Let’s talk about audits … or rather, let’s listen in as the folks at CFO.com talk about them. They’ve posted a couple of intriguing articles recently about ways companies can ease their auditing pain.

The first, “Common Auditing Screw-ups,” features advice from 172 partners at Big Four accounting firms throughout Europe. “Fix these problems, auditors say, and audits will go more smoothly, relationships with auditors will improve and, possibly, fees will fall,” writes Janet Kersnar.

Speaking of falling audit fees, CFO.com’s Alix Stuart has a few tips of his own in “Top 10 Ways to Cut Your Audit Bill.” And there’s plenty of incentive to follow the article’s advice. According to Stuart, companies listed as “world class” by The Hackett Group spend nearly 50 percent less on audits than the average company.

What’s your best auditing advice?