Audit and Assurance Engagement Technology Reimagined: Real Stories from Top Firms 

An enabler of more efficient and thorough audits. 

A tool for attracting young auditing talent. 

A guide that helps accountants understand the audit process more deeply by walking them through a step-by-step approach. 

That’s how some of our customers described their recent experiences with the OnPoint Engagement Suite, designed to improve the audit process by providing a solution that integrates industry-specific content, tailored methodologies, and comprehensive guidance. The suite, developed in partnership with the AICPA and CPA.com, includes the Dynamic Audit Solution (DAS), OnPoint Audit, OnPoint EBP and OnPoint PCR. 

A deep dive on audit theory 

DAS will allow Wipfli, a top-25 advisory firm based in Milwaukee, WI, with 3,200 associates serving clients across various industries, to better use technology and client data, said Stephanie Cavadeas, a Partner at Wipfli. 

“Our associates are engaging with the data more deeply than they ever have and using it to produce designed risks and designed responses and do a more efficient audit,” she said. “They’re working together as teams and engaging more deeply with audit theory. They’re understanding the why about what they’re doing.” 

Cavadeas noted that before moving to DAS, Wipfli had been using its own audit methodology for a long time. She believes the DAS methodology has removed much of the guesswork around knowing how to perform an audit. “It provides structure, guidance, and good theory behind why we’re doing something,” she explained. “It allows smaller firms to bypass some of the logistics and infrastructure you need to do a thorough, deep audit. It’s all laid out there for them.” 

Ricardo Trujillo, a Partner with GRF CPAs & Advisors, a full-service professional services firm based in Bethesda, MD, said he likes how DAS handles risks. 

“One of the things that attracted me was the linkage DAS does with the risk assessment,” he noted. “So, for instance, it helps us automate the linkage of the risk assessment with the audit programs, the work papers, and everything within the system. As well as starting with an interview process at the beginning of the client engagement.”  

He noted that the up-front questions DAS poses to the auditor help them focus on risks based on the responses DAS receives. He believes that’s an improvement over the typical same-as-last-year (SALY) approach because it’s easy to miss potential risks if an auditor dives right into their testing. “Things change,” he said. “The risks change. The economy changes…. I believe DAS will help the audit staff and the audit team better analyze those risk assessments.”  

One reason DAS can deliver a better audit experience is improved data handling, said Ricky McClure, a Senior Manager with Wipfli. “It helps us get better and quicker access to data from our clients and not just get it from an older method like PDF,” he explained. “We have much better integration with that data.” 

Attracting new accounting professionals 

Firms have needed a new audit solution for a long time, said Jessie Kanter, Partner in Charge of Innovation and Methodology with Citrin Cooperman. She believes DAS is an example of the technology the industry needs to attract young people to the profession and keep them engaged. 

“What excited me at first is knowing all these young professionals are coming into our firm, and the first thing they see is our technology that’s been around for a long time,” she said. “They’ve grown up with iPhones and video games and everything electronic. They’ve lived in technology. And then we hand them platforms that have been around for decades.” DAS will completely change that experience, she noted.

Amber Mehta, a Partner with KNAV, a global accounting firm with offices in seven countries, agreed DAS and the OnPoint Suite of products will help attract talent. “You want the young crowd to come join your firm and they want to see that you have new technology,” he said. “This is a big transition I see Caseware bringing into the profession.” 

Technology is transforming the accounting profession, so firms need to accept that changing their workflows and methodologies is inevitable, Mehta noted. He said that with tools like gen AI just around the corner, the time to make a change is now. “We need a good technology base to continue doing what we’re doing and what the profession requires…. You need to see what technologies are out in the market and what suits you.” 

A step-by-step, guided approach 

Having the technology and methodology flow together in the same solution as it does in DAS offers a guided experience that helps new accountants learn how to conduct a proper audit, Citrin Cooperman’s Kanter said. “DAS is helping our young professionals and guiding them through an audit process,” she explained. “What they should be doing. And more importantly, what they shouldn’t be doing in an audit based on the risk of the client – the significant risks, the general identified risks – to make sure they’re doing the right procedures at the right time.” 

Kevin McElgunn, Audit Partner with Withum, a nationally ranked advisory and public accounting firm based in Princeton, NJ, agreed DAS will help train young auditors and allow them to deliver better insights at a junior level. 

“The DAS methodology is unique,” he explained. “It’s a streamlined process. I always think about the staff. They can understand the risk at the beginning of the engagement and see it through to a risk response.”  

The audit methodologies most firms follow today are stale, said Tricia Katebini, a Partner with GRF CPAs & Advisors. “They haven’t changed in many years,” she noted. “And there are a lot of new regulations coming into play.” 

Katebini said that DAS’s guided approach will help GRF staff conduct more in-depth audits. “It’s great knowing that we are getting back to the standards but putting it in a place that helps our staff think through all of the things you have to do in an audit,” she explained. “Understanding where your risks are. Understanding what you have to hone in on and what could be a value-add for your clients as part of the process is where the sweet sauce is.”  

Baker Tilly, one of the largest accounting and advisory firms in the U.S., began using the OnPoint Engagement Suite with OnPoint EBP, an end-to-end solution for employee benefit plan audits. The firm plans to migrate to DAS and OnPoint PCR in the future. 

Before moving to OnPoint EBP, Baker Tilly had multiple EBP audit toolsets and methodologies because of recent mergers and acquisitions, noted Marsha Ackerman, Principal with Baker Tilly. OnPoint EBP allows Baker Tilly’s entire EBP team to rely on one platform and methodology while leveraging advanced technology and tools. 

“We’ve found that our users like the OnPoint EBP tool,” said Karen Larsen, Principal with Baker Tilly. “It’s intuitive. The functionality of the technology is easy to learn. The methodology is intuitive. It makes sense for users.” 

She noted that the firm also enjoyed working with the Caseware team. “One of the things that excite me about working with Caseware is that they have a unique ability to bond with their customers, spend time, and provide meaningful and productive conversation and discussion that results in a better product for our team members.” 

Contact our team to learn more about how the OnPoint Engagement Suite can help your firm.