Across two recent events hosted in partnership with the NOVA community, Gravita asked 28 CFOs a straightforward but crucial question: “What does ‘good’ look like?” when it comes to audits. Their answers provided a fascinating snapshot, revealing not only how finance leaders genuinely feel about audits, but also pinpointing the biggest frustrations, the real value auditors provide, and where improvements could make the biggest difference.
The results highlight significant challenges, particularly around time management and cost overruns, and shed light on what CFOs genuinely value in their auditors, including expertise and strong relationships over simply firm size. Here’s what we discovered.
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Perceptions of audits
When asked about their immediate thoughts upon hearing the word ‘audit,’ responses varied significantly. While a few CFOs associated it positively with compliance (three mentions), others expressed frustration or stress, using words like ‘painful,’ ‘stress,’ ‘vomit,’ and ‘yuck.’ The diverse reactions underline mixed attitudes toward audits, highlighting both recognition of their necessity and challenges associated with them.
Biggest audit challenges
‘Time’ emerged clearly as the biggest challenge in audit processes, cited directly by several respondents. Other significant challenges included managing changing audit team members, juggling business-as-usual tasks alongside audit demands, delayed responses, and resource management. These challenges reflect consistent pressures on CFOs to balance operational responsibilities with rigorous audit demands.
One area that often causes avoidable delays is when businesses are under financial strain but haven’t properly addressed going concern assessments and impairment reviews. Getting that documentation prepared early is crucial. It is sometimes overlooked until late in the process, slowing everything down. By tackling these reviews upfront, audited companies can avoid unnecessary bottlenecks and keep the audit on track.
Value of auditors
In terms of auditor value, the majority of CFOs (46.4% of respondents) indicated a neutral stance, acknowledging auditors as adequate but not invaluable. However, 32.1% of respondents stated that auditors added genuine value to their businesses, suggesting that a meaningful segment does appreciate auditors’ contributions. Meanwhile, a smaller group (17.9% of respondents) viewed auditors as mere necessity rather than valuable contributors.
Auditor change frequency
Auditor change frequency showed that most companies (32.1% of respondents) had switched auditors between three to five years ago. A significant number (25% of respondents) had made changes more recently, within the last one to three years. Only a few respondents had never changed their auditors or had made very recent changes within the last year.
For those hesitating about changing auditor, it’s worth saying that switching isn’t as hard as it seems. You’re not starting from scratch. A good audit firm will review your previous auditor’s work papers and system notes, so the handover is structured. Most of the knowledge you need isn’t locked away with your old provider; it’s on file and accessible. Often, you already have a broad idea of where the issues lie. It just comes down to making the decision and a firm like Gravita will take care of the rest.
Importance of audit firm size
Regarding the importance of audit firm size, most CFOs (50% of respondents) prioritized expertise and relationships over the size of the firm. A sizeable minority (39.3% of respondents) felt size was somewhat important but secondary to quality of service.
Sometimes, an interested third party, like a bank or lender, might push for a Big 4 auditor. But it’s worth thinking twice. If you’re a mid-tier company, you might not be treated as a top priority by a large firm, and that can result in a poor experience. Depending on who’s making the request, there’s often room to push back. You should always aim to work with a firm that meets your needs, not just one that ticks a box for someone else.
Audit fee overruns
Finally, on the topic of audit fees, cost overruns were a concern, with several CFOs indicating that they regularly paid more than initially quoted, while others reported no such overruns.
At Gravita, we believe in quoting fairly and transparently from the outset. Unfortunately, some firms will provide an unrealistically low initial quote that results in hidden costs and fee overruns further down the line. Our approach is different: we quote a fair, realistic fee from the outset, and if anything unexpected arises, we raise it with you when the issue is identified.
In our experience, most overruns come down to delays or a lack of early planning. These are avoidable. That’s why we invest time in building a clear roadmap upfront, agreeing expectations, timelines and responsibilities early in the process. If your audit committee needs papers by a certain date, we’ll work backwards from that point to make sure everything is delivered on time and without surprises.
So, what does ‘good’ look like?
Audits remain an essential part of financial governance, but they’re still widely seen as a burden – time-consuming, disruptive, and often more expensive than expected. While a few CFOs see real strategic value in the audit process, many are simply trying to get through it with minimal friction. That speaks volumes about the opportunity for auditors to do better.
What this survey tells us loud and clear is that there’s room to raise the bar. CFOs want a process that respects their time, adds value beyond compliance, and is handled by people who genuinely understand their business. Expertise, communication, and continuity matter far more than firm size. And when auditors get those things right, the relationship becomes more than just a tick-box exercise.
That starts with good planning. Auditors use the planning stage to identify key risks, and should then make sure the client is fully aware of what is expected of them. Where assessments are required, it is the client’s responsibility to make those calls. The auditor’s job is to evaluate them, and that only works if there is something tangible to assess.
In some cases, the thinking has been done but not written down, which can create unnecessary friction and delay. Getting it right upfront makes everything else more straightforward.
Why Gravita?
For firms like Gravita, this is both a challenge and an opportunity, to deliver audits that are not only technically robust, but genuinely helpful. Because ‘good’ isn’t just about meeting regulatory standards. It’s about being efficient, collaborative, and trusted. Ready for a better audit experience?
At Gravita, we deliver reliable, efficient, high-quality audits tailored specifically to your business needs. If you’re looking to work with auditors who genuinely understand your sector, deliver on time, and make your audit seamless from the start, we’d love to talk. Contact us today to find out how we can support your organisation.
