December 11, 2025

What Are Remote Audits And How Can You Implement Them?

Deirdre Dolan

Sr. Director of Product Marketing

Increasing trust with AI for audit and advisory firms.

Remote audits use technology to gather evidence, conduct interviews, and verify controls without physical presence at client locations. What began as an emergency response to the pandemic has transformed into standard practice. More than 70% of audit functions now work remotely at least half the time, with 95% of Millennial CAEs expecting this arrangement to continue.

This approach addresses resource constraints partners face while maintaining professional standards. Remote delivery provides cost savings, scheduling flexibility, and expanded geographic reach. The question for partners isn't whether to adopt remote auditing but how to implement it effectively, which means maintaining quality standards that satisfy regulatory requirements and client expectations, while also expanding capacity without proportional headcount increases.

Remote auditing also exposes operational weaknesses that may not surface as clearly during on-site fieldwork. Many firms still rely on fragmented systems like email-based PBC exchanges, spreadsheets for tracking requests, shared drives with inconsistent version control, and ad-hoc documentation standards that vary across teams. These gaps become amplified in remote environments, where delays, miscommunication, and missing evidence create audit risk and frustrate clients.

Distributed teams require stronger coordination, clearer workflows, and real-time visibility into engagement status. Without a unified system for document exchange, workpaper management, and team communication, remote audits can introduce avoidable bottlenecks, duplicate work, and quality issues. Firms that succeed with remote delivery do so by standardizing their workflows and centralizing the engagement information their teams rely on.

This guide examines when remote methodologies work, how to implement them effectively, and which quality controls maintain professional standards across distributed teams. It also addresses where hybrid models become necessary and how firms can manage the limitations remote delivery creates.

How do remote audits work?

Remote audits use technology instead of physical presence while maintaining professional standards. Four complementary methods enable remote delivery:

Virtual meetings and interviews: Conferences, team coordination through collaboration platforms, and documented communication trails establish the engagement foundation and serve as audit evidence.
Digital document review: Auditors access financial records through secure platforms and collaborate on working papers in real-time. This can facilitate higher-level cognition during document analysis.
Real-time system access: Remote desktop services and direct database connectivity provide examination of client accounting systems without physical presence. Automated data analytics replace manual sampling procedures.
Video-guided physical verification: Client personnel perform procedures under auditor supervision via video, documenting physical controls and asset verification for observation requirements.

These methods integrate into audit workflows adapted for virtual execution, from planning through fieldwork to reporting and conclusion. The audit workflow follows familiar phases, adapted for virtual execution:

Planning: Virtual engagement meetings establish scope, assess technology capabilities, and incorporate remote work into risk protocols.
Fieldwork: Document requests through encrypted channels, system access establishment, continuous virtual collaboration, and scheduled video-guided observations.
Review: Electronic working paper examination and virtual meetings discussing findings.
Conclusion: Digital report distribution and virtual closing conferences.

Remote auditing means doing most audit work remotely, not eliminating client contact entirely. Most successful implementations follow a hybrid approach by combining remote delivery for document-intensive activities with strategic on-site presence for physical verification, complex procedures, or relationship-critical moments that require professional judgment.

When can you use remote auditing?

Remote audit appropriateness depends on audit type, regulatory context, engagement stage, and organizational capabilities. ISO 19011:2018 notes that audit program managers should determine appropriate methods through professional judgment.

Remote delivery proves most effective in four specific engagement contexts:

Surveillance audits after initial on-site certification: FAMI-QS guidance permits remote surveillance but requires initial audits on-site.
Document-intensive activities: Compliance verification, procedures review, and records examination suit remote approaches.
Hybrid models for physical verification: Some certification bodies permit hybrid approaches with up to 50% remote time when combined with on-site presence.
Financial audits under principles-based standards: The AICPA standard accommodates remote work through flexible evidence-gathering approaches.

Physical verification activities like inventory observation typically require on-site presence. Firms should validate specific use cases against regulatory requirements before committing to delivery models.

Technology foundations for effective remote audits

Successful remote audits rely on more than video calls and file sharing. Firms need a robust technology foundation that supports secure access, standardized workflows, and real-time collaboration across distributed teams.

The following capabilities form the baseline infrastructure:

Secure evidence management: Encrypted document portals, access controls, and audit trails ensure practitioners can exchange sensitive client data without relying on email or unsecured file-sharing tools.
Centralized engagement workspace: A unified system for managing workpapers, requests, testing, and review workflows prevents version-control errors and fragmented documentation.
Real-time dashboards and progress tracking: Remote teams depend on visibility into outstanding PBC items, testing status, review notes, and bottlenecks that would normally surface during in-person collaboration.
Automated request workflows: Replacing manual follow-up with automated PBC reminders and tracking reduces lag time and eliminates the inefficiencies of managing requests through email chains.
Secure remote system access: Strong authentication, VPN alternatives, and role-based permissions ensure auditors can examine client systems without compromising security.
Integrated agentic AI capabilities: AI-assisted evidence extraction, population analysis, and document review help remote teams maintain quality and efficiency while compensating for the reduced visibility of off-site work.

These foundational technologies allow firms to deliver remote and hybrid audits with confidence while preserving the quality and consistency regulators expect.

How to conduct a remote audit

Remote audits require different protocols than on-site work, particularly around upfront planning and documentation standards. The firms getting this right build these differences into standard engagement workflows rather than figuring them out mid-fieldwork when quality issues surface.

Step 1. Preparation

Assess feasibility when establishing the audit program, not midway through planning. Evaluate client technology capabilities, establish secure access protocols, and identify which procedures require physical presence. ISO 19011:2018 guidance and SQMS 1 require risk-based approaches customized for remote contexts.

Remote audits face predictable technology disruptions like VPN failures during testing, unstable video for observations, and bandwidth issues blocking file transfers. Build contingency protocols into engagement planning rather than improvising mid-fieldwork. Define which procedures require immediate on-site pivots, establish backup communication channels, and maintain schedule flexibility for last-minute travel. This prevents quality compromises when technology constraints surface.

Step 2. Execution

Maintain heightened discipline despite quality challenges. SSRN research shows remote audits report fewer violations, requiring compensating controls. Technology integration and agentic AI can partially offset limitations.

Document all client interactions through video recordings or detailed notes to maintain audit trails that on-site presence would naturally provide. Schedule regular check-ins with engagement teams to address issues before they compound. Professional skepticism requires deliberate effort remotely since you lose the ability to observe body language, office dynamics, and informal conversations that often surface risks during on-site work.

Step 3. Documentation

AICPA standards require contemporaneous documentation with enhanced detail beyond traditional requirements, including communication trails and video observation recordings. Capture system access timestamps, video recordings of physical verification procedures, and logs of all client communications.

This enhanced documentation addresses the reduced ability to observe client operations directly and provides evidence that procedures were performed according to standards. Document technology issues encountered and how they were resolved, as these may affect audit scope or require disclosure in reports.

What are the key benefits of remote audits?

Remote audits create measurable cost savings and scheduling flexibility when implemented with proper planning. Benefits vary by engagement type, with document-intensive audits showing the strongest returns.

Key operational benefits include:

Cost and scheduling efficiency: Travel expense elimination and faster scheduling across geographically dispersed teams create measurable engagement economic improvements. Partners managing capacity constraints can expand their serviceable client base without proportional headcount increases.
Expanded capacity and flexibility: The IIA's analysis shows remote auditing provides increased flexibility in scheduling, higher productivity enabling more engagements per practitioner, and access to broader talent pools through geographic flexibility.
Business continuity resilience: Remote capability enables audit continuation during disruptions—a contingency value organizations now recognize as permanent rather than temporary.

These benefits materialize through disciplined implementation requiring planning protocols, technology infrastructure, enhanced documentation standards, and team training rather than technology adoption alone.

What are the challenges of remote audits?

Remote audits face inherent limitations requiring hybrid approaches and compensating controls to maintain professional standards. Understanding these constraints prevents quality gaps and expectation misalignment.

Key implementation challenges include:

Physical verification limitations: Some objectives prove more difficult to achieve remotely, potentially requiring modified audit reports with scope restrictions that directly impact audit opinions.
Technology dependencies: Increased auditor workload and weak IT infrastructure can create execution risks absent in on-site work, while security requirements intensify through multiple technology dependency points.
Enhanced planning requirements: Remote audits demand more comprehensive preparation to maintain audit quality. Relationship-building and professional skepticism require explicit protocols that occur naturally on-site.

These challenges define where hybrid models become necessary rather than invalidating remote approaches entirely.

Are remote audits the future of auditing?

Remote auditing has evolved from pandemic necessity to permanent audit methodology, though the future centers on optimized hybrid approaches rather than wholesale replacement of on-site work.

Remote work has become the norm

The shift extends beyond temporary pandemic adjustments. More than half of companies anticipate continuing remote or hybrid models as in-person activities resume. The generational expectations are even clearer, as 95% of Millennial CAEs expect remote work to continue, signaling future practice models will accommodate distributed teams regardless of partner preferences.

Hybrid models are now standard

Firms are embracing hybrid auditing models for better client satisfaction. The question is no longer whether to work remotely but how much remote work optimizes audit quality, efficiency, and auditor job satisfaction. The future lies in calibrated hybrid approaches rather than binary remote versus on-site decisions, with firms adjusting the mix based on engagement requirements.

Client acceptance is accelerating

Client attitudes toward technology-enabled audits have shifted dramatically. Recent surveys of senior finance leaders show 81% now have greater trust in firms that invest in and actively use advanced technology, which is an 18-percentage-point increase from the previous year. Agentic AI capabilities, improved collaboration platforms, and enhanced remote access tools are enabling progressively better remote audit execution.

Formal standards lag behind practice

Despite widespread adoption, formal standards remain undeveloped. Current PCAOB auditing standards address traditional procedures without providing specific remote audit guidance. The AICPA and CPA.com launched the 2025 Audit Benchmark Survey to understand audit transformation, but prescriptive remote audit standards have not been published. This creates a self-regulatory environment where firms develop proprietary approaches grounded in foundational audit principles.

Audit scope continues expanding

Internal audit functions are taking on broader responsibilities beyond traditional scope, with many organizations increasing staffing to match. This expansion positions audit as increasingly strategic, requiring delivery models that support broader scope economically through remote and hybrid approaches.

The future isn't fully remote or fully on-site but optimized blending based on risk assessment, engagement economics, and relationship requirements. Remote auditing has become a permanent tool in the audit methodology toolkit, with firms determining the appropriate mix for their practice and client base.

Building remote audit capability for your practice

Remote audits have evolved from emergency response to permanent methodology, with hybrid approaches balancing efficiency against quality maintenance. Properly implemented remote audits deliver cost savings, scheduling flexibility, and expanded capacity while maintaining professional standards through risk-based delivery models.

Physical verification limitations and technology dependencies mean remote approaches work best as calibrated hybrid models rather than wholesale replacements for on-site work.

Evaluate which engagement types suit remote delivery based on risk profile, evidence accessibility, and regulatory requirements. Fieldguide's engagement automation platform purpose-built for remote and hybrid delivery provides agentic AI collaboration, real-time dashboards, and secure document management supporting distributed audit teams maintaining professional standards across any delivery model.