The COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses, including audit professionals, to adapt to remote work and conduct virtual audits using electronic methods. Remote auditing offers advantages like reduced logistics, enhanced team efficiency, and cost savings, though it also presents challenges such as differing client expectations and technology reliability. The transition has been ongoing for firms like HLB Hamt, which reported positive feedback on the seamlessness and time efficiency of remote audits, suggesting a shift in how audits may be conducted in the future.

1. Adapting to Remote Audit
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented many business challenges. Large
organizations around the world pivoted to remote work to maintain business
continuity and audit profession was no exception. A remote audit, also known
as virtual audit, is the method of conducting an audit remotely, using
electronic methods such as video conferencing, email and telephone to obtain
audit evidence, just like during an on-site audit.
Remote auditing has been a challenge for the profession because of the belief
that auditors may be more likely to discover fraud or simple mistakes when
they visit a site. Moreover, clients are likely to always remember how their
auditors responded to the pandemic. So it is necessary that auditors should
make use of the remote audit to deliver a high-quality service to the client.
The benefits from the remote audit can be broadly classified as below;
Ease with the use of Technology
The utilization of technology for sharing data such as a cloud portal will save
both time and money. If a set time is allocated for remote audit activity,
auditees are less likely to be side-tracked or disturbed with any other work
requests. Moreover, interviews and audit meetings can be conducted through
popular platforms like Microsoft Teams, Skype or zoom, which are regularly
used by many of the companies already.
Audit team efficiency
Remote working unlocks the available manpower resource and there will be
wider access to auditors with the right competence, including across
borders. ‘Audit burnout’ is common in the industry, particularly if auditors are
carrying out several projects simultaneously. Remote auditing can break up

2. the audit process which will help to reduce burnouts without turning down the
efficiency of the overall audit process.
Savings in logistics
When conducting remote audits, there will be minimal logistics related to
booking conference rooms as well as worrying about audit team
accommodation and other related inconveniences experienced during an
onsite audit. There will be a significant reduction in money and time spent on
commuting to the audit location.
Some of the probable challenges to remote audit are;
Auditee expectations
The expectations of multinationals and small or medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) clients may not be the same. Many of the owner-managed businesses
would want to talk in person and want to have that personal touch in the audit.
Common Issues with technology
The reliability of network connections can be a concern based on the location
of the auditee and the technology used. Sometimes the auditee can have
difficulties with accessing the private networks to log into a database in order
to share the audit evidence.
Inherent limitations
The entities that require inventory/physical asset observation procedures, the
transition to remote auditing may prove more challenging.
Remote Audit at HLB HAMT

3. We have already been employing cloud-based technologies and software for
our audit purposes for the past few years. Our team members engaged were
already well trained and confident in the use of the technologies. The
transition from on-site to remote audits was already ongoing and has been
sped up due to the pandemic.
The circumstances paved a way for us to encourage our clients to utilize a
secure portal to share data and to be available for Adhoc meetings. What we
learned is that inter-personal behaviors and relationships can do so much to
maintain the flow of information in the remote audit process. What was left to
us was to learn the balancing of both personal breaks and work timeslots. The
feedback from our remote auditees is that the “remote auditing process is
seamless and has time savings’.
A remote audit has already proven beneficial for both auditors and clients. It is
probable that this is here to stay and auditees have to redesign themselves to
adapt to the new normal.
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4. Adapting to Remote Audit
Level 18, City Tower-2,
Sheikh Zayed Road
PO Box 32665
Dubai – United Arab Emirates. Tel: +971 4 327 7775
E-mail: dubai@hlbhamt.com
www.hlbhamt.com