Many organisations consider changing auditors only after confidence has already been damaged.
The audit may have been late. Communication may have been poor. Fees may have increased without enough explanation. The finance team may feel that the audit is handled by people who do not understand the organisation.
Changing auditors can be the right decision. But it should not be treated as simply replacing one firm with another.
The real question is whether the next audit process will be better managed.
Why organisations delay changing auditors
Even when the current audit relationship is not ideal, many finance directors, trustees and boards hesitate.
There are practical reasons for this.
Audit tendering takes time. The finance team may already be stretched. A new auditor needs to understand the organisation, opening balances, systems, judgement areas and reporting deadlines. There may be concern that a lower fee means less resource, or that a larger firm will still delegate heavily to junior staff.
Those concerns are reasonable.
A change of auditor should reduce future friction, not create a new version of the same problem.
What to check before appointing a new auditor
A useful audit proposal should do more than quote a fee.
It should make the process clear.
Before appointing a new auditor, ask:
- Who will lead the work day to day?
- What experience does the team have with similar organisations?
- When will planning start?
- What information will be needed before fieldwork?
- What are the likely areas of audit judgement?
- How will audit requests be controlled?
- When will manager and partner review happen?
- How will issues be escalated before the deadline is under pressure?
These questions reveal whether the firm has thought properly about the work.
Fee should not be considered in isolation
Audit fee matters. Boards and trustees have to consider value for money.
But the cheapest audit is not always the lowest-cost audit in practice.
If the fee is based on an under-resourced plan, the organisation may pay through management time, delays, repeated requests and late review points. Equally, a higher fee should be explainable by the scope, complexity, timetable, seniority and expected work required.
The better question is not “Which fee is lowest?”
It is “Which proposal is properly scoped and resourced for our organisation?”
Professional clearance is only one step
Professional clearance and handover are important, but they are not the whole transition.
A new auditor should also understand:
- the prior-year audit position
- key accounting policies
- significant estimates and judgements
- systems and controls relevant to the audit
- the reporting timetable
- board or trustee expectations
- group or funder reporting requirements
This transition should be planned rather than left until fieldwork.
What a better first year can look like
A well-managed first year with a new auditor normally includes early planning, a clear request list, defined roles, senior involvement and careful review of brought-forward balances and prior-year issues.
The first year may still require more work than a recurring audit because the new auditor is building their understanding from the start.
That should be explained clearly.
The client should know what the first year will involve, where pressure may arise and how the timetable will be managed.
When changing auditor may be sensible
A change may be worth considering where:
- communication has become poor
- deadlines are repeatedly under pressure
- partner or manager review is too slow
- the audit team does not understand the organisation
- fees have increased without clear explanation
- the finance team is carrying too much of the process burden
- the organisation has grown or become more complex
- trustees, directors or the board have lost confidence
The aim is not to change for the sake of change.
It is to appoint an auditor whose process, team and judgement fit the organisation’s current stage.
FAQs
Is changing auditors disruptive?
It can be, especially in the first year. The risk is reduced when the new auditor plans early, understands the organisation properly and manages information requests clearly.
Should we choose the lowest audit fee?
Fee is important, but it should be assessed alongside scope, resource, senior involvement, timetable and relevant experience. An under-resourced audit can create avoidable cost through delay and internal time.
When should we start the auditor-change process?
As early as possible before the next audit cycle. Leaving the decision until close to the year-end can limit choice and increase pressure on the finance team.