(a) Advantages

I. The continual or regular attendance of the auditor may act as a deterrent to fraud;

ii. Weaknesses in the client's systems are noticed earlier and, if they exist, errors and fraud may be discovered more quickly;

iii. It is sometimes possible to start the balance sheet work before the year end. This will lead to swifter financial reporting;

iv. The auditor's work is spread more evenly throughout the year. This will help to relieve the pressures on staff that arise for many audit firms during the first few months of each year.

(b) Disadvantages

I. Audit staff who spend much of their time working on one client may find their independence adversely affected;

ii. The auditor's frequent (and sometimes unexpected) visits may cause inconvenience to the client;

iii. It is possible that figures may be altered (innocently or fraudulently) after they have been checked;

iv. It may be found that outstanding points and queries raised at one visit are forgotten and not followed up at a later stage. Strict control is needed to ensure that this does not happen particularly where the staff assigned to the audit have changed.