Elixir Audits, Chartered Accountants

Controls fail quietly. Nothing announces that the approval limit is being ignored or that the bank reconciliation has not been reviewed since March. The loss appears months later as a variance nobody can explain.

What we actually do

We follow transactions end to end and record what happens, which is reliably different from what the policy says. Then we test the controls that matter on the balances that carry exposure. Revenue and billing, procurement, payroll, cash and stock, in that order, because that is where the money goes in our experience.

Findings written to be acted on

A list of thirty observations ranked by nothing is a document that gets filed. We rank by financial exposure, name an owner for each, and write the remedy as something testable: not "improve controls over petty cash" but a specific procedure a person who was not in the room could verify happened.

The most common finding

One person able to initiate, approve and pay. It is present in most owner-managed businesses we look at, it is rarely policy, and it is the single control weakness most often exploited. It is also usually fixable in an afternoon.

By exposure

Findings ranked on money, not on how technical they sound

3 to 6 weeks

Typical review, depending on scope

One-off

A diagnostic, not an ongoing function

Scope

What the review covers

Scoped to the cycles where your exposure sits rather than to every process in the business.

01

Process mapping

Walkthroughs of what actually happens, conducted with the people who do the work rather than with the people who wrote the policy.

02

Controls testing

Testing on the controls that matter: authorisation, segregation, reconciliation and review, across the cycles that carry the exposure.

03

Findings and ranking

Each finding quantified where possible, ranked by financial exposure, with a named owner and a testable remedy against each.

04

Remediation support

Where you want it, helping design the fix. Note that where we are your statutory auditor there are limits on how far we can go here, and we will tell you where they sit.

Process

How the review runs

Short, focused and it ends with a working session rather than a document being emailed.

Independence limitsWe cannot design a control and then opine on whether it operates. For statutory audit clients we can find and rank, and we can advise, but we cannot own the remediation. That line is drawn before we accept.

Scoping

Which cycles, and why. Usually driven by where findings have recurred or where a loss occurred.

Week 1

Walkthroughs

Following transactions end to end with the people who process them.

Weeks 1 to 2

Testing

On the controls identified as significant, using samples sized to the exposure.

Weeks 2 to 4

Findings discussion

Every finding put to management before it appears in a report. Frequently the control exists and operates differently from how it was described.

Week 4

Report and session

Ranked findings with owners and remedies, then a working session with the people who have to implement them.

On completion

Engagement

Fees, timing and who does the work

Fee basis

Fixed feeSet on the number of cycles and the size of the business. Quoted before any work starts.

Who does the work

A manager, partner reviewedWith the partner in the scoping and in the closing session.

Timeline

Three to six weeksFrom the start of walkthroughs to the closing session.

Indicative only. Every fee is quoted in the proposal, before any work starts, and held unless the scope changes.

Questions

Questions before you commission this

How is this different from internal audit?
This is a one-off diagnostic answering a specific question, usually after something has gone wrong or before something changes. Internal audit is an ongoing function with an annual plan reporting to your audit committee. Clients often start here and move to that.
Can our statutory auditor do this?
Partly. We can find, test and rank findings, and we can advise on remedies. We cannot design a control and then opine on whether it operates, so we cannot own the remediation for an audit client. We tell you where the line is before accepting.
What will you look at first?
Revenue and billing, then procurement, then payroll, then cash and stock. That order reflects where we find the largest exposure most often, though we adjust it to your business.
Will this find fraud?
It may surface indicators. It is not a fraud investigation and it is not scoped to be discreet. Where fraud is suspected, a forensic engagement is the right instrument and the sequencing is completely different.
What does a good outcome look like?
Fewer repeat findings in next year's management letter, and a shorter audit as a consequence. Clients who work their findings register properly usually see repeat findings fall sharply by the second year.

Related

Read before you brief us

ServiceInternal audit, as an ongoing functionBoardroom BriefingFive steps that turn a management letter into resultsServiceForensic audit, where something has already happened

Next step

Tell us which findings keep coming back.

A recurring finding is usually a symptom of something structural, and naming it is the fastest way for us to work out where to start.

Request a controls review Speak to a partner

Contact

+233 53 362 2433 info@elixiraudits.com

1 Alex Nkrumah Street, Airport West, Accra

Also under Advisory

All of Advisory →

Valuation and due diligence

Business valuation for shareholder exits, investor entry, disputes and court processes. Financial and tax due diligence before you buy, invest in or lend to a business. Both built to be challenged, because both will be.

Business strategy and structuring for growth

Which lines to grow and which to retire, whether the group structure still fits, and what has to be true financially for the plan to work. Written as a decision paper the board can act on.

IFRS implementation and conversion

First-time adoption, conversion between frameworks, or implementing a specific standard that has become material to you. Including the opening balance sheet, the disclosure pack, and training your team so it does not depend on us next year.

Insolvency and restructuring under Act 1015

An options review for a business under pressure, informal restructuring and creditor negotiation, and formal processes under the Corporate Insolvency and Restructuring Act 2020 (Act 1015). The useful time to take advice is earlier than most people take it.