As a result of the pandemic, the auditing profession around the world has changed from being largely on-site and office-based to a much more remote experience. While this appeared to be an overnight change for many, at RSM, we were already transforming how we deliver our services through increased digitalisation as a direct response to the changing needs of our expanding global client base and regulatory changes. As a firm, we are now committed to long-term hybrid working, aligned to the Irish Government’s ‘Making Remote Work’ national strategy.

As of today, over 50% of our clients are globally active companies and our goal is to be the advisers of choice to middle market leaders in Ireland. The Irish firm has grown its revenue by 70% since joining the RSM global network in 2016.

At RSM, the success of our audit service delivery in the remote working environment has been under-pinned by three key pillars.

Client focus

First, we have remained focused on our clients’ needs – we believe a quality audit and client experience are not driven by where you work but rather the expertise of the team.

Since the start of the pandemic, we have worked closely with our clients to support them throughout this period, ensuring the delivery of efficient and effective audits and advisory services.

We have found that communication is a critical element of this, providing time at the right level to our clients. The pandemic has removed certain distance barriers, allowing our clients even more access to senior expertise, ideas and insights.

People

As a firm, we employ a people-centric approach. We don’t have a business-to-business strategy; it’s person-to-person. We understand that it’s our people that drive our business. While the communication channels may have changed, our talent experience has remained our focus, with a coaching model and exam support for our teams. This has been critical to develop our people, attract new talent and allow for the continued delivery of our services.

Technology

Having a robust digitalisation programme in place has been key for us in supporting our clients and interacting with colleagues across audit, tax, and consulting through seamless systems. At RSM, we have embraced a paperless environment, and continue to invest in digitalisation. This is supported by our client data collaboration platform including secure data sharing, which provides clear accountability. In person meetings are complemented by video calls and screen-sharing, allowing for continued collaboration.

Our audits also continue to evolve through our US based Audit Data Analytics Centre of Excellence, established in 2020, developing leading edge capabilities such as the use of Alteryx business intelligence in our audits.

The strength of our existing and future technology is supported by the power of our RSM network, present in 120 countries.

As featured in Accountancy Ireland online, December 2021