Why audits overrun, and how to prevent it
Audit delays often trace back to a few recurring causes: information that arrives late, requests with no clear owner, and accounting or audit issues raised for the first time near the end of the process. All three can be reduced by decisions made before the year end.
For a finance director, good audit preparation is therefore about more than assembling a year-end file. It means agreeing the timetable early, understanding where the auditors expect to focus their work, assigning responsibility for information requests and making sure significant accounting judgements are documented before fieldwork starts.
This article explains what a finance director can reasonably expect from an audit team and what to do on the company’s side: from audit planning and information requests to significant accounting estimates, going concern and the revised fraud and going concern auditing standards taking effect for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2026.
The principles apply whether the audit is statutory or voluntary. Where a company chooses to have its annual financial statements audited voluntarily, the audit is conducted under the applicable auditing standards, including ISAs (UK).
Audit timetable and planning: agree dates and scope before the year end
A well-managed audit starts with a planning conversation before the year end, not after it.
The finance director should come away from that discussion clear about:
- the proposed dates for interim work, fieldwork, draft accounts, the audit clearance meeting and signing
- any external deadline that constrains those dates, such as a lender’s reporting covenant, group reporting deadline or shareholder meeting
- who on each side is responsible for each part of the process
- the areas where the audit team expects to focus most of its work.
Private companies normally have nine months from the end of their accounting reference period to file their accounts at Companies House. But that should not necessarily determine the audit timetable. Lenders, investors, parent companies and shareholders may require signed accounts much sooner.
The working timetable should therefore start from the earliest real deadline, not simply the statutory filing date.
The finance director can also make audit planning considerably more efficient by telling the audit team what has changed during the year. That might include:
- significant new contracts or customers
- acquisitions or disposals
- restructuring
- new accounting or finance systems
- new or refinanced borrowing
- changes in accounting policies
- significant provisions or estimates
- areas where management has had to exercise significant judgement.
Don’t overlook the FRS 102 changes
Accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026 also bring significant changes arising from the FRC’s Periodic Review 2024 amendments to FRS 102.
These include a new lease accounting model under which lessees recognise most leases on the balance sheet, subject to exemptions including certain short-term and low-value leases, and a new five-step model for recognising revenue.
Businesses affected by the changes should discuss them with their accountant and auditor early rather than waiting until year-end fieldwork.
Audit information request list: what auditors ask for and who owns each item
One common source of frustration during an audit is a stream of ad hoc requests from different members of the audit team.
An agreed information request list, provided ahead of fieldwork, with a named owner and target date against each item, can make the process considerably smoother.
The list should be tailored to the company and what has happened during the year rather than simply reproducing the previous year’s requests.
Typical areas include:
| Area | What the audit team may ask for | How to prepare |
| Trial balance | Final trial balance agreeing to the draft financial statements | Reconcile and review it before sending and identify any post-year-end adjustments |
| Bank and borrowing | Bank statements, reconciliations, loan and facility documentation | Reconcile all accounts to the year-end date and have current facility terms available |
| Debtors and creditors | Ageing reports and supporting schedules | Agree ledgers to the trial balance and identify disputed, overdue or unusual balances |
| Fixed assets | Fixed asset register, additions, disposals and depreciation calculations | Reconcile the register to the ledger and have supporting invoices for significant additions |
| Payroll | Payroll summaries and reconciliations | Reconcile payroll records, pensions and tax liabilities to the ledger |
| Revenue | Contracts, sales listings and cut-off information | Identify unusual contracts and transactions close to the year end |
| Related parties and directors | Related-party information and directors’ loan account details | Prepare the information before fieldwork and check completeness with the directors |
| Accounting estimates | Calculations and evidence supporting significant estimates and judgements | Document assumptions behind provisions, impairment, expected credit losses, valuations and other material estimates |
| Going concern | Cash-flow forecasts and evidence supporting their assumptions | Ensure management’s assessment covers at least 12 months from the date the financial statements are authorised for issue and retain evidence supporting the key assumptions |
Two habits can make a significant difference beyond the list itself.
First, don’t necessarily hold back everything because one item is outstanding. Agree with the audit team how information should be provided and whether completed sections can be sent in stages.
Second, tell the auditors early if something is going to be late. Knowing that a schedule will arrive on Friday is considerably easier to manage than discovering on Friday that it has not been prepared.
Fraud and going concern: revised auditing standards from December 2026
The Financial Reporting Council published revised versions of ISA (UK) 240, covering the auditor’s responsibilities relating to fraud, and ISA (UK) 570, covering going concern, on 30 April 2026.
They apply to audits of financial statements for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2026.
That distinction is important. It does not mean every audit changes on 15 December 2026.
For a company with a calendar financial year, for example, the first audit subject to the revised standards will normally be the year ending 31 December 2027, because that accounting period begins on 1 January 2027.
The revised ISA (UK) 240 strengthens and clarifies auditors’ responsibilities in relation to fraud, including enhanced risk-assessment procedures. Revised ISA (UK) 570 reinforces how auditors assess and report on an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern.
The FRC has said that most of the enhanced requirements were already reflected in existing UK audit practice because UK standards had been updated in advance of the international revisions. It therefore expects the final revisions to result in minimal additional work for auditors.
That does not mean finance teams should ignore them.
Businesses may see greater emphasis on documenting fraud risk assessments, controls, management override and going concern assumptions.
What should finance teams have ready?
A finance director can prepare by making sure the business has documented, where relevant:
- how management has considered where fraud could occur within the business
- the controls designed to address those risks
- who can post journals or override controls, and how that activity is monitored
- how employees can raise concerns about suspected wrongdoing and how those concerns are dealt with
- the cash-flow forecast supporting management’s going concern assessment
- the evidence supporting the most significant assumptions within that forecast.
Auditors already consider fraud and going concern as part of their work, so these subjects should not appear for the first time under the revised standards. The changes strengthen and clarify aspects of that work rather than creating entirely new concepts.
The audit team should explain during planning how these areas will be approached so that management knows what information is likely to be required.
Significant accounting estimates: prepare the evidence, not just the number
One area that can cause unexpected audit delays is accounting estimates.
A figure may have been included in the accounts, but the auditor also needs to understand how management arrived at it and what evidence supports the assumptions used.
Depending on the business, significant estimates and judgements could include:
- provisions
- impairment assessments
- expected credit losses
- asset valuations
- useful economic lives and depreciation
- stock provisions
- revenue estimates
- assumptions used in forecasts.
Finance teams should identify significant estimates before fieldwork and retain the calculations, source data and rationale supporting them.
Where a judgement is particularly significant, documenting why management reached its conclusion can be just as important as retaining the underlying spreadsheet.
Working with your audit team: communication during fieldwork
A well-managed audit relationship should normally include four things.
1. A clear point of contact
There should be a named senior member of the audit team who understands the company and can coordinate queries rather than leaving management to deal with apparently unrelated requests.
2. Regular progress updates
For a substantial audit, a short status check during fieldwork can help both sides understand what has been received, what remains outstanding and which areas are still under review.
How often that happens will depend on the size of the audit and the timetable.
3. Early discussion of issues
Matters that could affect the financial statements, audit opinion or timetable are easier to resolve when they are raised as they emerge rather than being stored up until the closing meeting.
4. A clear route to sign-off
Management should understand what remains outstanding before completion, including proposed adjustments, unresolved audit points and any control recommendations.
Communication is also an important element of the revised fraud auditing standard, including timely communication with management and those charged with governance about relevant fraud matters.
Communication works both ways.
The finance director should agree who within the company will answer audit queries and what a reasonable response time looks like. An unanswered request can hold up several other areas of audit work.
Audit preparation checklist for finance directors
Before fieldwork begins:
- Book the planning meeting before the year end and identify the earliest real deadline for signed accounts.
- Tell the audit team what changed during the year, including significant contracts, acquisitions, systems, loans and accounting policies.
- Review the audit information request list and assign an owner and target date to each item.
- Flag information that may be delayed before it becomes an audit problem.
- Reconcile the trial balance, bank accounts, ledgers and payroll.
- Identify significant accounting estimates and judgements and have the assumptions and supporting evidence ready.
- Document the company’s fraud risk assessment, relevant controls and management-override arrangements.
- Make sure the business can explain how employees raise concerns about suspected wrongdoing.
- Update the cash-flow forecast and retain evidence supporting its principal assumptions.
- Complete related-party and directors’ loan information and check it with the directors.
- Agree who will answer the audit team’s queries and how queries will be tracked through to completion.
Frequently asked questions about the audit process
When should audit planning start?
Ideally, before the year end.
That gives management and the audit team time to agree the timetable, discuss significant changes in the business and identify accounting or audit issues while there is still time to address them.
What does the audit team need first?
This varies between audit firms and businesses, but the audit team will typically need an agreed trial balance and supporting schedules together with information about significant changes since the previous year. Your auditor should provide a tailored information request list ahead of fieldwork so that responsibilities and deadlines are clear.
How long do we have to file accounts after the year end?
A private company normally has nine months from the end of its accounting reference period to file its accounts at Companies House.
That may not be the deadline that matters most to the business. Lenders, investors, parent companies and shareholders may require the accounts sooner, so the audit timetable should work backwards from the earliest relevant deadline.
Will the revised fraud standard make audits harder?
Not necessarily.
The FRC has said that most of the enhanced requirements in the revised standards were already reflected in existing UK practice and expects the revisions to result in minimal additional work for auditors.
Finance teams may nevertheless notice greater emphasis on documenting fraud risks, controls, management override and related governance arrangements.
The revised standards apply to periods beginning on or after 15 December 2026.
Does the revised fraud standard apply to audits of small companies?
Yes. ISA (UK) 240 applies to audits of financial statements, including audits of smaller entities.
The nature and extent of audit work will reflect the circumstances and complexity of the individual business.
Who is responsible for preventing fraud: the company or the auditor?
Primary responsibility for preventing and detecting fraud rests with management and those charged with governance.
The auditor’s responsibility is to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error.
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but it is not a guarantee. An audit cannot provide certainty that every instance of fraud will be detected.
Does a voluntary audit follow the same process?
Where a company chooses to have its annual financial statements audited voluntarily, the audit is conducted under the applicable auditing standards, including ISAs (UK).
The preparation, planning and information requirements described in this article therefore apply in much the same way.
Talk to us about your next audit
Good audit preparation starts well before the first day of fieldwork.
If you would like to plan your next audit with an audit team that agrees the timetable, key areas of focus and information requirements up front, Tor Stringfellow, Partner and Head of Audit can arrange a planning conversation. You can contact him below.
The auditing standards, effective dates and filing deadlines referred to in this article are correct as at 2 October 2026.