Audit and Assurance Services
Organizations often require independent audit and assurance services as they grow, pursue financing, support mergers and acquisitions, satisfy lender or investor requirements, or strengthen governance. An independent audit provides confidence in financial reporting, internal controls, and the information leaders rely on to make important business decisions.
LBMC’s Audit & Assurance professionals work with privately held companies, private equity-backed businesses, healthcare organizations, not-for-profits, and other complex organizations to deliver independent audits, practical recommendations, and a collaborative process designed to minimize disruption while meeting stakeholder expectations.
When Organizations Seek Independent Assurance
Organizations often seek independent audit and assurance services as they grow, pursue new opportunities, or respond to changing stakeholder expectations. Whether driven by financing, ownership changes, governance needs, or reporting requirements, independent assurance provides confidence in financial reporting and supports informed business decisions.
Common situations include:
- Preparing for an annual financial statement audit or a first-year audit.
- Meeting lender, investor, board, or regulatory reporting requirements.
- Preparing for a merger, acquisition, or other significant business transaction.
- Adopting new accounting standards or addressing complex financial reporting requirements.
- Demonstrating financial transparency and accountability to stakeholders.
- Strengthening financial reporting processes and internal controls.
Preparing for an Audit?
Whether you’re planning your first audit or looking for a new audit partner, our professionals can help you understand your requirements and plan your next steps.
LBMC’s Audit and Assurance Services
LBMC provides a comprehensive range of audit and assurance services that help organizations meet financial reporting requirements, strengthen internal controls, manage risk, and provide stakeholders with confidence in their financial reporting. From annual financial statement audits to specialized assurance and advisory services, our professionals deliver practical guidance tailored to your organization’s needs.
Core Audit Services
Financial Statement Audit
Independent financial statement audits designed to meet lender, investor, board, and reporting requirements while providing confidence in financial reporting. Our team works across U.S. GAAP and other applicable reporting frameworks, delivering efficient audits and practical recommendations to strengthen financial reporting processes.
Employee Benefit Plan Audit
Experienced ERISA audit professionals helping plan sponsors fulfill fiduciary responsibilities through efficient, transparent audits that support participant confidence and regulatory requirements. Our team also performs ERISA Section 11-K audits for publicly traded companies.
Risk & Compliance Services
Internal Audit
Independent internal audit services that strengthen governance, evaluate internal controls, identify risk, and improve operational performance through scalable audit programs.
Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Compliance
Scalable SOX compliance solutions that help public and private companies strengthen internal controls, support Section 404 compliance, and align with the COSO Framework.
SOC Audit
Independent SOC audit services that help organizations demonstrate effective internal controls, build trust with customers, and meet customer, vendor, and stakeholder assurance expectations.
Specialized Accounting Support
Business Combination Accounting
Acquiring a business introduces complex accounting and financial reporting requirements that extend well beyond closing. LBMC provides technical guidance on purchase accounting and business combination accounting, helping organizations navigate applicable accounting standards and prepare accurate financial reporting.
Lease Accounting
Practical lease accounting guidance that helps organizations implement new standards, improve reporting accuracy, and establish sustainable accounting processes for ongoing compliance.
Find the Right Audit Solution
Every organization has different reporting requirements and business challenges. Let’s discuss your situation and determine which audit and assurance services best fit your needs.
Financial Statement Audit Services
Independent financial statement audits provide assurance that your financial statements are presented fairly, helping organizations meet reporting requirements and providing lenders, investors, boards, and other stakeholders with confidence in their financial reporting.
LBMC performs financial statement audits for privately held companies, private equity-backed businesses, healthcare organizations, not-for-profits, governmental entities, and other organizations preparing financial statements under U.S. GAAP or other applicable reporting frameworks. Every engagement is tailored to your organization, industry, and reporting requirements, with a collaborative approach focused on responsiveness and an efficient audit process.
Audit requirements and preparation considerations can vary significantly by industry and organization type. For not-for-profit organizations, our nonprofit financial statement audit checklist can help management teams understand reporting, documentation, governance, and compliance considerations before the audit begins. Insurance organizations face their own specialized reporting requirements, and our guidance on insurance financial statement audits explains key considerations for insurers preparing for an independent audit.
What You Gain from a Financial Statement Audit
An effective financial statement audit should do more than satisfy a reporting requirement. It should provide confidence in your financial reporting while identifying opportunities to strengthen internal controls, improve financial reporting processes, and support informed decision-making.
With LBMC, clients benefit from:
- Independent assurance that builds confidence among lenders, investors, boards, and other stakeholders
- Practical recommendations to strengthen internal controls and financial reporting processes
- Clear communication throughout the engagement
- Insights into financial reporting risks and opportunities to improve financial reporting processes
- An efficient, technology-enabled audit process designed to minimize disruption
Our Audit Approach
Every audit follows a structured process designed to deliver high-quality results while minimizing disruption to your organization’s day-to-day operations.
Our approach includes:
- Planning and scoping – Develop an understanding of your business, risks, and reporting requirements.
- Risk assessment and control evaluation – Identify key areas of audit focus.
- Fieldwork and testing – Perform audit procedures using data-driven tools and techniques.
- Ongoing communication – Discuss observations and recommendations throughout the engagement.
- Final reporting – Deliver audited financial statements and required opinions.
Business Combination Accounting
Business combinations often create complex accounting and financial reporting requirements long after a transaction closes. LBMC helps organizations navigate purchase accounting, business combination accounting, and related financial reporting requirements, providing technical guidance that supports accurate reporting and a smoother audit process.
Our professionals also advise private equity-backed companies and other organizations on complex accounting matters following acquisitions, bringing experience from both the preparer and auditor perspectives.
Preparing for a Financial Statement Audit?
Whether you’re planning your first audit or looking to improve the process, learn how to prepare for a financial statement audit with answers to common questions about audit requirements, preparation, timing, and what to expect throughout the process.
Why Choose LBMC for Audit & Assurance?
Organizations choose LBMC because we combine technical audit expertise with a practical understanding of financial reporting, governance, and organizational risk. Our professionals work collaboratively with management to deliver an efficient audit process while providing meaningful insights that strengthen financial reporting and support informed decision-making.
LBMC’s approach is built on:
- Industry-focused audit teams serving privately held companies, healthcare organizations, private equity-backed businesses, not-for-profits, governmental entities, and other complex organizations.
- Experience with complex financial reporting requirements, including U.S. GAAP and other applicable reporting frameworks, tailored to each organization’s unique needs.
- Technology-enabled audit execution that improves efficiency, reduces disruption, and enhances audit quality.
- Practical recommendations that strengthen financial reporting processes, internal controls, and governance.
- Responsive client service built on proactive communication, accessibility, and long-term relationships.
- Public company reporting experience, including ERISA Section 11-K audits, bringing technical expertise to complex audit engagements.
Local Expertise, Wherever You Are
With offices in Chattanooga, Memphis, Louisville, Nashville, Knoxville, Charlotte, and Philadelphia, along with remote professionals serving clients across the country, LBMC partners with businesses throughout the region and beyond.
Industries We Serve
Organizations across industries rely on LBMC for independent audit and assurance services tailored to their unique financial reporting requirements, governance needs, and business objectives. Our industry-focused teams understand the accounting, reporting, and operational complexities that shape each engagement, delivering audits that provide confidence to stakeholders and practical insights to leadership.
Featured Industries
- Government and Not-for-Profit
- Healthcare
- Manufacturing and Distribution
- Private Equity
- Real Estate and Construction
- Technology and SaaS
Beyond these industries, LBMC serves organizations across a broad range of sectors, including technology, professional services, financial services, retail, automotive dealerships, and other service-based businesses. For dealership leaders evaluating changing financial conditions, LBMC’s analysis of auto dealership profitability trends provides additional perspective on how normalized vehicle margins and changing market conditions can affect financial performance. Our experience also includes schools, religious organizations, and other nonprofit entities with unique reporting and governance requirements.
LBMC also performs ERISA Section 11-K audits for publicly traded companies, reflecting the technical depth and financial reporting expertise our professionals bring to complex audit engagements.
There is no greater tool than an accurate map of your operation. With assurance, we are painting an extremely detailed picture of your operation and saying: ‘Based on the data, this is where we should focus our efforts.’ It allows us to be proactive, to identify potential issues before they become serious problems.
Jim Stevison, Shareholder, Audit and Assurance
Audit and Assurance Resources
Frequently Asked Questions About Audit and Assurance Services
What is a financial statement audit?
A financial statement audit is an independent examination of an organization’s financial statements. Auditors evaluate whether the financial statements are presented fairly in accordance with applicable accounting standards, providing lenders, investors, boards, and other stakeholders with confidence in the reliability of financial reporting. Learn more about LBMC’s Financial Statement Audit Services and our approach to delivering an efficient, collaborative audit process.
When does my business need an audit?
A business may need a financial statement audit because of lender or investor requirements, regulatory obligations, grant funding, contractual agreements, or a planned transaction. Organizations may also choose an audit voluntarily when they want to strengthen financial reporting, improve stakeholder confidence, or prepare for future financing or ownership changes. If you’re approaching your first audit, understanding how to prepare for a financial statement audit can help your team anticipate documentation, timing, and reporting requirements.
What's the difference between an audit and a review?
An audit provides reasonable assurance that financial statements are presented fairly and includes extensive testing of financial records, supporting documentation, and relevant internal controls. A review relies primarily on analytical procedures and inquiries and provides limited assurance. Because a review involves less testing, it offers a lower level of assurance than an audit.
What's the difference between audit and assurance services?
A financial statement audit is one type of assurance service. While a financial statement audit provides an independent opinion on whether financial statements are presented fairly, other assurance services address different areas of organizational risk and reporting. For example, Internal Audit can evaluate governance, risk management, and internal controls, while a SOC Audit provides assurance about controls relevant to customers and other stakeholders.
How can technology improve the audit process?
Technology can make the audit process more efficient by helping auditors analyze larger populations of transactions, identify patterns and anomalies, focus testing on higher-risk areas, and streamline evidence collection. Data analytics and artificial intelligence can enhance these capabilities while professional judgment remains central to audit quality. Explore how LBMC is approaching AI in financial audits and how data analytics can improve audit quality.
How should we prepare for an audit?
Preparing early can make a financial statement audit more efficient and reduce last-minute issues. Organizations should reconcile key accounts, organize supporting documentation, review significant transactions, and identify complex accounting matters before fieldwork begins. Our guide on how to prepare for a financial statement audit provides additional steps to help your team get ready. Companies with complex customer contracts should also evaluate issues such as revenue recognition for private companies before the audit begins.
Do you work with private equity-backed companies?
Yes. LBMC works with private equity-backed organizations throughout the investment lifecycle, including businesses managing acquisitions, complex financial reporting requirements, and changes following a transaction. Our Audit & Assurance professionals provide financial statement audits, technical accounting guidance, and business combination accounting, while LBMC’s broader Private Equity industry team supports the specialized needs of PE firms and their portfolio companies.
Meet Our Audit & Assurance Leaders
Contact Us
Headquarters (Nashville, TN):
201 Franklin Road
Brentwood, TN 37027
615-377-4600
Office Hours: 8am-5pm, Monday-Friday
Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 1869
Brentwood, TN 37024-1869
Chattanooga, TN:
605 Chestnut Street, Suite 1100
Chattanooga, TN 37450
423-468-5042
Knoxville, TN:
2095 Lakeside Centre Way
Knoxville, TN 37922
865-691-9000
Memphis, TN:
5100 Poplar Avenue, Suite 1400
Memphis, TN 38137-1499
901-685-1040
Louisville, KY:
325 West Main Street, Suite 1600
Louisville, KY 40202
502-585-1600
Charlotte, NC:
3700 Arco Corporate Drive, Suite 175
Charlotte, NC 28273
704-846-6750
We’re happy to answer any questions you may have on what our team can do for you. Please send us a note using the form and one of our professionals will get back to you promptly.