MNCs are not just about a big team, big office space, and many clients. As the size of businesses continues to grow, the complexities increase too. Corporates levied with the responsibility to handle the accounting and finance of many clients, from different industries also need to emphasize how each of these businesses should operate, addressing their challenges. Auditing is an integral part of such corporates. It is not just a routine financial check but a critical operation to ensure regulatory compliance, operational efficiency, and financial integrity across global teams and operations.
Unlike smaller organizations, MNCs face a plethora of challenges that are vast and varied. The corporates have many teams and activities that need to be taken care of. And often, it becomes almost impossible for them to take care of everything in-house. That is when the number and frequency of errors increase. Sometimes, the corporates lack the resources to tackle the nuances of accounting in general and auditing in specific. Outsourcing to a team of experts can help here.
Top challenges that MNCs face in auditing
- Regulatory compliance across jurisdictions: One of the most common yet prominent challenges that large corporations face is adhering to a varied regulatory framework across all geographies they operate. Each country and state has its own set of rules, standards, and regulation requirements. They can be both complex and dynamic. Keeping track of and adhering to these regulations requires a robust understanding of the local laws and the ability to adapt to regulatory changes quickly. Although the MNCs have better resources and capital to deal with these changes, the fast pace of these changes can be hard to keep up with.
- Complex organizational structures: Unlike smaller firms, MNCs have complex organizational structures. A multitude of subsidiaries, hierarchies within them, joint ventures, and branches across geographies are just some of them. This increases the complexities in the processes. There is a need for a thorough and cohesive auditing approach that will help ensure that all of these entities are accurately and comprehensively audited. Coordinating with the audit processes across these complex and diverse structures is not only resource-extensive but also needs specialized expertise.
- Data integration and management: The larger the size of an organization, the greater the volume of data generated. And this data can be multi-layered with the constant need to look at and sort through them. Integrating and managing this data to ensure accuracy and consistency is a time-consuming task, that needs the resources’ undivided attention, often limiting their ability to focus on other jobs during the audit process. Discrepancies in data formats, accounting systems, and financial reporting standards across different regions and structures add to the complexity.
- Cultural and language barriers: If you want to grow your base and operate across geographies, needless to say, you will need resources from different countries and regions. Operating across all these regions also requires the corporates to navigate through cultural differences and language barriers. These differences can impact seamless communication, understanding of local business practices and the mindset of the locals, and proper execution of audit processes in these regions. Effective auditing in such an environment needs the auditors to be culturally sensitive and proficient in local languages.
- Risk management and fraud detection: MNCs almost always run at a high risk of fraud and financial irregularities because of their vast scale, decentralized operations, and availability of a huge volume of financial data. Identifying and mitigating these risks requires a proactive and sophisticated approach to auditing. These corporations also need people who have expertise in handling such kinds of situations. Even with automation and AI, many processes and teams in MNCs use traditional auditing methods. These methods fail to comprehend and detect complex fraud schemes.
How outsourcing can help the MNCs?
- Access to specialized staff: Outsourcing audit processes to specialized firms can help MNCs with access to a wide range of expertise. The outsourcing partners have a team of professionals who are well-versed with the regulatory requirements of different regions, ensuring compliance and local laws. A deep understanding of the audit processes and global accounting standards and practices can help corporates to understand, be aware of, and combat the complexities.
- Easy scaling to different geographies: With outsourcing you not only have a team of experts who understand the auditing nuances of different geographies, but also the power to scale up and down as per your need. This advantage can be used even when you are not geographically expanding. For example, during the audit season, you will witness a rush of clients and approaching deadlines. Having additional pairs of hands can be useful. When dealing with large-scale audits, outsourcing firms can provide additional resources and support. This ease of scalability with outsourcing helps MNCS ensure that they can manage their workload efficiently, without compromising on the quality.
- Advanced tools and technologies: Outsourcing firms constantly invest in advanced auditing tools and technologies. These include data analytics, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity measures. Since they need to stay ahead, they also invest in training their teams in these tools and equip them with the ability to help clients with varied technology. When you partner with outsourcing firms, you get access to the top tools being used in the industry and a team of professionals who are aware of using them. By leveraging these tools, MNCs can help enhance the accuracy, efficiency, and security of their audit processes. Advanced data analytics can also help uncover patterns and anomalies that might go unnoticed otherwise.
- Improved risk management: This is one of the key benefits that MNCs can reap from outsourcing. Given the data available and the wide client base, they run a huge risk of facing cybersecurity attacks. Outsourcing firms can bring a fresh perspective to risk management and fraud detection. These teams have experience in identifying potential risks while implementing robust controls. This proactive approach can help mitigate fraud and financial irregularities in the MNCs effectively.
- Streamlined processes: Outsourcing firms are aware of the industry’s best practices and have helped streamline processes over years of experience. MNCs handle clients from different industries and this advantage can help them gain an edge, especially during the peak auditing season. Standardized processes and methodologies can help achieve consistency and accuracy in audit outcomes.
The audit process is complex, especially for large corporates. With their unique challenges, outsourcing can come as a means to be at the top of their game. Outsourcing audit processes to specialized firms can offer MNCs a solution to overcome these challenges. As the business processes continue to become nuanced, outsourcing will play an important role in helping MNCs navigate the complexities of auditing and achieve strategic objectives.
Want to outsource your audit functions? Write to us at connect@finsmartaccounting.com for more.
Director Growth Strategy & Alliance
Maanoj Shah is a finance and outsourcing expert with strong Business Strategy and Scaling-up experience. Over the last 20 years, he has incubated multiple businesses and helped build global enterprises in verticals as diversified as hospitality, technology, and healthcare.
