pass
    BEC - Oct 26,13 Pass
    FAR - Dec 4,13 Pass

    Licensed CPA in the state of Oregon

    #397079
    missjones513
    Member

    Unqualified financial officers. You're wasting the taxpayer's money since you don't know what you are doing. (I'm an auditor for the state)

    Awful documentation. Example: stapling a receipt to a piece of paper and not making a copy of it (the ink on the receipt fades after so long hun)

    Auditing federal programs. Why can't the different federal agencies audit the money they gave out? I'm just saying.

    REG - 5/29/12 (64), 10/1/12 (74), 5/20/13 (75, expires 12/31/14)
    FAR - 8/14/12 (64), 8/5/14 (75)
    BEC - 11/19/12 (70), 2/25/13 (72), 11/21/13 (73), 1/21/14 (73), 8/30/14 (72), 11/24/14 (75)
    AUD - 4/22/13 (65), 10/12/13 (79)

    I'm done!!!

    Ethics - Pass

    #397080
    msd87
    Member

    My pet peeves of auditors (I turned it around on you! lol)…. Auditors will walk in my office and request some info or documentation during the closing process and expect me to hand it to them with a nice ribbon on it before they leave my office. Quit lingering around my office peeps, I will get it for you when I get free'd up. How bout doing a little leg work to find the JE book in the filing room (same thing I will have to do for you) and if that doesn't suffice I will assist further. IA will be auditing a single aspect or process in great detail, focusing on only that. Ain't got time for that much detail, I am a GL beast that does a ton of closing entries, processes, reviews, reporting, inquiries, etc.. I may not have used the format that IA sent out and recommended to use so they can be number monkeys and tick and tie from their reports to it. Quit being lazy and work with what you have, do some actually auditing, old school style. I'm sure this doesn't apply to all…Opened up the can of worms on this one..lol

    #397081
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    I just thought of another one. How about when client gives you a schedule with a ton of numbers on it and there are no headers or anything to indicate what the data is or where it was pulled from.

    And msd87, the truth is that if an auditor is trying to get a report immediately, it is usually because they cannot move further on test work until they get it, and it is not cost/time efficient to have an auditor with a billable rate of $150/hr to wait around for clients to retrieve documents. We have competitive budgets to stick to!

    #397082
    supervisor
    Participant

    When you give clients a list of information that you need and they either 1.) don't respond, 2.) ignore you, 3.)ignore you again. But when they need it, all of a sudden everything becomes a rush and they expect you to finish it like yesterday.

    When clients think that their financial statement is our financial statement and that we SHOULD do EVERYTHING for them.

    BEC 10/13 PASSED 77
    AUD 04/12 PASSED 83
    FAR 08/12 PASSED 76
    REG 02/13 PASSED 76

    Licensed in PA on 12/23/13. Yea boy!!

    #397083
    FlipACoin
    Participant

    I've got a few pet peeves ABOUT auditors 🙂

    #397084
    jeff
    Keymaster

    I had not problem with auditors – they all seemed nice and I knew they were just doing their job.

    Newbie Internal Auditors…that's another story 🙂

    AUD - 79
    BEC - 80
    FAR - 76
    REG - 92
    Jeff Elliott, CPA (KS)
    NINJA CPA | NINJA CMA | NINJA CPE | Another71
    #397085
    FlipACoin
    Participant

    hahaha Jeff. I have worked with some great Auditors as well. The young spunky ones who don't have a ton of experience…they tend to be a little bit on the arrogant side. Sometimes they dig waaay too deep into a subject that is relatively unimportant. Usually this is just lack of direction by the Senior. I still smile and feed em breakfast.

    #397086
    gladrial
    Member

    As an internal auditor. I love it when the externals let the new intern audit Fixed assets. I wish I had a quarter for every time I had to explain that sales tax is included in the fixed asset price.

    I also love it when my externals ask me on December 17th for the end of the 4th quarter financial review. And then they stand at my desk waiting for it. Like somehow I posess a time machine that will alow me to travel to December 31st and get that document for them.

    Reg 76
    Bus 82
    Aud 70, 86
    Far 68 ,79 ten point combo FTW
    April Fools day CPA licence WA

    #397087
    supervisor
    Participant

    On the bright side, we all want to be a CPA! We're a happy family again.

    BEC 10/13 PASSED 77
    AUD 04/12 PASSED 83
    FAR 08/12 PASSED 76
    REG 02/13 PASSED 76

    Licensed in PA on 12/23/13. Yea boy!!

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