Accounting
Internal Audit
An independent review of your company's processes, controls and risks to catch failures, errors and leaks before they reach the accounts.
What is it?
An internal audit is an independent review of how your company works on the inside: how it buys and pays, how it sells and collects, who authorises what, and how cash, stock and payroll are controlled. Its purpose is not to give an opinion on the annual accounts — that is the statutory audit — but to check that processes and controls work, to detect errors, inefficiencies and fraud risks, and to propose concrete improvements.
Unlike the statutory audit, it is not a regulated activity and is not generally mandatory for SMEs, and its scope is set by the company itself: it can cover the whole organisation or focus on a single area. The result is a report of findings prioritised by risk and an action plan with owners and deadlines, written for management rather than for third parties.
Who is it for?
- Companies that have grown and whose processes are no longer under management's direct control
- Businesses with recurring discrepancies in cash, stock, collections or margins they cannot explain
- Family businesses preparing a generational handover or the entry of a partner or investor
- Companies preparing for their first statutory audit, a due diligence or a financing round
- Management that wants a regular, independent review of its controls and fraud risks
What's included in our service
- Initial meeting with management to define scope, priority areas and timetable
- Process and risk map of the areas reviewed: purchasing and payments, sales and collections, treasury, inventory, payroll and compliance
- Assessment of internal control: segregation of duties, authorisations, reconciliations and system access
- Testing on samples of real transactions to verify that controls work in practice
- Findings report prioritised by risk and impact, with concrete recommendations
- Action plan with owners and deadlines, and a follow-up review of its implementation
Documentation you will need to provide
- Organisation chart and job descriptions for staff in the areas reviewed
- Existing internal procedures and policies, even informal ones
- Access to the accounting records and management systems (ERP, invoicing, warehouse)
- Sample transaction documents: purchase orders, delivery notes, invoices, bank reconciliations
Key deadlines
- Duration depends on scope: a review of a single area usually takes a few weeks; a full review, somewhat longer
- The findings report is delivered and discussed with management at the end of fieldwork
- We recommend a follow-up review after six months to check that the action plan has been implemented
Why GCT1
- A team experienced in auditing and in the day-to-day accounting of SMEs in Elche and Alicante: we know where processes tend to fail
- A practical approach: recommendations that fit the company's real resources, not theoretical manuals
- Coordination with the firm's tax and labour teams when findings have tax or employment implications
- Full confidentiality: the report is for management
- Free first consultation to define scope and budget
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Frequently asked questions
- How does an internal audit differ from a statutory audit?
- A statutory audit is a regulated activity: it is carried out by an auditor registered with the ROAC and issues a public opinion on whether the annual accounts give a true and fair view, addressed to shareholders, banks or public bodies. An internal audit reviews internal processes and controls, its scope is set by the company and its report is for management. The first looks at the result; the second, at how you get there.
- Is an internal audit mandatory?
- For an SME, not as a general rule. It is a management tool the company chooses to commission, usually when it has grown, when it detects discrepancies, or when it is preparing for a significant event: an investor coming in, a financing round, a sale or a generational handover.
- Can you carry out both the internal audit and the statutory audit of the same company?
- Not for the same client and period. Spanish audit rules prevent the statutory auditor from providing internal audit services to the entity it audits, to protect its independence. If we audit your accounts, the internal audit must be done by another professional, and vice versa. We will flag this at the first consultation.
- Can you focus on just one area?
- Yes, and that is the most common approach. Many companies start with the area where they see the most risk — purchasing, collections, stock or cash — and expand later. We define the scope with you at the first meeting so the work addresses what actually concerns you.
Let's talk about your case
Free first consultation, no commitment. We get back to you within one working day.