Picture this.
It's the early 1900s.
A shoe company wants to expand, so they send their top two salespeople to South America. A day later, each reports back.
First salesperson: "Bad news. They don’t even wear shoes. What a waste of time."
Second salesperson: "Great news! Nobody has shoes over here. Everyone’s a buyer!"
And right there in about 50 words, I’ve illustrated the idea of mindset.
Exactly the same situation. Two perspectives. And guess which one’s going to sell more shoes?
We see something similar when we look around the auditing industry. You’ve got your old-school types. The ones who print every working paper then colour-code them with sticky notes. They think “automation” means delegating to the intern, and they celebrate finishing an audit on time by sending an invoice to the client by fax.
Don’t get me wrong, these are excellent auditors and they do great work, but the industry’s shifting under their feet. Their attachment to the mantra of “That’s the way it’s always been done” may be storing up trouble.
Why?
Because there’s a generation of enlightened professionals emerging. These are forward-thinking auditors gearing up with the best technology they can find. They’re the ones who’ve got time for a Latte because cleaning the General Ledgers only took the technology a minute. They keep everything in the Cloud and access it from their flight. They don’t pull all nighters. They finish early and take the team out for nachos.
If you’re like the salesperson complaining about shoeless customers and you’re saying. “Auditing’s too nuanced for technology, it’ll never work” then it probably won’t.
Modern auditors, though? They’re the ones looking out at a sea of shoeless customers, rubbing their hands together because they see opportunity. They’re the ones cutting days off their audits, crushing deadlines, and still getting home early for dinner.
So, the question you have to ask is, which mindset are you bringing to work? The one that keeps you buried under paperwork, or the one that gets up every morning excited and can’t wait to get at it?
Truthfully, this isn’t just about tech. It’s about taking control, shaking off the status quo, and saying, “Yes, I’m ready to be better.”
Because the future of auditing? It’s already here.
And if you’re still complaining about shoeless customers, or dismissing technology, then you’re missing it.
Regards,
Christiaan
PS If you’re even half-persuaded about being the auditor who’s winning, and you want to see how tech can help, it’s time to look at The Audit Toolbar. Click here and we’ll help you do that.
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