Key points
- Changing auditors can sharpen governance, not just shake things up
- The right questions to ask before you sign your auditor on for another year
- A well-run tender process finds the right partner, not just the lowest price
- A structured, transparent tender process improves outcomes by separating quality from price and assessing day‑to‑day audit leaders.
The relationship between a business and its auditor is often one of the most enduring partnerships for an organisation and its leaders. Longevity can be a real strength, bringing deep institutional knowledge, efficient processes and established trust that support a high-quality audit.
Assessing and appointing an auditor (even if you choose an incumbent) is an opportunity to strengthen governance and reset expectations. There are many triggers that signal it may be time to change auditors, and there are key questions to ask during a tender process to assess independence and best fit for your business.
Why the audit relationship matters
A strong auditor relationship underpins every effective engagement. The best relationships are built on responsiveness, open communication and a genuine understanding of the business. Also, the right auditor will maintain independence and have the confidence to challenge management estimate and accounting judgements when it’s appropriate.
Understanding how an auditor works in practice is a key part of that assessment. As part of an auditor selection or review process, businesses can benefit from asking firms to present their service approach. This helps to understand how the audit team engages with management and the board, who is involved day-to-day, and whether the working style will be constructive, practical and aligned to the organisation’s needs.
When it might be time to change your auditor
- Routine and independence: When the audit becomes predictable, it’s important that the level of challenge remains strong and both actual and perceived independence are maintained.
- Business change: Growth, restructuring or new markets may mean your current auditor no longer fully aligns with your scale or complexity.
- Service quality: Ongoing issues such as delays, team turnover or inconsistent communication can impact the effectiveness of the audit.
- Stakeholder expectations: Boards, investors or lenders may seek a review to strengthen governance or support transactions.
- Value alignment: If fees and outcomes feel misaligned, it’s worth reassessing whether you’re getting the right level of insight and involvement.
Questions to ask when choosing a new auditor
If you are ready to find a new auditor (or even reassess that your incumbent is best fit), a strong Request for Proposal (RFP) is where you set the parameters of what you are looking for in your audit partner. The questions you ask are critical to understanding how an auditor will fit with your business and enable you to make the most informed decisions. Consider including questions that can identify:
- Relationship and fit: It is pivotal a company’s relationship with its auditors is built on mutual respect and trust where the auditor understands your goals and objectives.
- Independence and challenge: Will the firm bring genuine independence and professional scepticism, alongside technical capability?
- Engagement style and fit: How does the team communicate, collaborate and engage with management and the board? Look for a proactive, transparent and responsive approach.
- Team quality and involvement: Who leads the audit day-to-day, what experience do they bring, and how involved will senior team members be throughout the audit cycle?
- Audit approach and quality: How does the firm ensure audit quality, incorporate learnings from reviews, and tailor its approach to your key risks?
- Use of technology: How is technology and data analytics used to enhance coverage, target risk and generate meaningful insights?
- Commercials and value: Are fees transparent, aligned to scope and inclusive of all costs (including any technology charges)? Ensure pricing supports appropriate senior involvement, audit quality and meaningful insight – low fees can sometimes indicate a more junior team or overseas resources.
Steps to improve the outcome of an auditor selection process
- Meet the engagement team and get a feel for how they operate. Be sure to interview the day-today lead, not just the audit partner. While partners should remain the key contact and relationship manager, the day-to-day audit tasks are often overseen by managers. This is also typically where any service issues can be first identified.
- Use a transparent scorecard and share it. Build a weighted assessment structure covering tangible criteria (capability, approach, coverage) and intangible criteria (fit, communication style, credibility).
- Separate quality from price early. Consider evaluating proposals and presentations before revealing the fee or request fees in a separate section to avoid anchoring the decision on cost rather than quality.
What next?
As audit delivery deadlines approach, building a transparent assessment process and measurement tool to choose an auditor can help ensure you receive the best service from the team that’s right for you. If you have any questions or would like to have a conversation about how our audit experts could support your business, reach out to your local Pitcher Partners team.
