In: Accounting
Given that there are various types of seasoned auditors such as generalists and specialists, do you think it easier or more difficult for specialists to perform audit outside their specialty (domain) than generalists?
Yes, it is more tough for specialists to perform audit outside their specialty (domain) compared to generalists. A generalist is one who knows a bit about numerous concerns (related or unrelated) and combines ideas from diverse fields to maximize the productivity. It is a common believe that no knowledge is wasted thus deliberately seeking a huge array of knowledge could be very helpful to profound discoveries. Moreover a generalist is versatile who knows to adapt and welcomes new venture. They have worked with or understudied many specialists in different fields and hence can give better result by bringing to bear their diversified knowledge accumulated over a period of time. On contrary, focus on a specialty may limit their ability to offer the services. Thus in my opinion, the generalist truly leverage resources to provide a stronger service to accounting clients compared to specialists; and hold more opportunities to offer additional services thus streaming the revenue streams.