That's because healthy balance sheets and income statements lead to less expensive audits, according to Joseph Howell, Executive Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Workiva during an interview in the Financial Executive Podcast.
Howell details findings of Financial Executive Research Foundation's (FERF) recent report Mitigating Increases in Audit Fees, that details ways to keep audit fees in check while increasing the quality of financial reporting.
"While it may be a common perception that audit firms want to bill as many hours as possible, we find that most auditors want to work efficiently with their clients," the report states. "Regardless of regulatory requirements, business structure changes, inflation in the current business environment, or other factors that can drive up audit fees, many companies are finding ways to work with their
auditors to mitigate fee increases."
Earlier FERF research found that while audit fees were on the rise in 2015, more than 40 percent of financial reporting professionals maintained flat fees or decreased their costs.
You can listen to the entire discussion below.