Types of Audit Services & Reasons You Need Each!

Whether you own a small, medium, or big scale business, auditing is a must to ensure that everything is working smoothly. Although it might sound like a hassle, audits have benefits in the long-term for your business. From financial health to catching issues that might cause problems in the future, audits are vital! However, there are several types of audit services. So, let’s find out what they are, and then you can decide what your company needs!

Types of Audit Services - A Quick Breakdown

Internal Audits

So, internal audits are the ones that assess everything related to how a company operates. These audits ensure that your company adheres to laws and regulations in its operations. They can also identify potential risks to your business and find ways to improve your company’s performance. Internal audits, if done right, could protect your business from potential fraud and issues that could rise along the way.

External Audits

Just like internal audits, external audits review the financial health, processes, and identify risks within a company. But the main difference is that an independent company/team does it instead of it being an inside job. This is very important because it can provide credibility and objectivity for external stakeholders or interested parties.

Financial Statement Audits

Companies always keep tabs on their financials through statements. Think, cash flow statement, balance sheet, etc… Well, a financial statement audit is there to ensure that all these statements are indeed accurate and in order! These types of audit services usually happen on an annual basis, and they could be internal or external. Mind you, external financial audits are preferred by stakeholders for the sake of credibility.

Operational Audits

An operational audit gets into the nitty gritty details of how departments in a company operate. So, while a financial audit is all about money, an operational audit is about the efficiency and performance of your company. Its purpose is to find possible weak links and propose ideas to improve them. In other words, it makes sure that the rules and operations in place are actually working.

Information Systems Audits

This one is more on the techy side of things because it handles everything related to IT, or information technology. Information system audits are there to ensure that all data your company has is protected and is handled in a legal way. Moreover, these audits keep tabs on the efficiency of systems during updates. And finally, they make sure that the IT system complies with your company’s business strategy.

Compliance Audits

Every company has its own policies, and that’s a given. A compliance audit comes into play to make sure that your company (as the name suggests) complies with these policies. Moreover, it’s there to check that your company’s operations adhere to the industry’s laws and regulations. To sum it up, it is there to protect your business from legal issues that might rise!

Payroll Audits

Now we’re back to more money-related audits! A payroll audit is about making sure that everyone gets paid accurately and that deductions are correct. Moreover, it ensures proper documentation of working hours, overtime work, etc… And finally, it keeps tabs on whether everything adheres to laws like minimum wage, tax calculation, and more.

Pay Audits

You might think that payroll and pay audits are the same types of audit services, but they’re not. While payroll audits are about the money, pay audits are about how your company distributes that money. For example, pay audits keep in check whether everyone is getting paid fairly, and that no discrimination in pay of any kind happens.

Tax Audits

Last but definitely not least, tax audits check whether the income that your company reports matches records. They also ensure that your company properly documents its expenses and adheres to tax laws. This type of audit is one of the most important to ensure that everything works smoothly.

Looking for Audit Services in UAE?

If you’re looking for someone to handle any of the types of audit services we mentioned in the UAE, you’re in the right place. Noraal provides all that and makes all your finances simple and smooth. But auditing is not the only thing you can benefit from with Noraal. From accounting to financial restructuring, we make your finances stress free! Make sure you check out all our services here, and who knows? The help your company needs might be just a click away!