With multi-franchise dealers on the rise, gross profits diminishing and technology advancing at a rapid rate, the demand on the dealer is at an all-time high. As each day passes, it becomes more difficult for dealers to stay on top of the day-to-day operations of the dealership. This situation can increase the risk of misappropriation of assets and fraudulent financial reporting.
Therefore, it is imperative that dealerships not only have good management in place but also have established and implemented a strong set of internal controls. From our considerable experience in the industry, we’ve seen both the value of strong internal controls and the cost of control deficiencies.
Control deficiencies have cost dealerships hundreds of thousands of dollars. In order to prevent control weaknesses from culminating into costly problems, dealers must be proactive.
Most dealerships do not have the RESEARCH & INSIGHT in place to monitor their controls. Controls are only evaluated when a problem occurs. Many dealers are large enough to have a full-time internal auditor. But, many dealers feel that it is not cost effective to hire one.
O’Connor & Drew, P.C. has been successfully providing internal audit services for the past 15 years. Regardless of the size and nature of the business, a proper control environment is essential to the financial health of the business in order to safeguard assets and provide reliable financial information. We provide a variety of internal audit services for our internal audit clients, including, but not limited to the following:
• Fraud Investigation/Forensic Audits
• Safeguards/Red Flags Compliance
• Parts Inventory Analysis and Reconciliation Training
• Warranty Parts Reimbursement
Please contact Kevin Carnes or Frank O’Brien at (617) 471-1120 to discuss how we may help your company succeed in these challenging times.
Financial Reporting | Operational Review | Dealership Acquisitions and Due Diligence