HLB Mann Judd Perth 

Challenge 

HLB Mann Judd Perth wanted to reduce the time staff spent reviewing approximately 300 financial statements each year including many half-year reports. 

Solution 

The firm turned to Caseware Validate, an AI-powered cloud-based solution that performs thousands of unique financial checks in seconds, cross-referencing thousands of data points for consistency, accuracy and compliance. 

Results 

HLB Mann Judd Perth has significantly reduced the time staff spend reviewing financial statements.  

• Significant time savings on first drafts and 40-50% efficiencies on subsequent drafts 

• 600 hours saved annually 

“Validate makes the process of checking the accuracy of financial statements more efficient and of higher quality, which in turn allows the user to focus on the higher-level issues in their review.” 

Noah Syed, Audit Manager, HLB Mann Judd Perth 

Company Profile 

For over 40 years, HLB Mann Judd Perth has been a leading provider of accounting and advisory services in Western Australia. Based in Perth and ranked among the top 12 accounting firms in the city, the firm combines deep local expertise with the global strength of the HLB International network – the eighth largest accounting network worldwide. 

With 10 Partners and a team of 90 dedicated professionals, HLB Mann Judd Perth’s four divisions (Corporate & Audit Services, Business Advisory Services, Tax Advisory Services and Wealth Management Services) assist a broad range of clients, from start-ups and family businesses to large private enterprises and listed entities. In 2025, the firm was named “Best Accounting and Consulting Services Firm” at the national Client Choice Awards for the 10th time – a testament to their commitment to quality, insight and exceptional client service. 

Challenge 

As their client base became larger and more complex, HLB Mann Judd Perth sought to improve their financial statement review process to make it first rate, said Noah Syed, Audit Manager with the firm. Each year, the firm reviews over 300 sets of financial statements, including many half-year reports. This volume demanded considerable time and resources. The first review of full-year financials took audit teams 3–4 hours, while half-year reviews took 1.5–2 hours. With a minimum of 4—5 drafts per engagement, the team spent approximately 1,200 hours annually on reviews of the first drafts of financial statements. 

The firm had previously adopted a software solution to streamline the review process, but it fell short in key areas, Syed noted. It lacked functionality for half-year reviews, a critical need for the firm given its Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed client base. The automated tool was developed as an Excel add-in, which occasionally crashed and caused data loss. 

“You’d spend significant time doing all the checks and suddenly Excel would freeze,” Syed recalled. “And then you’d have to force close it, reopen it and all your work would be gone.” 

The solution also had Optical Character Recognition (OCR) inconsistencies, which required manual corrections, and the absence of markup carry-forward between versions forced the team to redo casting and referencing with each draft. 

Solution 

The firm turned to Caseware’s Validate, an AI-powered software solution designed to streamline the financial statement review process. Validate performs thousands of accuracy checks in seconds, eliminating manual errors and speeding up review cycles. 

Crucially for HLB Mann Judd Perth, Validate supported half-year sets of accounts. Unlike the previous locally installed software solution, Validate was completely cloud-based, eliminating the previous software’s reliance on Excel and the associated risk of crashes, Syed noted. The shift to Validate ensured all work was saved in real-time, preventing data loss and the need to redo tasks. 

The new software also provides more reliable and accurate OCR, reducing the need for HLB Mann Judd Perth to make manual fixes and enhancing overall efficiency. Additionally, it enabled the carry-forward of prior checks and markups, allowing auditors to maintain consistency across different versions of financial statements. 

“If you check one set of financials then, all of your casting and references move on to the next set, which means that with any subsequent versions it’s very quick because Validate picks up everything and rolls it forward,” Syed explained. “Whereas with our other product we had to bring forward our checks and references manually.” 

Results 

Validate significantly improved HLB Mann Judd Perth’s financial statement review process, according to Syed. The firm saw time savings on first drafts and up to 40-50 percent efficiencies on subsequent versions, resulting in approximately 600 hours saved annually. 

Validate’s marked-up PDF exports, featuring clear annotations and cross-reference links, quickly became a firm favorite. These tools not only streamlined the review process but also enhanced confidence in the accuracy of the financial statements by providing a clear audit trail of all changes. The ease of use allows the initial input process to be performed by any team member, letting senior staff focus on disclosures and judgment areas. 

“I think the beauty of Validate is in the first statement version all the casting and referencing and prior-year references are handled by the software,” Syed said. “But it can be monitored and reviewed by any team member. So a manager and senior can focus on the key risk areas as well as the compliance and completeness of disclosures. This really improves both the quality and efficiency of our financial statement reviews.”  

The Future 

HLB Mann Judd Perth aims to build on the efficiencies already achieved with Validate by deepening its use of the platform, further streamlining review processes and enhancing consistency and accuracy across engagements. There is also potential to expand Validate’s adoption across additional service areas, Syed said, unlocking new opportunities to improve workflows and drive firm-wide efficiency. 

HLB Mann Judd Perth will continue to provide feedback to the Validate team, playing an active role in shaping future enhancements and ensuring the platform continues to evolve in line with the firm’s needs. 

Syed’s advice to firms still manually reviewing their financial statements is to get on board the software solution train. 

“Manual processes just increase the chance of error,” he said. “As we are checking financial statements, which often contain 80—90 pages with extensive data throughout, an automated tool such as Validate provides an efficient underlying process to promote the highest levels of quality in our financial statement reviews. 

“Validate makes the process of checking the accuracy of financial statements more efficient and of higher quality, which in turn allows the user to focus on the higher-level issues in their review.” 

Contact us today to discover how Validate can accelerate your financial statement reviews, while enhancing the accuracy of your work.