A component manufacturer in the Ambattur Industrial Estate assumed his statutory audit would run the same timeline as a services company's — a few weeks of document review. It took considerably longer, and the reason wasn't the accounting at all: it was physically verifying inventory and fixed assets across a working factory floor.
Inventory verification is a physical process, not a desk review
For a manufacturing company, the auditor needs to physically verify raw materials, work-in-progress, and finished goods against what the books show — not just check the valuation methodology on paper. Any discrepancy between the physical count and the books needs to be investigated and explained, which takes real time on-site that a services business's audit simply doesn't require.
Fixed assets need a genuine paper trail, not just a list
Machinery, equipment, and factory infrastructure need to be verified against purchase invoices, and depreciation needs to be tracked correctly from each asset's actual purchase date — not a lump estimate. Ambattur manufacturers who've added or retired equipment over the years without updating a proper fixed asset register end up spending audit time reconstructing that history instead of just confirming it.
What actually shortens this timeline
A manufacturing company that maintains a running fixed asset register and does a mid-year inventory reconciliation — rather than only at year-end — gets through statutory audit fieldwork noticeably faster than one presenting a full year's inventory and asset history all at once.
If your Ambattur manufacturing business has a statutory audit coming up, C S Rushil & Co. can do a pre-audit inventory and asset review to flag gaps before the auditor arrives on-site. Book a free consultation.