Seeking audit firm recommendations

November 27, 2023

by a searcher from Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management in New York, NY, USA

We completed an acquisition over the summer and seeking a small business friendly (and therefore cost friendly) audit firm to comply with our lender requirements. Would appreciate any recommendations.

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Reply by an intermediary
from The University of Chicago in Radnor, PA 19087, USA

If your lender is a community or smaller regional bank, I would get referrals to local CPA firms who perform audits. Depending on the size and complexity of the business, you may be able to get an audit completed for around $40K. Expect to have to pay extra in the first year for an opening balance sheet audit as well. If the lender is one of the larger regional banks or one of the national banks, they will most likely prefer, and maybe require, a larger CPA firm. In that case, I would recommend going with one of the tier 2 national/regional firms rather than a top tier firm. Since you haven't identified where the business is located, I can only make general suggestions of tier 2 firms such as RSM and Eisner Amper. An audit by one of these firms will cost, again depending on the size and complexity of the business, around $60K - $70K. Note: These estimates assume a less than $10M - 15M business. As the business becomes larger and more complex, the audit fees will increase considerably.

Reply by an investor
from Western Washington University in Key West, FL 33040, USA

There are a couple of SBA lenders requiring an annual audit, which is absolutely ridiculous. I would push back on this. An audit will likely cost $60k or more, which is a lot relative to $1-$2m of EBITDA. At a minimum, push for "reviewed" financials.

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