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Answer: 1. Hire A Proficient, Knowledgeable Accounting Personnel/Accountant It is important to highlight that an inefficient and poor accounting personnel will drive your audit fees much higher. For example, delay in responding to the audit queries or requests, improper way of recording the transactions. Thus, it is crucial for a company to have a qualified accounting personnel and extensive relevant experience. 2. Be Transparent And Active Communication With The Auditors Be upfront and transparent with any issues you think the auditors should know about. Mutual respect for each other will go a long way in making sure your audit is efficient and effective. Timely communication at all levels ensures all parties are on the same page with respect to audit status, making the process as efficient as possible. 3. Be Organized And Preparations Throughout The Year Be organized and prepare appropriate schedules of accounts, monthly reconciliations. Taking actions on auditors recommendations once they are known for improving your company internal controls, reduces your company’s auditing time spent and audit procedures due to strong internal control is in place. Consequently reducing your audit fees! 4. Ensure Your Provider Audits Top-Down Auditors need to be able to see the big picture, and starting from trial balance or subsidiary level and working up will not allow them to do this, which can lead to over auditing, particularly in consolidated financial statements. Instead, ensure they are able to start at the top level consolidated numbers and can look down from there. 5. Complex And Unusual Transactions To consult your auditors on those complex and unusual transactions are recommended. For example, transactions such as business acquisitions, discontinued operations, or others may be unusual and highly significant. Involving the auditors at the time of transaction will reduce time and year-end surprises. 6. Quick Response Delay in responding to the auditors’ requests and queries will prolong the audit process and undoubtedly increase audit fees. Answering quickly and having documents readily available will promote an efficient cost effective audit. 7. Performing A Self-Audit A Self-audit performed within the company before the auditors commence, will provide you an opportunity to correct some errors. Focusing on high risk areas, high value balances. This way, you are confident that the auditors will have the best “product” to work with, audit procedures will be reduced, and will lead to lower fees. 8. Prepare An Annual Summary Presenting to your auditors an annual summary in a memo format of all the significant and new events occurred during the year, changes in personnel or corporate structure, variance analyses on revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities with explanations, will assist the auditor in effectively planning and executing the audit. 9. Treating Your Auditor As A Partner Treating your auditor as a partner is a must. Take the opportunity to discuss with your auditors various issues or concerns other than the audit, such as tax compliance, business strategy, performance measurement, etc. An effective audit should conclude with an added value. 10. Think the long term Frequent change in auditors would probably be the costliest business decision that will surely result in high audit fees. Investing the time to select an audit firm that “fits” with the company will not only help in reducing audit fees in the long term but can result in increased operating efficiency, improvement of the bottom line with the reduction of costs.