Gerald has attended 112 audits. In every one, the auditor wanted four things: a clear trail from the return to the receipt, a reasonable explanation for any unusual item, a cup of tea, and for the cat not to be looking at the stapler.
The stapler is a persistent issue. An auditor asks about a deduction and the cat watches the stapler. The auditor looks at the stapler. The cat looks at the auditor. Twenty minutes pass.
Our advice is to remove the stapler. A tidy table speaks to good controls, and an untidy table speaks to a stapler on the floor, which is where we usually end up regardless.