At the forefront of audit technology How Mercadien experiences greater efficiency with Cloud Audit Suite and explores the future of audit with Thomson Reuters

Overview

As several challenges became apparent for The Mercadien Group — even before the pandemic — the firm knew it was time to find a better auditing workflow solution. Managing directors Lovepreet Buttar and Stephen Noon were looking to support the firm’s initiative to turn their 150 staff, including 30 audit associates, into a hybrid work model. Taking their tax and audit practices to the cloud and finding tools to increase auditing efficiency were must-haves. When going through the evaluation process and searching for the best technology for their needs, the firm narrowed their selection down to Cloud Audit Suite.

Identifying the pain points

While using a local audit platform that was not cloud based, the team encountered difficulties that went beyond being able to work from anywhere. “The methodology and risk assessment from the audit standpoint was the other big driver that aligned with what we needed as a firm,” said Noon. As they decoupled from their previous alliance, the firm realized it no longer made sense to keep using their existing methodology while facing risk assessment issues. Lack of guidance was making team members prone to errors when documenting.

Their needs went beyond fixing the root of the problem. Their goal was to also enable and empower their team with the tools and technology necessary to take their auditing efficiency to the next level. “We wanted something that would help our teams understand the plain English of accounting which can be challenging with certain platforms,” added Lovepreet. “And data analytics because we were starting to consider that, so any platform that had a higher reliance on data analytics and integrating analytics within the audit, we were giving more weight to.”

A preferred audit experience

Seeking a new solution to address their audit needs took a lot of research and demos. One by one, the firm discarded existing options in the market until they decided to stay with Cloud Audit Suite, which included Engagement Manager and Guided Assurance.

The cloud-based technology that Cloud Audit Suite offers allowed the team to avoid going through two conversions while also making it easier to hire more staff, keep up with work demands, and work from different locations. “Having seamless access for our offshore employees has been an added benefit. All staff can work from anywhere and access our clients’ files,” said Lovepreet. “The integration of Guided Assurance, having that ability to be in a workpaper and click for additional guidance, was another thing everyone really liked.” 

The firm’s ability to execute risk assessments skyrocketed as well. “What we are doing now from a risk assessment standpoint is what we were hoping for when we switched. The AI-powered risk identification feature gives a better opportunity to think through the risk areas, document them, and have a link back to our audit programs,” said Stephen. The risk assessment integration allowed Mercadien to guide their teams right from their audit file. If the team has questions, the guidance is just a click away, which has led the team to think through the planning phase differently.

Mercadien also experienced time savings and higher efficiency when navigating new standards in the industry with the PPC methodology. “Engagement Manager already incorporated some of the changes in the risk assessment piece. So, when we adopted the latest standards, it was mostly up to par. That training and transition was easy and saved time. The guidance throughout the workflow helped,” Lovepreet added. Now, by leveraging Cloud Audit Suite, Mercadien has room to focus on the future and break new ground in audit technology.