Our focus

The starting point of any financial compliance audit is a review of the Master Services Agreement (“MSA”) and any corresponding Statements of Work (“SOW”) for the audit period.  The commercial model used across this category often has a number of layers based upon the types of services being provided e.g. direct retail team, syndication teams, customer service, etc. and primarily relates to agency staff providing services on the ground and the commercial model is therefore built up around FTE (full time equivalent) models relating to salaries, overheads and margin with an element of commission based upon sales.  The compliance audit reviews 100% of all cost transactions that have taken place over the audit period and we interrogate the agency’s timesheet system and HR system in a secure live environment.

In such audits we often find:

• A lack of consistency or even conflict between the terms of the MSA and the SOWs leading to significant unapproved charges being made to the client.

• Incorrect charging of fees due to mixing up the types of service being provided and the corresponding fee across the SOWs e.g. customer service vs direct retail team vs reset team.

• Fees levied for services not performed, including staff not being assigned to the account and yet charged to the client.

• Charges made on estimate rather than actual and not reconciled.

• Incorrect application of multipliers or charges being passed back to the client that are already covered within the multiplier (IT, uniforms, staff gifts, mileage, transport).

• A lack of control over cash expenses and payments made to freelancers or temporary staff.

• Overcharging of warehousing or stock holding charges.

• Non-compliant charges made for use of agency technology, data systems or management platforms.

• Incorrect charging of bonus.

• The services being provided are underinsured.

• Aging credits due to client.