Many Auditors Are Still Married to Their Excel Spreadsheets, Report Finds
January 14, 2025
"While Excel's versatility has made it a staple for decades, it's limitations—such as version control issues, manual data entry errors, and collaboration bottlenecks— are becoming increasingly problematic," accounting automation platform Trullion says in a new report.
A new report from accounting automation platform Trullion reveals that nearly 70% of auditors still spend more than half their time in spreadsheets, struggling with reconciliations, data extraction, and outdated workflows. In addition, 16% of auditors spend between 70% and 100% of their time working in Excel.
“In today’s audit landscape, relying too heavily on legacy tools like Excel isn’t just inefficient—it’s risky. While Excel’s versatility has made it a staple for decades, it’s limitations—such as version control issues, manual data entry errors, and collaboration bottlenecks— are becoming increasingly problematic,” Trullion says in its new report, “State of Audit Efficiency,” which will be officially released on Jan. 15.
“Most auditors are using a patchwork of Excel sheets as a crutch to cover gaps in audit planning and execution that exist due to limitations with their audit engagement platforms,” the report goes on to say. “These all-in-one systems attempt to provide a comprehensive solution that includes all of the core functionalities needed for the auditing process. The reality is that they’re often inflexible and lack specialized capabilities around data collection, client collaboration, and audit execution.”
The report survey, conducted in November 2024, collected responses from 41 U.S.-based auditors representing a diverse range of roles and firm sizes. It focused on key aspects of audit workflows, efficiency, and technology adoption during the busy season.
Auditors identified several recurring challenges when relying on Excel for audits during their busy season. Nearly half (49%) cited time-consuming reconciliations as their biggest obstacle, with more than 70% dedicating between five to 20 hours weekly to this task. Excel struggles to keep pace with the volume and intricacy of modern financial data, turning reconciliations into a tedious, manual process, Trullion says.
Additionally, 42% of respondents flagged manual data entry errors as a significant issue. According to the report, manual data extraction from unstructured PDFs consumes five to 10 hours per week for 54% of auditors. Limited collaboration capabilities and version control problems were also reported, each by 5% of respondents.
Bottlenecks persist in audit review processes, according to the report, with nearly 40% reporting review delays of two weeks or longer.
These findings highlight how legacy tools create inefficiencies that could be solved with purpose-built audit software designed for scale and precision, Trullion says.
“The audit industry is finally in a position to fully embrace and reap the benefits of cloud-based solutions,” Scott Singerman, vice president of alliances at Trullion, says in the report. “Most firms don’t want to rip out their legacy engagement platforms—it’s a painful process. But as those engagement platforms move to the cloud, it opens up a world of opportunities for automation, collaboration, and real-time insights. AI tools can help firms enhance their workflows without disrupting existing processes, enabling them to drive efficiency and accuracy, and ultimately deliver greater value to their clients.”
The use of automation tools in audit processes is steadily increasing, but adoption remains limited, the report says. While more than half of respondents (58%) use automation for specific tasks like reconciliations or data extraction, a smaller amount (21%) have implemented these tools throughout their workflows.
In addition, 19% of respondents still rely entirely on manual processes, and 2% are in the early stages of exploring automation, according to the report.
“These gaps reflect a significant opportunity for audit teams to enhance efficiency and accuracy by leveraging automation more broadly,” Trullion says. “Moving beyond partial implementation to full integration could transform audit workflows, reducing errors and boosting productivity.”
Despite its transformative potential, only 33% of auditors currently use artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT in their workflows. Barriers like organizational restrictions and lack of training are holding audit teams back from realizing the efficiency and accuracy gains AI can deliver, Trullion says.
“To drive adoption, companies need to invest in education and training while addressing organizational concerns,” the report says. Highlighting AI’s ability to automate repetitive tasks and reduce errors can help shift perspectives and pave the way for smarter, more scalable audit processes.”
Trullion offered the following three recommendations for driving audit efficiency:
1. Automate to accelerate: Focus on automating time-consuming tasks like documentation, reconciliation, and reviews to improve accuracy and save time. Start small with pilot programs to see what works and make scaling easier, making sure everything runs smoothly before going all in.
2. Empower your team: Start giving your team the skills and training they need to make the most of AI. This not only builds confidence in adopting new technology iterations but also addresses compliance concerns and positions your team to operate more efficiently in a fast-moving audit landscape.
3. Build a cloud-based audit tech stack: Integrate best-in-breed AI solutions with existing platforms to increase collaboration, streamline workflows, and future-proof your audit processes. Modernizing your audit tech stack reduces the dependence on outdated tools like Excel, positioning firms for success in today’s increasingly digital landscape.
[CPA Practice Advisor]
