Audit Season Isn't the Problem. Your Staffing Gap Is

I have the same conversation every year. 

A finance director gets in touch, tells me the audit is only a few weeks away, the team is stretched thin, and asks whether I can find someone quickly. By the time that call happens, there's usually a lot of pressure in the room. The audit feels like the problem. But having had that conversation more times than I can count, I don't think the audit is the problem at all.

What I see every year isn't an audit season issue. It's a staffing gap that's been building quietly for months. The audit just happens to be the moment where nobody can ignore it anymore.

The shortage isn't new, and it isn't going away

I don't need industry reports to tell me the market is tight. I spend every day speaking to employers and candidates, and I've watched the same challenges play out for years. The interesting thing is that it's not usually the junior roles that cause problems. Most clients can hire trainees or entry-level accountants. It's the roles in the middle that create the biggest headache. Senior accountants. Assistant managers. Finance managers.

They're the people businesses depend on when year-end preparation ramps up and audit readiness becomes a priority. They're also the people who take the longest to find. That's exactly why so many businesses end up feeling exposed when audit season arrives.

What I hear after a difficult audit

One thing I've noticed over the years is that clients rarely call me after an audit because somebody has resigned. It’s because more often, they've discovered a weakness they didn't realise was there.

It might be a reconciliation process that only one person properly understands. It might be a reporting file that's effectively being held together by one member of the team. Everything works until that person goes on holiday, leaves the business or is unexpectedly unavailable.

I've had clients tell me the audit was the first time they realised how much knowledge sat with one individual. The audit didn't create the problem. It simply exposed it.

Why I'm placing more interim professionals

Another change I've noticed recently is how many conversations now include discussions around interim support, permanent recruitment, or a combination of both.

A year or two ago, the first question was often, “Can you find us a permanent hire?”. Now it's more likely to be, “Can you get someone in quickly to help us through this period?”

To me, that's not a sign that businesses have stopped investing in permanent recruitment. It's a sign that they're trying to create some breathing space. An interim hire can help stabilise the situation, reduce pressure on the existing team and give the business time to think properly about what they need long term. An interim appointment can often be a smart solution, rather than rushing through a permanent hire because an audit deadline is around the corner.

What I'm seeing across Scotland

This isn't just something I'm reading about in market reports. It's what I'm seeing firsthand across Scotland. Financial control and internal audit roles remain some of the toughest positions to fill. Clients want people with strong technical knowledge, but they also want individuals who are comfortable with modern finance systems, process improvement and stakeholder management.

Those people are out there, but there aren't enough of them. That's why talent retention and development have become such important conversations, particularly in regions where candidate pools are naturally smaller.

My advice

The good news is that audit season doesn't have to feel like a crisis every year. The businesses that seem to handle it best aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest teams. They're the ones that think about capacity long before the pressure starts building.

Sometimes that means bringing in interim support early. Sometimes it means documenting a process that currently lives in one person's head. Sometimes it means taking an honest look at whether the team structure still matches the workload.

Whatever the answer, it's usually easier and cheaper to deal with six months before an audit than six days before one. Because the audit will come round again next year. The question to ask now is whether your team will be in a different position when it does.