Audit Preparation Singapore | Get Your Company Ready for External Audits

A manufacturing company director in Jurong called me three weeks before their audit. "The auditors are coming and I have no idea what they need," he said. "My bookkeeper left last month. Can you help?"

His financial statements were done. But that's not enough for an audit. Auditors need detailed schedules, reconciliations, explanations, supporting documents. Without proper preparation, his audit would take twice as long and cost double.

We spent two weeks preparing everything the auditors would need. Bank reconciliations. Fixed asset schedules. Accounts receivable aging with confirmations ready. Loan agreements. Board minutes. When the auditors arrived, we handed them a complete package. The audit finished in four days instead of the expected two weeks.

That's what audit preparation is. Getting everything ready so your audit runs smoothly, finishes quickly, and costs less.

I spent years as an audit manager at KPMG and Deloitte. I know exactly what auditors need. I know which documents they'll ask for. I know which numbers they'll question. And I know how to prepare everything so the audit goes smoothly.

This page explains what audit preparation involves, why it saves you time and money, and how we help Singapore companies get ready for their external audits.

What Audit Preparation Actually Means

Audit preparation means getting your financial records and supporting documents ready before the auditors arrive. You're not doing the audit yourself. You're organizing everything so the auditors can do their work efficiently.

Good audit preparation includes:

Financial Statements Review: Making sure your financial statements are complete and follow Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (SFRS). Auditors won't start if the statements have obvious errors.

Working Papers Preparation: Creating schedules that break down every line item in your financial statements. Revenue by customer. Expenses by category. Assets by type. Auditors need this detail.

Bank Reconciliations: Reconciling every bank account to the penny as of year-end. Explaining every reconciling item. Auditors always check these first.

Supporting Documents: Organizing invoices, contracts, agreements, board minutes. Everything the auditors might ask to see should be ready and indexed.

Audit Queries Response: Preparing answers to questions auditors typically ask. Why did revenue increase? What's this unusual expense? Where's the documentation for that transaction?

A trading company in Woodlands tried doing their audit with zero preparation. The auditor asked for the fixed asset schedule. Took them three days to create it. Asked for bank reconciliations. Another two days. Every request caused delays. The audit that should have taken one week took five weeks. Audit fees doubled because of all the extra time.

Why You Need Audit Preparation Support

Most companies don't have ex-auditors on staff. Your bookkeeper or accountant might be great at day-to-day accounting but have never dealt with an audit before. They don't know what auditors need or how auditors think.

This is where audit preparation support helps:

We Know What Auditors Want: We've been on the other side. We know every schedule, every document, every explanation auditors will request. We prepare it all upfront.

We Spot Issues Early: If there are problems in your accounts, we find them before the auditors do. Better to fix issues during preparation than during the audit when it causes delays.

We Save You Time: Instead of scrambling to find documents during the audit, everything is organized and ready. You answer queries in hours, not days.

We Reduce Audit Fees: Auditors charge by the hour. Less time = lower fees. Good preparation can cut audit costs by 30-50%.

A logistics company in Tampines hired us for audit preparation. Their previous audit (without preparation) cost $18,000 and took three months. With our preparation, the next audit cost $12,000 and finished in four weeks. They saved $6,000 and countless hours of their finance team's time.

Accounting Firm Experience in Audit Preparation

Not all accounting firms are good at audit preparation. Many small firms have never worked in audit. They know bookkeeping and tax, but audit is different.

When you work with an accounting firm that has Big 4 audit experience, you get:

Proper Working Papers: We prepare schedules exactly how auditors expect to see them. Right format, right detail, properly cross-referenced.

Complete Documentation: We know which documents must be in the audit file. Loan agreements, board resolutions, related party disclosures, subsequent events documentation.

Accounting Standards Knowledge: We know SFRS inside out. If you've applied accounting policies incorrectly, we spot it during preparation, not during the audit.

Audit Process Understanding: We know the audit timeline, what happens at each stage, and what you need ready when. No surprises.

One client's previous accountant prepared "working papers" that were just photocopies of ledgers. The auditor rejected them. We had to redo everything. Now we prepare their audit file from the start, and auditors accept it immediately.

Tax Preparation Service Integration with Audit

Your audit and tax filing are connected. Information from the audit feeds into your tax return. If you're getting audited, coordinate your tax preparation service with audit preparation.

Here's why this matters:

Consistent Numbers: Your audited financial statements become the basis for your tax filing. Any audit adjustments affect your taxable income. We track these and adjust your tax computation accordingly.

Tax Implications of Audit Findings: Sometimes auditors find items that weren't tax deductible. We make sure these get added back in your tax computation.

Timing Coordination: Audits often finish close to tax filing deadlines. We manage both processes simultaneously to meet deadlines without rushing.

A property development company had their audit finish in October. Tax filing deadline was November 30. Their audited profit was $200,000 higher than their management accounts showed. We had to quickly revise their tax computation and file on time. Because we handled both audit preparation and tax filing, we caught this early and filed correctly.

Bookkeeping Service Quality Affects Audit Ease

The quality of your bookkeeping directly affects how easy your audit preparation is.

Good bookkeeping makes audit preparation smooth. Clean books mean:

• Bank accounts already reconciled monthly
• Accounts receivable and payable properly tracked
• Fixed assets recorded correctly with proper depreciation
• Revenue and expenses in the right months
• Supporting documents organized throughout the year

Bad bookkeeping makes audit preparation painful. We've seen:

• Bank accounts not reconciled for six months
• Revenue recorded when cash received instead of when earned
• Expenses in wrong categories
• Fixed assets missing or not depreciated
• No filing system for invoices and receipts

If your bookkeeping is messy, audit preparation takes much longer and costs more. We need to clean up the books before we can even start preparing audit schedules.

A retail company in CBD had terrible bookkeeping. Their audit was in two months. We spent the first month just fixing their books - reconciling banks, reclassifying expenses, correcting revenue recognition. Only then could we do actual audit preparation. Cost them an extra $4,000.

Do good bookkeeping year-round. Your audit preparation will be faster and cheaper.

Chartered Accountant Standards in Audit Preparation

Audit preparation should be done by qualified chartered accountants. Here's why qualifications matter:

We Understand SFRS: Audited financial statements must follow Singapore Financial Reporting Standards. Chartered accountants know these standards. We know how to present items correctly.

We Know Audit Standards: Auditors work to Singapore Standards on Auditing (SSA). We know what evidence auditors need and what procedures they'll perform. We prepare accordingly.

We Spot Accounting Issues: If your accounting treatment is wrong, we catch it during preparation. Better we find it than the auditors.

We Can Discuss Technical Matters: Sometimes auditors disagree on accounting treatment. Chartered accountants can have technical discussions with auditors at their level and resolve issues.

One company's bookkeeper prepared their "audit file." The auditor looked at it and said, "This isn't audit preparation, this is just printouts from Xero." We had to redo everything properly. The company learned that audit preparation requires professional accounting knowledge, not just bookkeeping skills.

What We Do for Audit Preparation

Here's our audit preparation process:

Step 1: Initial Review (Week 1)

• Review your financial statements
• Check your bookkeeping quality
• Identify issues that need fixing
• List documents we'll need

Step 2: Cleanup (Week 2-3)

• Fix any bookkeeping errors
• Reconcile all bank accounts
• Update fixed asset register
• Clear old reconciling items

Step 3: Working Papers (Week 3-4)

• Prepare detailed schedules for every account
• Create lead schedules
• Cross-reference everything
• Prepare reconciliations

Step 4: Documentation (Week 4)

• Organize supporting documents
• Create document index
• Prepare board minutes folder
• Ready contracts and agreements

Step 5: Pre-Audit Review (Week 5)

• Review everything we've prepared
• Anticipate audit queries
• Prepare draft responses
• Brief you on what to expect

Timeline assumes reasonable bookkeeping quality. If books are messy, add 2-3 weeks for cleanup.

Common Audit Preparation Mistakes

Here are mistakes we see companies make:

Starting Too Late: Beginning audit preparation two weeks before the audit. Not enough time. Start at least 4-6 weeks before.

Incomplete Reconciliations: Bank reconciliations with lots of old items that were never cleared. Auditors will question every one.

Missing Documentation: Can't find invoices, contracts, or agreements. Auditors need to see these. If you can't produce them, they might qualify their opinion.

No Materiality Assessment: Spending time on immaterial items while ignoring material ones. We focus on what matters.

Poor Communication: Not coordinating with the auditors. We liaise with them before the audit starts to understand their schedule and priorities.

One company didn't tell their auditors they'd changed their year-end. Auditors showed up expecting December 31 year-end. Actual year-end was March 31. Complete chaos. Always coordinate dates and expectations early.

What Audit Preparation Costs

• Basic Preparation: $3,000-$5,000
• Standard Preparation: $5,000 onwards
• Complex Preparation: $15,000+

Cost depends on:

• Company size and complexity
• Quality of existing bookkeeping
• How much cleanup is needed
• Time until audit starts
• Number of subsidiaries or entities

Good audit preparation pays for itself by reducing audit fees. If preparation costs $4,000 but saves $6,000 in audit fees, you're $2,000 ahead plus you save time and stress.

Getting Your Audit Preparation Started

Here's what we need from you:

• When is your audit scheduled?
• Who is your audit firm?
• What's your financial year end?
• Are your financial statements prepared?
• What's your bookkeeping situation?
• Any known issues or concerns?

We'll assess how much work is needed and give you a fixed price quote. Then we'll create a preparation timeline and get started.

Why Companies Choose Us for Audit Preparation

"You prepared everything so well the auditors said it was the smoothest audit they'd done all year."

"Our audit finished in half the time. We saved $8,000 in audit fees. Your preparation paid for itself twice over."

"You found three accounting errors during preparation that would have caused major issues in the audit."

"You speak auditor language. You knew exactly what they needed and had it ready."

We're a team of ACCA and SQP top graduates, ex-Big 4 audit managers, and Singapore Chartered Accountants.'ve prepared hundreds of companies for audit. We know what auditors need. We respond within 1 hour. We work fast.