What does it really take to transform audit teams from data collectors into strategic advisors?
We let Sherry Chesser, Audit Partner at Landmark CPAs, answer that for us in our latest Validis Unboxed webinar.
One firm. One deliberate, phased rollout.
The same game-changing result: when client data comes in balanced and audit-ready, teams stop chasing spreadsheets and start focusing on risk.
Sherry didn’t hold back — sharing what Landmark tried, what worked, and the lessons they wish they’d known from the start.
What’s inside:
- How Landmark eliminated hours of client data queries with one standardized process
- The three critical mistakes most firms make during technology rollouts (and how to avoid them)
- Why patience with adoption delivers better ROI than rushing to 100% usage
Read on for the top takeaways — or go straight to the full webinar replay.
The Challenge: Auditors as “Data Collectors”
Before Validis, Landmark’s audit teams were stuck in data collection mode. Instead of starting with clean, balanced numbers, they spent hours wrestling with inconsistent files and multiple versions of the same client data.
As Sherry put it:
“Every year it felt like we were starting from scratch with clients. We’d pull preliminary numbers, then have to tie them out again at the end. It was frustrating for staff and confusing for clients.”
The result?
- Audit teams frustrated by manual prep.
- Clients irritated at being asked for the same data twice.
- Leadership worried about realization rates, staff burnout, and retention.
To put this into perspective – one of Sherry’s clients used to spend hours running queries just to generate reports for the audit team. Hours. For basic financial data.
The message was clear: Landmark needed a way to get standardized, audit-ready data in the door the first time.
The Decision: Why Landmark Chose Validis
Sherry recalls her first interaction with Validis:
“We went to the Engage conference and saw Validis and a few other products. We felt like Validis was the best fit for us because it gave us a way to be more efficient and competitive without overcomplicating things.”
But Landmark isn’t the type of firm that rushes headfirst into new technology. Their culture is deliberate: research thoroughly, listen to staff, and learn from peers before making a move.
As Sherry explained:
“We take a lot of time to research products… we talked to a lot of different other firms. We talked to our staff. We asked staff who wanted to be involved in technology.”
That research phase was critical. Landmark wanted to be confident they were choosing a platform that could scale across all nine offices and integrate into their broader audit methodology. More importantly, they wanted their staff — the people who would use the tool every day — to have a voice in the decision.
Validis checked every box.
- Single, standardized process for all clients regardless of accounting system
- Outputs that flowed seamlessly into existing workflows
- Transaction-level detail without additional client requests
By the end of their second year, Landmark began to see their deliberate approach pay off:
“I would say towards this end of our second year… is when we’re really starting to see the momentum. And I’ve been very excited about that.”
That momentum came not from a flashy rollout, but from careful testing, steady adoption, and growing confidence among staff and clients alike that Validis was the right foundation for Landmark’s audit transformation.
The Workflow Today: Standardized and Centralized
Today, Validis sits at the core of Landmark’s audit data process. What used to be messy, inconsistent client files has been replaced with a single, standardized workflow that benefits clients, teams, and the firm as a whole.
- At the client level, engagements start with one secure upload — not the five-page PBC lists clients were used to receiving. That client who used to spend hours running queries? She now uploads in minutes and ‘sent me not a single question.
- At the team level, auditors begin fieldwork with balanced trial balances, AR aging, and 20+ automated workpapers generated out of Validis. Instead of wrangling spreadsheets, they’re reviewing data that’s already standardized and reconciled.
- At the firm level, Landmark is investing in structure to keep the process consistent across its nine offices.
As Sherry explained:
“We decided not to go a heavy IT route, but a project manager route… her first goal has been to help us drive our Validis implementation.”
And Validis doesn’t stand alone — it’s powering the rest of their audit tech stack:
“They’re taking Validis and learning how to integrate it with Teammate Analytics for journal entry testing. And we recently bought DataSnipper. Anything we can integrate, that’s our goal.”
The Transformation Journey: Real Change Takes Time
They chose to be deliberate — starting small, learning through early engagements, and then scaling up once staff and clients were more comfortable.
Sherry explained how showing real results drives buy-in:
“We were very slow out of the gate that first year… honestly, we were thinking about three years. That’s when we believed all of our staff and our clients would be comfortable and we’d be using it in a more efficient manner.”
This three-year horizon gives Landmark the space to experiment, refine processes, and build confidence across nine offices. Early adopters proved the value, success stories spread internally, and now managers are driving broader adoption.
The result? A smoother rollout that has avoided the pitfalls of forcing change too quickly. That patience is now paying off — with stronger usage, better buy-in, and measurable ROI across the audit practice.
The Results: From Burden to Insight
The benefits aren’t just about saving time — they’re about reshaping how teams, clients, and leadership experience the audit process.
- Efficiency: Teams save hours of prep work on every audit. They begin with balanced trial balances, AR aging, and 20+ standardized reports already in place.
- Risk focus: With anomalies flagged earlier in planning, Landmark auditors are targeting their testing where it matters most — improving audit quality and reducing wasted effort.
- Talent experience: Staff auditors now spend less time “wrangling Excel” and more time doing analysis, which has boosted morale and created better development opportunities.
- Client relationships: By reducing repetitive requests and delivering insights faster, Landmark is shifting the client conversation from “send us more data” to “here’s what we’re seeing in your numbers.”
Sherry explained how showing results in real engagements has been key to getting everyone on board:
“Now we’re saying, hey, let’s do this on your one that’s coming up. Let us show you what we are finding when we do it. That’s helping convince our staff that it’s a good thing… so it’s now really training our managers to get buy-in.”
For Landmark, the impact is more than operational. It’s cultural. The conversation has moved from audit teams burdened by data collection to audit teams driving insight with standardized data — and clients are noticing the difference.
Landmark’s Advice to Other Firms
Sherry wrapped up with three practical lessons that any firm considering Validis can apply right away:
1.Get partner buy-in early.
Don’t assume every partner understands the value just because a decision’s been made. Sherry admitted Landmark would do this differently:
“We probably should have demoed a little bit more to the partners… and spent more time just having conversations as a firm about where we were going and why we thought this product was good.”
2.Give clients more lead time.
Rushed requests create resistance. Sherry emphasized the need to communicate earlier in the audit cycle:
“Giving your clients an earlier lead than we did is important.”
3.Be patient with adoption.
Rolling out new workflows takes time — for staff, clients, and partners. As Sherry put it:
“Patience. Be patient with yourself, be patient with your clients. Be patient with your staff. Change is always hard.”
The Takeaway: Data First, Everything Else Follows
Landmark’s journey shows what’s possible when you start with the right foundation. By embedding standardized, audit-ready data into their workflow, they’ve reduced friction, empowered their teams, and delivered more value to clients.
The firms that will dominate the next decade aren’t just adopting new tools — they’re building on data foundations that make every technology investment more valuable.“
Ready to see what standardized, audit-ready data could look like for your firm?
Book a demo with our team and start your own audit transformation.
