Compare/In-house team

CORAA vs building an in-house prep team.

A permanent team gives you control and institutional knowledge. A flat fee per file gives you capacity that follows your engagement count.

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Side by side

Criterion	Fulfilled by CORAA	The alternative
Cost structure	A flat fee per audit, set by entity size. First audit free.	Pay, benefits, software and management time carried through the year.
Capacity	Follows the number of engagements you send.	Fixed by headcount.
Ramp-up	Send the books and documents.	Recruit, hire and train, then supervise.
Control over method	The pack follows a fixed structure. You review it and tell us what to change.	Your methodology, templates and house style apply from the start.
Client knowledge	Held in the file and your own notes.	Held by the people on your team.
Career path	None inside your firm.	A development path for staff you hire and promote.
When volume dips	No fixed cost.	Fixed cost continues.

When an in-house team is the better fit

If audit volume is steady across the year and you want to grow future seniors and managers, an in-house team builds that bench and holds client knowledge in your office. A permanent team also suits work where your house methodology matters at every step.

Use the capacity and break-even calculators on this site with your own figures to see where your volume sits. A core team and fulfilled files for the surge is one way to combine them.

What your firm does either way

Whether you use CORAA or build in-house, these responsibilities do not move.

Accepting the client

Client acceptance, the engagement letter and the independence evaluation are your firm’s.

Reviewing the work

Your manager and partner review the file as they would any staff-prepared file, and document that review.

Signing the report

Your firm issues the report. CORAA never signs, issues or reports on anything.

Free resources for this work

Guides, templates and calculators on this site that cover the same ground. All free to use.

ToolStaff Capacity Planning Calculator: Headcount Needed for a Workload ToolCPA Firm Break-Even Calculator: Hours, Revenue and Utilization ToolBusy Season Hours Forecast: Weekly Hours per Person and Overtime ToolStaff Leverage Ratio Calculator: Staff per Partner and per Manager GuideBuilding a Bench: Seasonal and Remote Audit Staff for Small CPA Firms GuideThe CPA Talent Shortage: Capacity Strategies for Small Firms GuideAudit Busy Season Capacity Planning: Forecasting Hours and Clearing the Workpaper Prep Backlog

Questions firms ask

Yes. You can start with fulfilled files, learn the format and hire reviewers who work on your files. There is no fee to you or the reviewer.

CORAA AI drafts the file and CORAA Network reviewers clear every flag. CORAA does not do on-site work or client meetings, and it does not replace your review, so your team keeps those roles.

Put your fully loaded cost per audit beside the flat fee for your entity size. The break-even and capacity calculators on this site take your own inputs.

Yes. Your first audit is free, so you can judge the pack on a real file.

Your first audit is free. After that, a flat fee per audit, set by the size of the entity: revenue, transactions and number of entities. Messy books are included, never a surcharge.

Sources: AICPA quality management standards

More in compare

CompareCORAA vs hiring remote contractors directlyYour firm as employer or contracting party, compared with a finished file from CORAA Network reviewers.CompareCORAA vs overtime in busy seasonMore hours from the same people, compared with added capacity from outside.CompareCORAA vs generic audit softwareA tool your staff operate, compared with a finished file.

For US CPA firms

Join the CORAA waitlist

CORAA AI drafts audit working papers from your client’s QuickBooks books and does the first pass: lead schedules, tie-out, memos, draft notes and letters. CORAA Network reviewers clear every finding. Your firm reviews and signs.

First audit free, so you can judge the quality on a real file
Flat fee by entity size; messy books included
We work only with CPA firms, never their clients

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