Internal audit is the cornerstone of strong governance in an enterprise and it bridges the gap between management and the Board of Directors. Internal audit assesses the effectiveness and efficiency of operations while it acts as the safety net for compliance with rules, regulations and overall best business practices.

Internal / Management audit of large business enterprises including listed companies has been one of the focus areas of our firm. Our approach to internal audit is risk based and provides assurance on the design and effectiveness of risk management processes of the enterprise. Based on the audit scope agreed with the clients, our audits could cover all functions of an enterprise including operational and technical areas. Our long experience in internal and operations audits spans across several sectors, manufacturing and services.

The Value Drivers behind our audit process are:

• Control – The effectiveness and suitability of the internal controls and checks are reviewed and improvements recommended
• Compliance – The audit process checks whether the provisions relating to various applicable statutes are complied with. It will also verify whether the internal Policies, Procedures and Regulations of the enterprise are adhered to.
• Cost – The audit process reviews transactions, policies and procedures with an objective of minimising cost and maximising revenue.
• Process Improvement – The systems and processes of each functional area are reviewed and improvements / changes would be recommended.

Due diligence audit is an effective tool used by enterprises embarking on mergers, acquisitions and private equity investments. Many target organisations undertake a readiness review and a self-evaluation by conducting due diligence reviews on themselves. Large overseas infotech companies insist on due diligence reviews, both on delivery capability as well as financial soundness, on the prospective vendors based out of India.

We have conducted several Financial and Operational Due Diligence Audits across the globe either on behalf of the acquirers or the target entity. We also have the unique experience in effectively conducting detailed due diligence on the operational and delivery capabilities of the target entities, especially information technology companies.

We have, through our vendor due diligence services, helped many Infotech multinational enterprises in selecting their offshore delivery partners.

We also conduct due diligence reviews on large borrowers to assist lending banks assess the financial and business health of the borrower.

Enterprises embark on large capital expenditure projects like building new factories involving large capital outlay. In order to prevent cost overruns and to ensure proper statutory compliances, it is quite essential to conduct concurrent internal audits during the project progress.

Our project audit services encompass the complete project life cycle. All phases like budgeting, planning, identification / selection of vendors, bidding process, contracts & purchase orders and project execution are covered under the audit. Due to the concurrent execution of the audit, cost and time overruns can be identified early enough to ensure timely intervention by the management.

Today’s complex and multi location business enterprises are constantly under the threat of frauds and misappropriations, by insiders as well as external players. Under these circumstances, fact finding special audits and forensic audits become necessary to unearth the full extent of the problem and as a prelude to civil or criminal legal remedy.

Our forensic audit team possesses tremendous information technology and process experience to conduct complex forensic and special audits. We also work with legal associates, criminal and civil, to help our customers seek legal remedy in the case of frauds. We have conducted many complex and large forensic audits for banks and business enterprises, cutting across industries, from Information technology sector to manufacturing / trading sector.

We undertake reviews to assess the effectiveness of internal controls to ensure that the enterprises mitigate and manage the risk environment in a suitable manner. Our reviews would also factor the current and relevant statutory framework in this regard. Depending on the requirement of the client, we can study the complete set of risks and controls for various business functions and deliver Risk & Control Matrix Reports. As part of our evaluation, we would recommend modifications and improvements to various controls.

Business process audit is an effective tool for identifying process weakness, areas of improvement and optimisation opportunities. These audits help in identifying potential modifications and improvements in the existing Functional Manuals / Operating Procedures.

We have the experience and expertise in understanding the processes in regular as well as highly automated ERP environments. Our business process audits add great value to the organisation in optimisation of efforts and bringing in better controls.

Large banks have the practice of periodically validating the veracity of primary and collateral securities of their borrowers. In this process, they also assess the current business parameters of the borrower to evaluate the credit risk on a continuous basis.

We have several years of experience in conducting collateral inspections for some foreign banks in India. Our team has gained the expertise to deliver large number of such audits month after month in a timely and effective manner.