How Retail Audit Companies in Delhi Conduct Audit?

Running a retail outlet requires some practices that need to be followed. A retail audit company in Delhi has played a vital role in providing loss prevention for retail outlets. The entire article will cover every detail about what happens before, during and after an audit.

How does Audit Happen in a Retail Merchandising?   

There are two types of Audits:

• Announced
• Unannounced

Announced: Such audits are generally arranged by the company to make staff aware of how to deal during an audit. These seasonal audits are necessary to keep staff active, maintain the retail outlet and launch of seasonal schemes.

Unannounced: It is arrange by the district manager to conduct an on spot audit. Such unannounced audit occurs to check the compliance associated with service, security and health.

Retail Audit Companies- So Who and How to Choose?

The internal audit ensures the control of internal control and risk management systems of a company by allowing it to improve its performance and ensure its sustainability in respect of stakeholders. This approach is reinforced by the international and national regulatory requirements for all organizations (large listed and non-listed companies, SMEs, banks, insurance companies, public companies, local authorities, governments, etc.).

Its field of action expands and concerns both financial reporting and compliance as well as strategy and operations. Internal audit helps to create value through its advice and recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the organization

This comprehensive training in internal audit provides the essential elements to carry out its auditing mission. It deals in the first part with the steps and tools of the internal audit approach. The second part deals with knowing how to be indispensable to work in the best way with the auditees and to conduct at best interviews.

The last part allows deepening the practice of the tools and techniques of the audit by different practical cases by learning to create added value by the formulation of relevant recommendations and carrying of performance.

Retail audit companies in India are actively working with potential customers throughout the year, and by the time the company chooses an auditing company, there are several commercial offers in the hands of the company. As a rule, each customer knows their requirements for the auditor.

Next, collect recommendations- the opinion of partners and colleagues, participation in the rating, study the qualification characteristics of an auditing company- experience in the market, experience working with enterprises in your industry, the audit team of the audit company, their skills, and abilities, experience in auditing, etc.

Decide on the scope of the audit – to do this, fill in the questionnaire and submit the data to selected applicants to calculate the audit scope and get an audit plan from them or, as a last resort, a commercial proposal with the number of person-days required for the audit. If the auditor offers a price that is significantly lower than other companies, suggest that he additionally insure your contract for audit services and thereby increase the level of responsibility of the auditing company.

Plan your work – conduct the audit in stages. This form of work gives a timeout to eliminate the violations found.

Negotiate with selected candidates, discuss important points for you – which areas of accounting should be paid special attention based on the characteristics of the customer, and agree on the stages and terms of the audit, other essential terms of the contract. Be sure to agree with the auditor the procedure for making corrections to the statements and the procedure for reviewing the draft report (written information) based on the results of the audit and audit opinion.

It is believed that the audit company is desirable to change at least once every three years. But if you are completely satisfied with the services of your “old” company and do not want to change it, then it is desirable that the audit for the next financial year be conducted by a different composition of auditors. In this way, you get a fresh look at old problems, while maintaining a stable partnership.

And finally, it is very important to consider whether the retail audit firm in India is a member of the Association of Auditing Organizations: to a large extent, this is already a guarantee of solidity and quality.

Five Sure Ways To Choose A Reliable Audit Company

The choice of an auditing company is not a simple matter, since an audit is a specific service, with its own rules of the game and the established market. This topic is particularly relevant due to the lack of licensing of auditing activities.

What should a manager and chief accountant know when choosing an auditor in order to get quality services, to preserve the financial security of an organization and, in the end, not to buy a “cat in a bag”?

In our opinion, it is worth basing it on some basic principles of choice.

1. the most important criterion for choosing a Retail audit company is REPUTATION. Not the last way to disseminate information about the audit company is so-called. “Word of mouth” radio. Ask your colleagues and business partners- they will definitely share with you both positive and negative experience with auditors.

Moreover, the reputation is significant not only as an assessment of goodwill (the value of the name and business value (position) of the company) but rather the business image: professional history (dossier), commitment, objectivity, the ability to comprehensively assess the audited entity to issue specific recommendations.

2. Undoubtedly, the reputation of the company as a whole is made up of the LEVEL of QUALIFICATION and PERSONNEL PROFESSIONALISM.

Naturally, this is knowledge of legislation in the areas of auditing, accounting, taxation, and law. In addition, knowledge of the subtleties in the business segment being tested (energy, transport, communications, etc.) is required. Some audit firms, testing mainly enterprises specializing in wholesale or retail chains, are unlikely to be able to informally check an enterprise specializing in transport services or construction work.

3. A significant selection criterion is the ability of an auditing firm to provide a WHOLE COMPLEX OF SERVICES. The audit is important, but not the only element of the practice of auditors. As a rule, auditors are still engaged in the provision of consulting services in the field of accounting and taxation, consulting in the field of international tax relations, property valuation, management consulting, legal services and more.
4. An important criterion is the PRICE (COST) of the AUDIT

Practice shows that one of the customer’s significant mistakes in choosing an auditor is that they choose the cost of a man-day, and not the cost of the audit as a whole. Therefore, when choosing an auditing company or an individual entrepreneur’s auditor, ask them to estimate the cost of an audit in advance and prepare an audit plan. Audit planning is one of the basic rules of auditing, which allows not only the auditor to competently organize their work, but also clearly shows the customer which audit sections will be checked in what way and how long it will take. Thus, it will be possible to exclude from the list of possible applicants unscrupulous auditors who dump prices, but then work out exactly as much as they paid for.

5. And the last – the fifth in terms of the transfer, but not least in importance – is an essential criterion, it is RESPONSIBILITY. In connection with the cancellation of one of the conditions for the implementation of audit activities on obtaining a license, the requirements for professional liability insurance in 2011 are not mandatory. However, almost all retail audit companies in Delhi continue to carry out voluntary professional liability insurance. Traditionally, national companies are insured for the amount of the minimum insurance limit of liability.

Trade Audit- Modern Approaches to Effective Audit of Outlets

Trade audit is a complex of activities aimed at studying the state of trade through comprehensive analysis and monitoring of the work of outlets. Trade audit is carried out within the framework of marketing research and can consist of many intersecting, complementing and interrelated stages, ranging from the study of the territory, the “retail” audit, the control of the layout of goods, ending with monitoring outdoor advertising and analyzing the prices of competitors.

Audit of outlets is the most popular marketing tool from the listed arsenal, aimed at studying how effectively a particular outlet sells. The most frequent initiators and consumers of these studies are producers of goods and trade networks.

As part of the audit, the most detailed collection of information about retail outlets operating in the study area is conducted, starting with obtaining legal data, equipment used in operation, key technologies, ending with the analysis of the breadth of the presented product range and turnover for key product groups.

Retail audit companies in India is in demand with the expansion of the distribution network, which results in the opening of new outlets in certain areas (cities, districts, etc.). When opening new outlets, copying one-to-one work logic and product range from existing stores, it will not always be possible to ensure the required return on the implementation of the sales plan.

“Marginality” of the territory (area), the level of consumer demand, and the number of people can bring a lot of nuances to the work of the new store. It is also necessary to take into account other equally important factors, such as the geography of the location of competitors’ outlets, the general “patency” of nearby streets, the availability of parking, the availability of nearby main streets of constant traffic, etc.

Correctly conducted a preliminary audit of outlets allows saving a lot of time, effort and investment at the stage of expansion of the trading network into new territories, planning the number and relative location of stores, calculating the “running” assortment, building an optimal price policy, picking the right number of employees, rationally approaching the tonnage and the number of vehicles for the delivery of goods.

Retail audit companies in itself is rather multifaceted and can be used not only as a preliminary preparation before the expansion of the trading network but also for carrying out additional studies and monitoring that allow:

• Assess the level of distribution of goods in the territory under study
• Determine the degree of intensity of visits by customers to outlets (flow metering)
• To create a social and demographic portrait of buyers
• Determine the time frame for the processes of buying and selecting goods by buyers
• Assess the degree of presence in the local market of certain groups of goods
• Monitor the work of employees
• Monitor “local” prices
• Evaluate the effectiveness of promotions and advertising campaigns
• Get a “full balance” on the activity of competitors

Estimation of the level of distribution and the degree of presence of certain goods on the local market is particularly in demand by producers who are interested in the quality sale of their products, but for some reason do not have their own resources to collect this information in view of the vast geography of the sales market and a large number of distributors. In the case of a lack of resources, the audit given to the “outsourcing” of a specialized organization allows the forces of professional auditors to monitor the work of distributors and check the availability of marketable products at the final outlets.

Audit of Retail Companies

The expertise in this mass consumer industry to be effective in auditing and add value to the users of the financial statements.

The retail business has developed significantly in recent years, while the number of products marketed by companies has increased, technology has become of fundamental importance in business management and in the handling of information for the taking of decisions. All these elements, along with other no less important ones, make the audit of the financial statements of this industry very particular.

Steps to do a brand audit

Thanks to the development of retail audit companies, an analysis of the vision of our company that our customers share is made. In this way, we can identify any possible error and develop strategies to correct it.

The brand audit is one of the techniques used by companies who want to know their real situation, in terms of visibility and appreciation of consumers. Next, we analyze the steps to follow and the possible benefits of a company that decides to apply a brand audit on its business model.

Previous analysis

First, we must have a global vision of the objectives that are intended to achieve with the company. We will analyze all the details as well as the type of client to which our product is addressed, what we want to achieve, how long we believe it will take us to achieve our brand objectives.

Analysis of the market and the type of client

Then follows a process that aims to find out what the public thinks of the brand in question. This previous study, commonly known as a positioning audit, is key to doing a professional brand audit.

To know the opinion of the users are often used very different techniques, the most common being a market study.

Depending on the answers obtained, we can get a global idea of ​​what a customer thinks. The main advantage is that we can segment the data obtained by dividing them, for example, in age ranges, sex, physical condition … or any aspect that we want to highlight. The key that pursues a marketing agency to perform a brand audit is to get as much information as possible to apply it in the strategy and actions of the company.

Comparison of results

At this point, we take care to analyze the results obtained in the previous processes. In this way, we can get an idea of ​​the objectives we have as a company and the public’s perception. It is about establishing a relationship between both to find out how much we have left to fulfill our objectives and if we are following the correct path to do so.

When we reach this point in retail audit companies, we have to be prepared to adopt any strategy in case the results have not gone as expected.

A very successful technique is to compare these results with those of the previous year to know what has been their evolution and prepare the appropriate strategy in order to solve any problem occurred.

 

Evolving Role of Internal Audit

Currently, internal audit is seen as an integral part of the management process and the essential element of corporate governance. The dynamic evolution of the global economy, the complexity of regulation and the technological progress of recent years are at the source of new tools and new orientations of the development of the internal audit helping to the management and generating the added value an organization. These latest opportunities have also brought an original image of the internal auditor, with skills and ethical practices tailored to customer requirements.

In a context of increasing demand for auditor services, researchers and practitioners are thinking about evaluating the performance of a company’s internal auditors. Researchers from different countries and members of the Institute of Internal Auditors are trying to find in their studies the best ways to evaluate the intervention of listeners both theoretically and practically.

The first definition of internal audit proposed by the internal audit companies in India highlighted the financial and accounting aspects. The subsequent amendments would broaden the tasks related to management evaluation and review, highlighting the function of monitoring and evaluating the functioning and development of the organization, and finally adopted in 2001 the definitive definition of an internal audit.

The results of some research have shown that the fall in audit performance was a result of the reduced remuneration of auditors. Admittedly, the results of the audit performance analysis can be influenced by the pricing policy of companies and elements of competition. The means to assess the performance of the audit are not sufficient because they do not take into account the primary objectives of the internal review.

Internal audit is currently covering more and more business areas and is becoming an essential part of management.

AUDIT PERFORMANCE IN PRACTICE

In practice, the performance review is reduced to analyzing the relationship between the overall results of the intervention and the respective advanced investment, expressed in the form of a quotient ratio (ratio of the results to the investment) or in the way of a differential report (results compared to investments, net income).

INTERNAL AUDIT XXI TH CENTURY

By analyzing different approaches by researchers to define the performance measures of internal audit intervention, we can see that these indicators have evolved along with the role of retail audit companies and the growing demands and expectations of the beneficiaries of the review. The evolution of the part of internal audit from the purely financial position to the insurance and advisory function, which is of great importance in the enterprise management system, has also demonstrated the necessary improvement in the performance of services.

The century should provide answers to the economic problems that arise and prevent new business risks, by referring to the latest results of economic and social research, as well as those of management theory and methodology, which make it possible to program internal auditing as a new management tool.

How to Choose an Audit Firm ?

Many companies at the end of the financial year, there is a need to decide on the choice of the auditing firm. The correct approach to this topic is when the decision of the auditor is made by the owner of the organization, who wants to know the real state of affairs. Sometimes this right of choice is transferred to the head of the organization, as an official responsible for the reliability of the financial statements.

Auditing firm

In our opinion, the approach is not entirely correct when the financial director or the chief accountant is the choice of the auditor. There is a possibility that “familiar” auditors will be invited, contrary to the law, ready to remain silent about specific violations.

How not to be mistaken when choosing an auditor? Undoubtedly, the essential requirement should be an excellent knowledge of the legislation in the field of audit, accounting, taxation, and law. Also, understanding of the subtleties in the audited industry segment is required, revealing the level of qualification of the auditors. Some audit firms specialize only in specific industries.

Undoubtedly, one cannot fail to take into account – how retail audit companies themselves are aimed at the quality performance of their duties. The right to choose a “formal” audit certainly exists. Having chosen a “formal” audit, the owner (the head) pursues the goal of obtaining an audit firm opinion only for delivery of accounts. At the likewise time, you will be able to call the cost of such an audit by phone, especially without going into the scope of the forthcoming audit, and the timing of such an audit will be short. At first glance, everything looks tempting. To stop your attention on this form of conducting a review is not worthy of consideration.

Your choice should be based on two main characteristics of audit firms: formal and professional.

This is primarily:

• The presence in the retail audit companies in India of an internal control system that ensures the quality provision of services;
• Availability of internal standards governing the conduct of audits;
• Availability of qualification certificates of auditors, continually raising their professional level

To date, not every company can afford to invite one of the four prestigious Western audit firms to conduct an audit. First of all, because of the prohibitive price for audit. And those who still can afford it sometimes during the audit observed the work of not enough qualified personnel and even students. Often this is due to the facts that these companies in the pursuit of profit with a broad portfolio of orders save on quality. An illustration of this may be the public scandals of some Russian and foreign companies.

In conclusion, we hope that the materials of this article will help you make the right choice of an audit firm. Our company is always enthusiastic to give you a qualified consultation.

 

What is the Shop Retail Audit or Store Audit?

The retail audit is a market information tool that has proven to be effective in the monitoring and control of the corporations retail or retail strategies.

The retail audit is used to establish:

• Market size, segmentation, and evolution.
• Strengths and weaknesses in distribution by area and type of point of sale.
• Positioning and valuation of brands.
• Market share.
• Price opportunities.
• Sales and Purchases (volume and value).
• Inventories held by retailers (warehouse and sales area).
• Supply (rotation).
• Average sale price to the consumer.
• Numerical and weighted distribution.
• Numerical and weighted exhaustion.
• Average sales and inventory by stores.
• Distribution of advertising material offers and preferential displays.

In other words, it is an effective way to evaluate market trends by comparing product to product and brand to brand at the point of sale.

The key features of the retail audit are:

Close monitoring of the performance of the sales of a product within the category of the product studied at a point of purchase.

Retail audit companies make possible the selection of representative places, regarding product use and population profile within the point of sale.

 

It allows the determination of costs, sizes of the different spaces of a point of sale for the location of products and product lines.

In general terms, the retail audit companies in India offers results with high doses of precision and comparability for the taking of specific decisions in the areas of product (characteristics, design, packaging), communication (merchandising, advertising, promotion), price and distribution or an aggregate of the four.

The first step of the retail audit is to analyze the distribution flow of the product, analyzing the whole chain from the producer to the final consumer, the questions that must be asked by those who intend to make an audit of this type are:

• Where is the product sold? They have their own sales points; they work through retailers, they are sold in the large chain stores.
• What is sold of the product? Your brand is sold, its characteristics, its technology, its design.
• How much does the product sell? What is the retail price at the point of sale, how much is the margin of the producer, what is the margin of the retailer?

Make your supply chain under control with retail audit companies in Delhi. If there is something that you have to protect is the reputation of your company. The relationships with their suppliers depend entirely on well-detailed contracts, although almost all of them also depend on trust. Reviewing your suppliers gives you the guarantee you need, and this is the reason why retail audit companies offer external audits in the sector about everything that has to do with your corporate social responsibility. We help you establish a clear limit against child labor, low wages and discrimination in the workplace. As experts in the field of food standards, we also specialize in the review of suppliers regarding quality and safety of the food industry.

Benefits:

• Protect yourself proactively against any damage caused to your image by third parties
• Develop a useful tool to evaluate suppliers and manage their supply chain
• Improve the credibility and model of your company
• Create a solid foundation for an open dialogue with consumers, no matter how talented they are.