Scaling Audit Capacity With White Label Offshore Support

How Safebooks Expanded Audit Capacity and Standardised SOPs for a Regional CPA Firm

A Mid Atlantic CPA firm with a strong audit practice faced capacity issues, inconsistent SOPs, and concerns about offshore data security. Safebooks delivered white label audit support that improved documentation quality, reduced overtime, and increased the number of audits completed during the busy season.

Safebooks applies this same approach across Audit Support, Back Office Support, and Remote Security Standards.

Client Overview

The firm has seven partners and sixty staff members. Their audit portfolio includes employee benefit plans, not for profits, and privately held companies. They perform fieldwork and documentation inside CCH ProSystem fx Engagement.

What They Needed

• More audit capacity during peak season
• Consistent workpaper standards
• Support from offshore staff trained in US GAAP and EBP requirements
• Strong IT controls for secure offshore collaboration

General industry trends related to offshore adoption are covered in Inside the Rise of Offshore CPA Firms in the US Market.

Key Challenges Before Safebooks

Seasonal Capacity Shortages

With attrition and hiring freezes, the team could not accept additional work. Seniors worked extended hours throughout the busy season.

Inconsistent Audit SOPs

Different managers used different workpaper formats. Prior year roll forward files lacked consistent organisation which made it difficult for new staff to follow the firm’s methodology.

Security Concerns

Partners wanted offshore support but required US GAAP knowledge, familiarity with EBP and NFP audits, and strict IT controls.

Similar concerns are explored in How Safe Is Offshore Staffing.

Safebooks Engagement

Safebooks used a phased approach to validate audit quality, align SOPs, and scale support across the audit practice.

Phase 1: Pilot Audit to Validate Fit

Safebooks staffed the pilot with:

• One audit senior
• Two audit associates

The team worked directly inside the firm’s CCH ProSystem fx Engagement environment and used the firm’s templates and review steps.

Pilot Scope

• PBC tracking
• Sampling and vouching
• First draft workpapers
• Lead sheet preparation
• Drafting review notes for partner review

This phase established communication flow, documentation quality, and expectations.

Phase 2: SOP Alignment and Audit Playbook

Safebooks helped the firm create a unified audit process.

Deliverables

• A combined SOP for sampling and materiality
• Standard templates for cash, receivables, payables, fixed assets, and revenue
• Defined review sequence from Safebooks to firm senior, then manager, then partner

This created consistency across engagements regardless of staff or manager.

Phase 3: Scaling Support for More Than Ten Audits

During the next busy season, Safebooks assisted on eleven audits including EBP, NFP, and private company engagements.

Safebooks Responsibilities

• Preparing first draft workpapers
• Tick marking and cross referencing
• Clearing straightforward PBC and variance questions with client accounting teams where allowed
• Maintaining consistent structure for review readiness

This gave the firm predictable and high quality offshore capacity.

Results After Implementation

Higher Audit Capacity

The firm delivered 30 percent more audits without hiring locally.

Lower Senior Overtime

Audit seniors reported fifteen to twenty hours fewer overtime each week during peak season.

Improved Workpaper Consistency

Partners saw cleaner structure, stronger cross referencing, and fewer review notes. Review comments decreased by twenty five to thirty percent.

Security and Compliance Confidence

Safebooks used VPN only access, two factor authentication, role based permissions, and daily backup protocols. These practices matched the firm’s internal risk controls and aligned with Safebooks security commitments described in the Privacy Policy.

What This Case Shows About Safebooks

Firms facing audit season bottlenecks often need more than a larger team. They need structured workflows, consistent documentation, and secure offshore capacity. Safebooks delivers this by combining US GAAP aligned audit professionals with strong security controls and experience working in client audit systems.

This regional CPA firm chose Safebooks because of its ability to support complex audit engagements while maintaining quality and compliance.

To explore white label audit support for your firm, contact Safebooks through Get Started.