The Role of Tech in Preparing for Financial Audits in the Kingdom

Audits are stressful, time-consuming and resource intensive- particularly to businesses that are not ready to show proper and systematic financial records. In Saudi Arabia, as the level of regulation is still developing in accordance with the Vision 2030, the companies are expected to remain audit-ready at any moment. Luckily, technology has been helping in this task a great deal.

In Saudi Arabia, modern accounting software is instrumental in the way businesses are never caught unawares with regard to audit requirements. Being an SME or a large enterprise, adopting the digital tools has the potential to facilitate documentation, lead to increased transparency and eliminate the risk of financial penalties.

Among the brightest solutions that are enabling businesses to find their way in this landscape in a confident manner is QuickDice ERP which is a holistic platform designed to suit the Saudi market.

The Reasons Financial Audits Are Becoming Increasingly Complicated

The regulatory environment in Saudi Arabia is also increasing in its strictness, as the likes of the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) enforce the use of e-invoices, VAT compliance, and an increase in financial reporting transparency. Consequently, businesses are no longer in a position to depend on the use of old-fashioned spreadsheets or manual accounts.The audits of the present day require:

• Proper and current financial books

• Invoice tracking in accordance with ZATCA

• Real-time reporting

• Transparent trails of documents

• Access control & security of data

In the absence of the appropriate systems, finance teams can be seen to be rushing in the eleventh hour, trying to prepare records that ought to have been kept and reconciled during the year. 

How Technology Makes Audit Preparation Easier

1. Real-Time Recordkeeping

The current accounting systems have made recording of all the transactions an automatic process whereby nothing is left behind. Be it a sales, purchase, expenses, tax filings, etc., each of them is properly monitored and dated.

As an example, QuickDice ERP has automated bookkeeping capabilities that remove data entry and human error. Such a real-time transparency is priceless in audits because the auditors can track transactions in a clear way.

2. ZATCA-Ready Compliance

Ensuring that ZATCA electronic invoicing requirements are met is one of the most important sections of Saudi audits (Fatoora). Failure to comply may result in huge fines or failure to pass audit.

QuickDice will support the Phase 2 e-invoicing requirements in ZATCA including:

• Creation of QR codes

• XML formatting of invoices

• Digital archiving security

• ZATCA systems integration in real-time

Companies that use accounting software in Saudi such as QuickDice will automatically produce compliant invoices and curb the chances of regulatory contravention.

3. Effective Documentation

Auditors may demand certain documents, e.g. purchase orders, sales receipts, tax certificates or bank statements. Manual search of these can make the audit take longer and cause unnecessary pressure.

Other advanced software features such as document management features in QuickDice enable you to store, tag and retrieve financial documents in a matter of a few seconds. Each record is connected with the related transaction, which means that your business is audit-ready year round.

4. Analytics and Reporting Detail

Contemporary accounting software has the ability to produce a variety of financial statements including balance sheets, P&L statements, general ledgers, etc. on demand.

QuickDice ERP makes it easy to produce audit-ready reports in only a few clicks, with filters, date ranges, and options to export report. The reports can also be customized to enable the finance teams to deliver what the auditors want, without the need to search through the various systems.

5. Access Logs and Roles of Users

Audits also face the necessity to demonstrate that the financial processes are safe and that no unauthorized users have tampered with important records. This is the point where user privileges and access logs are involved.QuickDice ERP has a role-based access control that makes sure only specified individuals have access to make changes to sensitive financial information. Comprehensive audit trails reveal who viewed or edited a record, and when-a further level of trust and accountability.

Final Thoughts

With the increase of the standards of audit in Saudi Arabia, companies must reconsider their approach to financial information management. The era when documents had to be scrambled during year end is past. Audit preparation in Saudi is an ongoing process with the proper accounting software.

QuickDice ERP is a robust solution to this change that will give businesses all they require to remain compliant, transparent and audit-ready- day in day out.

When you want to future-proof your financial operations and get rid of the audit stress, it is the time to invest in smarter systems. Since in the Kingdom, preparation is not an option, it is a necessity.