Late to Choose Your Auditor? Catch Up Without Stress

If you haven’t appointed an auditor and the deadline for publishing the audit opinion is approaching – don’t panic: with a tightly planned 4-5-week sprint, the audit can still be completed.

Why audits get delayed

Negotiations drag on: fees and terms of the audit debated too long; contract not signed on time.
Books aren’t ready: creditor/debtor balances, inventories, fixed assets, and the tax balance still need adjustments.
Dependence on third parties: waiting for group/head-office instructions and confirmations from partners/lawyers.
Insufficient bandwidth: small or overloaded teams; not enough time.

The cost of a late start

Extra spend and time lost to back-and-forth.
Management distraction.
Pressure from investors, banks, and regulators.
Risk of a modified opinion if evidence can’t be gathered in time (e.g., fixed assets register, inventory count report, sound accounting policies, bank and counterparty confirmations).

A practical 30-day plan

Conducting the audit within compressed timelines is possible:

Week 1: Kick-off

Appoint the auditor, agree the timetable, and sign the engagement.
Prepare a concise Prepared-By-Client (PBC) checklist (who prepares what, by when).
Set the audit risk-management approach.

Week 2: Core materials

Compile bank statements, the accounting ledger, AR/AP listings, FA register, and inventory catalogue.
Send out confirmation requests to banks, suppliers, customers, and other third parties.
Perform asset and inventory counts with auditor attendance.

Week 3: Complex areas

Auditor reviews going concern, revenue, payroll accruals, leases, loans/interest, provisions, tax assets, debtors and creditors.
Run risk-based analytics.

Week 4: Wrap-up & sign-off

Update records, clear review notes, and complete the final review of financial and management statements.
Management signs the financial and management statements.

How we make it on time

Kudos Georgia’s “rapid audit” pillars:

Mobilization
Discipline
Professionalism
Scalability
Experience

What to prepare today

Trial balance with prior-year figures.
AR/AP listings; bank reconciliations; loan agreements and statements.
Inventory list and count instructions.
Fixed-asset register (additions/disposals, useful lives).
Key contracts and a summary of revenue-recognition principles.
Lease list with key terms.
RS.ge access and tax filings reconciled to the ledger.
Lawyer’s letter on litigation (if any).
Related-party transactions.
A draft of management reporting.
Prepare these and you’ll avoid roughly 70–75% of first-round review comments.

What you get as a result

Shorter timelines once the work and deadlines are clear.
Fewer surprises thanks to early alignment on tough topics.
Lower overruns because repeat document requests drop.

FAQ

Is it already too late to choose an auditor?
It depends. You’ll need to hire an auditor anyway – better late than never.

Our bookkeeping is messy – should we wait?
No. Run cleanup in parallel with planning audit tests.

Will the audit fee increase?
Probably – though not excessively.

Can we change auditors late?
Yes – that can be part of the engagement terms.

Ready to catch up without stress?
Kudos Georgia offers a Late-Starter Audit Program combining rapid readiness, technical support, and hands-on project management so that your financial statements—and the audit opinion—are issued on time.