Around half of all small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are not getting value for money from their audits, a KPMG report has found.
More than half said that they regarded their audits as a box-ticking exercise and just 40 per cent said that they used their audits to gain valuable feedback on their businesses.
Just under half said that they rarely or never meet with their auditor outside the audit season despite the majority recognising that it was an important business relationship.
"A strong and open relationship between a company and its auditor is vital if the audit is to produce the sort of far-reaching benefits it is capable of," said Richard Bennison of KPMG.
"Some companies are clearly maximising the value of the audit to gain insights into the efficiency of the company as a whole; others however are not.
"Some companies may be surprised how much extra value they can derive from the audit if they establish the right kind of working relationship with their audit firm."
Almost three quarters said that their auditor performed a robust service however, and was willing to challenge them on the way that company results were presented.
