Understanding the Purpose and Benefits of External Audits

A SAP Concur blog post explains external audits—independent assessments of financial statements, records and internal controls by third parties—to validate process accuracy and identify improvement areas. It says external audits can enhance financial transparency, ensure compliance, validate internal controls and support decision-making. It lists audit steps including planning and preparation, data collection and review, evaluation of internal controls, substantive testing, reporting and recommendations, and follow-up and remediation. It notes 94% of executives agree advanced technology can promote audit quality, and automating internal audit processes is 36% more efficient for expense repo…