IRIS Launches Statutory Audit Outsourcing Service to Help Practices and Firms Grow Profits and Scale Workloads

LONDON, May 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- IRIS Software Group, a leading global software provider of accounting, edtech, payroll and HR solutions, today unveiled IRIS Outsourcing Audit Services, further assisting accountancy firms in unlocking capacity issues that inhibit growth. This is the sixth outsourcing service IRIS has released since 2004, adding to its existing catalogue of outsourced bookkeeping, year-end accounts, personal tax, payroll, and iXBRL tagging services.

According to the results of an anonymous IRIS poll of UK-based accountants conducted during February and March, 50% of respondents are unable to offer audit services due to recruitment challenges. While 19% offer profitable audit services, a further 19% struggle to make a margin on audit work and 11% cite challenges with recruiting and retaining audit staff for their service.

The new IRIS Outsourcing Audit Services, available to UK customers, helps traditional practices, growth firms and digital firms address critical staffing shortages, streamline technology use, focus on higher fee-earning activities and client expansion, and achieve sustainable success in a competitive marketplace.

Commenting on the new provision, Mark Chambers, Managing Director of Accountancy at IRIS said: "There are over 4,000 accountancy firms registered to carry out statutory audits in the UK, 80% of which have between one and three principals (partners or members of an LLP). For many firms, audit work makes up more than 50% of their fee income, so losing a single audit team member can significantly affect service delivery. That's why we have crafted a scalable audit outsourcing solution that can blend with an onsite audit team and offers end-to-end audit support for significant labour cost saving."

IRIS Outsourcing, a trusted outsourcing provider to UK accountancy firms, leverages its 20-year expertise through its dedicated team in IRIS India. Comprising of more than 500 qualified accountancy, bookkeeping, tax, payroll and audit professionals, the team is well-versed in the nuances of UK accountancy, taxation, and audit methodologies.

Proudly holding ISO 27001 and GDPR certifications, quality assurance including ISO QMS 9001: 2015, ISO ISMS 27001:2013 and PIMS 27701:2019 certifications, the new service covers all aspects of the audit process from planning and execution to completion and reporting. The team also has experience with both IRIS and non-IRIS software, making IRIS Outsourcing a true software agnostic service provider; offering seamless integration with client-specific processes and systems without requiring extensive assistance.

Ryan Hudson, Director at Howards Chartered Certified Accountants commented: "Any way we can work more efficiently is a win for us, and IRIS Outsourcing has helped us do that. It's been a fantastic commercial solution for us...With IRIS Outsourcing, it gives us the flexibility to be able to take on more work and continue to give our clients a fantastic service."

Notes to editors

The anonymous IRIS poll received 139 responses. The full dataset is available on request.

About IRIS Software Group

IRIS Software Group is a global provider of mission critical software and one of the UK's largest privately held software companies. IRIS provides software solutions and services for finance, HR and payroll teams, educational organisations, and accountancy firms that takes the pain out of processes and lets professionals focus on the work they love. Through simplifying, automating and providing insights on everyday mission critical tasks for organisations of all shapes and sizes, IRIS ensures customers can look forward with certainty and confidence.

IRIS is the largest third-party online filer with the UK Government. Ninety three of the top 100 UK accountancy firms use IRIS software. One in six of the UK's workforce is paid by IRIS payroll offerings, and globally, six million employees receive their payslip via IRIS software every month. More than 850,000 UK employees are managed by IRIS HR solutions. 12,000 UK schools and academies use IRIS, with four million parents and guardians using IRIS apps to connect with their children's school; 300 million messages are delivered between schools and parents each year, and more than £15 million transactional payments are processed every month. IRIS is certified as a Great Place to Work® and recognised as one of the Best Workplaces for Wellbeing, one of the Best Workplaces in Tech and one of the Best Workplaces for Women.

To see how IRIS helps organisations get things right first time, every time, visit www.iris.co.uk or follow IRIS Software Group on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

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