Across worlds of industries – consulting, education, professional services, or – dare I say – even politics – an age-old question arguably dominates the (subconscious) minds of movers & shakers and all the powers that be: how can I increase my compensation while reducing my accountability? Sounds nasty. But I’d argue it isn’t so, despite what Scott Galloway may imply.
Think like a capitalist. Greed is good. Stay with me now. Let’s instead “modify” the question and view it as a CPA/auditor would (or should): how can I increase my quality while reducing my risk?
You need an audit partner. And no – I don’t mean the kind that has an equity stake in the firm. I mean the kind that is there with you – like the tools in your toolbox – each serving a specific purpose with nothing but an increasing ROI over time and with scale.
How do you find the right partner (tool)? It’s easy to get lost in the tech stack options and endless number of products out there. And then many just default to an “AI is the answer” mindset without considering the reason for a whole toolkit in the first place i.e. all areas of audit risks. You don’t set out to dig the Panama Canal with just hand shovels.
Arguably (and understandably) with the advent of AI, everyone has “freaked out” about the implications – rise of the machines and the replacement of jobs etc. etc. Again – let’s not be so grim.
➡️ Think of an audit(ing) partner as how you should think of AI: not a replacement, but an aid. A thought partner. Not the tool. A tool. From there you can see the forest from the trees.
➡️ Then you can pick tools that actually do the work. Marginal efficiency gains are good. Addressing your actual audit risks is better. Doing all the above while improving your quality is best.
➡️ Align your product evaluations and tech stack decisions with the actual services you are delivering. Building out cash proofs as a transaction advisor? Proving revenue occurrence and cash existence? Reducing fraud? Eliminating extensive random audit sampling? Pick a proven tool that actually does that.
Yes – it all comes down to reducing your risk. And if you can do it while improving the quality (and time savings) of your work – then even better. Congrats. You’ve found the right partner.
