Posted almost 6 years ago

Performing A Legal Company Audit

Performing an annual legal company audit is usually not on the top of the to-do list of most business owners. However, it should be. Audits are an indescribably important protective measure that can help you ensure your business runs smoothly and legally.

Here are 5 steps you must take when performing a legal company audit:

Confirm You Have a Legally Established Entity

When performing a legal company audit, one of the first areas you must examine is your business structure. You need to make sure your company was formed as the appropriate business entity in order to ensure you are following the specific guidelines for that entity.

Additionally, since paperwork and note keeping can be an essential part of the work you must do to maintain some business entities in Florida, it is a good idea to review your notes and the actions of your board. You should review the decisions the board made in a particular situation in order to determine whether they handled it appropriately. If it turns out they did not, you should make notes regarding what they should do the next time a similar situation arises.

Make Sure Your Intellectual Property is Protected

As you know, thoughts and ideas are just as important to your business as the physical products you sell and the services you provide. This is why, when performing a company audit, you must review the names, logos, and concepts or ideas your company is using to do business in order to make sure they are all properly registered and no other business is using them. Remember, a bit of work here could keep you out of a courtroom in the future and even allow you to claim and collect statutory damages and legal expenses in case you find yourself in a position where you have to enforce your rights over your intellectual property.

Review the Rights and Responsibilities of Your Employees and Contractors

The most experienced business owners know that setting expectations for contractors and employees is indescribably important for your personnel to produce good results. Having agreements in place that enable you to enforce your rights is critical when it comes to protecting the sources of value in your business, like your systems or your list of clients or customers. You must review documents like your service agreements, employment contracts, and policy handbook in order to protect your business from risk and enable yourself to legally enforce your rights.

Evaluate the Risk of Lawsuits in the Future

If you believe there might be potential lawsuits coming your way, now that you are performing a company audit is a good time to review the facts with your business attorney and ask important questions, such as:

Is it really worth the trouble?
Would you be able to recover if you were to prevail?
What changes could you make to avoid a similar problem in the future?

Obviously, input from your attorney is crucial here, as it can significantly reduce the likelihood of future lawsuits.

Ensure Your Business is Operating in Compliance with All Applicable Regulations

When performing a company audit, the most important step you must take is to make sure your company is operating in compliance with all applicable regulations. Staying compliant is crucial when it comes to ensuring your business is prepared for potential investment, government inquiry, and other legal obstacles.

Need to Perform a Company Audit? Work with a Business Lawyer

If you are about to perform a company audit, you should make sure to hire a licensed professional who does not work for your company. This is crucial because this third party will be able to analyze your business with no bias. At Jurado & Farshchian, P.L., we can do your company audit for you.

Give us a call today at (305) 921-0440 or send us an email to [email protected] to learn more about our services.