Call a Controller: Meena Izadpanah, Shiphawk

The experienced controller shares insights on preparing for your company’s first audit

Welcome to our series Call a Controller, where I hop on the phone to get some practical advice from finance operators at fast-moving companies.

In this episode, I spoke with ShipHawk Controller Meena Izadpanah, who brings over a decade of experience in accounting, including roles at Inspirato and Invoca.

Meena shares several key insights from her experience in financial reporting, including:

• The importance of solid accounting practices in customer relations

• Her top tip for audit preparation (as an ex-auditor!)

• Advice for companies preparing for their first audit without a controller

Watch the full conversation to hear Meena's expert perspective.

Transcript:

What's your biggest worry or challenge heading into the future? 

Currently, we have a competitor who's coming after our customer base and offering a competing product for free. I think in this economic market, it would be very hard for any CEO or CFO not to take that call. So I think that's our biggest challenge is proving our value. And that, just cause it's free, doesn't mean it's good or better.

How are you thinking about supporting that on the accounting and finance side of things? 

With accounting, sure it's back office, but we're talking to vendors, we're talking to customers every day, multiple every day. Having your written communication, having a solid invoicing process, making sure you're charging when you should charge, and just the basic accounts receivable processes is important. You are a representation of your company, and a customer could lose faith in the company if you're kind of a mess in the back.

What's your top tip for preparing for an audit? 

Find what you missed before they do. It's a big statement, but I fortunately was an auditor for several years and are familiar with the processes and the tests that they'll do. You can Google that if you don't know, or maybe call a friend, call another controller, see what their tests are and perform the test in your own company. Let's say something related to the audit year came in two months later, just create a list of it. Then, when they say, “Hey, I found this,” you're like, “No, I found it first.” That protects your management letter, which is a letter that goes to the board and management about the quality of your financials. So you want that to be perfect.

What would you recommend to companies heading into their first audit without a controller? 

More often than not, your audit firm wants to help you. They would rather be consulted than surprised. So create a relationship with them. Don't be worried that they're coming in and checking everything. Think of them as a partner. When you're unsure about something or how to state something or record something, just reach out. I reach out to my auditor all the time when I have a new product in service, and I don't know what the rev rec is going to be. I just check with her. By the time she arrives for the audit, they already know all the big stuff. I'd lean on your audit firm, you pay them enough! ⊞