Audit & Assurance

 Audit & Assurance

Grant Thornton understands how important audited financial statements are to businesses, shareholders/owners, lenders, investors and other stakeholders. Our approach is to first understand the business and the risks it faces, and then to focus our efforts where they matter most. This method is effective and cost-efficient.

Grant Thornton delivers tailor-made assurance services accentuated by impeccable quality to our clients in local and global marketplace. Our aim is to assist our clients in steering through complex professional requirements with clarity and agility. 

What makes us different?

Risk-based global audit methodology: We use a global audit methodology with consistent application across our international network. Our state-of-the-art tools and technological innovation further complement our methodology

Horizon, Grant Thornton’s audit methodology, is designed to deliver a consistent standard of audit service to clients, no matter where they operate. Our audit teams therefore avoid the need to reconcile documentation from a patchwork of different tools. We apply Horizon using a new proprietary software tool called Voyager. 

Company and industry-specific focus

Horizon features a partner-led process that focuses the audit effort in those areas of the financial statements that represent the greatest risk. Using Horizon to its best advantage requires understanding your business and the environment in which it operates. In addition to providing insight for making better risk assessments, this deep understanding places your audit team in a position to provide valuable advice and recommendations. 

State-of-the-art audit tools

Voyager supports the Horizon audit methodology. Using Voyager, audit teams identify financial statement risks and link them to the processes and internal controls that you have established to address those risks. This enables our team to tailor an audit response that is appropriate to the assessed risks. Voyager also generates audit programs for 16 different industries that are customized for individual client situations and focused on your financial statement risk areas.

Voyager assists our audit teams in documenting, evaluating and testing of internal controls. As a result, it helps auditors to identify opportunities for strengthening internal controls. 

Our audit teams also use IDEA, a data extraction and analysis tool, to analyse large amounts of financial data, independently verify calculations, efficiently select samples and generate confirmations. IDEA enables auditors to extract and analyse data in a matter of seconds, resulting in a more efficient audit process that is less burdensome for our clients.  

Expert involvement

Audit teams draw upon the collective knowledge of professionals from Grant Thornton member firms as well as domestic specialists in accounting, auditing, information technology, valuation and taxation.

The Grant Thornton investment in Horizon and Voyager reflects the commitment to delivering high-quality, efficient audits across the globe. Whatever the size of your enterprise, wherever you operate in the world, the Horizon methodology and our Voyager audit software can be tailored to your company, industry and unique business situations. 

Our assurance services cover the following:  

• Statutory External Audits

• Review Engagements

• Compilation Engagements

• Agreed Upon Procedures

• Statutory Certifications for Government Levy and Import Duty Exemptions

• Controls Implementation/ Readiness Tests for SOX

• IFRS Implementation

• Forensic Investigations

• Anti-Money Laundering Compliance 

Global audit quality

Grant Thornton views audit quality as an essential element of our business. The global network has tools, support and controls in place ensure member firms consistently deliver highquality audits. These include:

• Strategic direction: an aligned global assurance strategy,‘Leading with quality’, focused on delivering efficient high quality audits

• Client acceptance and continuance: established processes and procedures to help ensure members firms only accept high-quality clients

• Global audit methodology and technology: an audit methodology to meet international standards as a minimum, and supporting state-of-the-art proprietary software, backed by a commitment to remain industry-leading through ongoing investments

• IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) support: full-time global IFRS team to provide member firms with training and guidance

• Global audit quality monitoring: dedicated global monitoring team to review the audit quality of member firms on a regular basis

• Global audit training: globally developed programmes, such as a three-part online ISA proficiency series and face-to-face sessions on IFRS, audit methodology and independence, to ensure member firms have consistent learning. 

Global audit methodology and technology

Grant Thornton uses a global methodology requiring member firms to implement international standards as a minimum, and an audit process supported by state-of-the-art technology. 

Grant Thornton’s global audit methodology:

• provides a clear linkage to auditing standards using ISA-based terms

• applies an account-based approach to address the risk of material misstatement

• allows the tailoring of audit risk of each client’s profile 

Grant Thornton’s global audit tool:

• offers flexibility and scalability to perform audits of all types and sizes

• puts global and local methodology guidance at auditors’ fingertips

• allows for rapid responses to regulatory changes

• enables auditors to perform higher quality audits more efficiently

• gives auditors the ability to provide clients with better insights 

Information Technology General Controls (ITGCs)

Our ITGCs team ensures the reliability and integrity of the data and processes which will lead to efficiency of our clients’ systems and processes to operate within a well-controlled environment. Our team will identify, evaluate and validate controls, report areas of improvement along with our recommendations. 

ITGCs cover:

• Program maintenance

• Program execution

• Business continuity controls

• Securities administration