Services

Business Risk

Overview

Anchin’s Business Risk Services Group helps companies manage their risk at a strategic and operational level. While you work closely with a small team that is well versed in every discipline of business risk services, you also have access to the support and expertise of dozens of renowned specialists and the experience of more than 300 professionals. Anchin as a firm, is segmented into teams of industry experts, reflecting all of the major business sectors in the metropolitan area. This allows us to provide the attention to detail and flexibility of a boutique firm and the intellectual capital of a national firm.

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Corporate Governance & Internal Audit Advisory

The profession of Internal Audit is continually evolving to meet the demands of various stakeholders. There is always the pressure of doing more with less. At Anchin, we believe that this is a great opportunity to assess where Internal Audit can bring the most value. Our team of professionals enables businesses to design and assess the internal controls of their financial reporting systems. We provide a wide range of services for your organization’s internal audit group, from staffing and expertise delivery, through advanced analytics and knowledge automation.

Many of our clients have gone down the traditional co-sourced audit paths only to find little to no savings or operational improvements. Anchin’s ability to identify synergies within the data to reduce the regulatory testing burden faced by many organizations is without equal. We find what others can’t.

Anchin can also help your Internal Audit team optimize a number of key drivers of cost and inefficiency. Our Program & Planning Optimization is structured to assist both the most senior management and supervisory staff in performing their planning and risk management activities. Task Consolidation and Analytics Automation will finally allow your team to dig deep within your data to uncover the hidden relationships and issues that cannot be found with more traditional audit procedures or even those well-known analytic tools. Some examples of how we can help co-source your Internal Audit or Compliance function:

  • Outsourced and co-sourced internal audit services
  • Internal Audit operational assessment and transformation
  • Internal technology audit and assessments
  • Internal Audit Analytics and Robotics Process Automation
  • Enterprise Risk Management and Assessments
  • Vendor and Contract compliance

Sarbanes Oxley Compliance

Our clients include publicly held companies that we assist in complying with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This section requires that management and their auditors certify that their system of internal controls has been evaluated against a recognized internal control standard that will be effective in preventing a material misstatement in a company’s financial statements.

In addition, Anchin applies these same skills to our privately held and not-for-profit clients. These companies have seen and experienced how the best practices required by Section 404 can help them improve business operations and secure their assets as well.

Anchin maintains best practices in performing our assessments. Our top-down, yet cost-effective approach affords our clients a complete solution in a timely manner and is favorably opined by the Big Four and second-tier audit firms.

Anchin also consults with audit committees and boards of directors on ways in which they can strengthen the corporate governance over their businesses. By doing so these key groups ensure that their principles and policies will flow throughout the organization to achieve the integrity and standards with which they want the company to operate. It also allows them to monitor their business to identify deviations from the policies they establish.

Anchin is available to provide consulting services to the Board of Directors, Audit Committees, and Management including internal financial investigations, review of new Accounting policies, due diligence audits, tax compliance and reporting, and special projects.

Client Example: Internal Audit Transformation

A financial services organization sought to transform its Internal Audit department because several key bottlenecks had developed over time that limited its effectiveness and efficiency. The solution quickly identified included several key areas of improvement in new audit onboarding and risk mitigation strategies that were due in an audit universe with many first-time audits. Additionally, we raised the bar with respect to efficiency, true root cause analyses and providing insightful data and streamlining reporting to the Audit Committee.

Overall, the project delivered a sustainable annual reduction of effort of 30%.

Client Example: Reduced SOX Testing

An international ship builder’s Internal Audit group looked to reduce its SOX testing so it could perform additional operational audits. After previous attempts both internally and externally to find synergies and connections, we uncovered several redundancies in the first week after receiving the internal control data and testing strategies. The final review and project uncovered a nearly 25% reduction of effort in the first year. Ongoing internal efforts have made that number increase to a 35% reduction of their annual SOX testing effort.

Operational Reviews

The Business Risk Services Group performs reviews to determine the effectiveness of a client’s overall business operations in three key areas: operations, information technology, and financial management. The process that we use to evaluate each area includes:

  • Interviews with selected employees from each stage of the company’s work and information flow
  • Interviews with key vendors and clients
  • A dry run through key business processes
  • Analysis and testing of findings
  • Practical recommendations based on our research

This comprehensive examination of the company’s personnel, business processes and infrastructure, inclusive of the Information Technology Department, not only uncovers and corrects inefficiencies within or between these elements but also extends to interactions with suppliers and feedback from customers or clients. By extending our review to every facet of our client’s business model, we help establish or enhance their competitive advantages. In those instances where we detect significant control weaknesses in the Information Technology Department, we may recommend a more comprehensive examination of that department in the context of an IT Audit.

We have conducted these reviews for companies in a wide range of industries, including Advertising and Public Relations, Collectibles, Construction, Direct Mail, Energy, Entertainment, Financial Services, Healthcare, Health Clubs, Hospitality, Import/Export, Licensing and Trademarks, Manufacturing, Packaging, Pharmaceuticals, Printing, Professional Services, Publishing, Real Estate, Rental Equipment, Retail, Shipping and Wholesale. At the conclusion of each engagement, the client received recommendations that enabled them to improve their operations, systems, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness and emerge as a more competitive player in the marketplace.

Construction Cost Reviews

As a creative, solutions-driven firm, we play an active role in helping owners and developers effectively oversee the financial aspects of their construction projects. Anchin’s professionals have developed a comprehensive approach to reviewing payment applications, change orders, and budgets for construction projects of all sizes. Our unique approach can be tailored to fit any construction budget. We have successfully assisted owners and developers in controlling the costs of their construction projects ranging in size from $10 million to over $1 billion.

We assist our clients by identifying issues early so that they can be resolved as quickly as possible, helping our clients minimize their costs and avoid costly litigation. Our role can be specifically limited to tracking progress against the construction budget and identifying potential cost overruns as early as possible. Our team can also be involved at a higher level, overseeing the bidding process and ensuring that every payment application is accurate and properly supported by all required documentation, only including charges permitted under the applicable contract. Our requisition review can be performed pre or post payment.

When performing a detailed payment application review, our most common findings include:

  • Unapproved change orders
  • Change orders for work that is within the scope of the original contract
  • Duplicate billings
  • Billings for items unrelated to the project
  • Insufficient documentation to support billings
  • Labor hours/rates charged do not match the contract or timesheets
  • Miscalculation of insurance charges and overhead allocations

Our clients view this service as a valuable tool to help them achieve their goals.

The Anchin Touch

The professionals in Anchin’s Business Risk Services Group have a big-picture perspective as certified public accountants, certified fraud examiners, certified information systems auditors, valuation experts and operational management specialists. We are trained to look beyond the numbers and help companies optimize their operations and value through the effective use of information, manpower and strategic planning. Our experienced consultants identify cost-effective, pragmatic solutions to our client’s business concerns.

The Business Risk Services Group helps companies:

  • Strengthen the effectiveness of their corporate governances including their system of internal controls
  • Strengthen the effectiveness of their overall business operations through risk assessments and the operational reviews of critical business processes
  • Strengthen the controls, security, operation, and selection of technology of  IT systems and environment
  • Maximize the efficiencies of their client’s electronic information management and E-discovery requirements

Relevant Industries

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