Every audit runs faster when the underlying records are already reconciled before fieldwork begins. Bank accounts, receivables, and payables that are tied out in advance let us spend the engagement testing and forming an opinion, not chasing missing entries.
A few checks consistently save the most time: bank reconciliations current to year-end, a fixed asset register that matches the books, and supporting documentation for any large or unusual transactions filed together rather than scattered across the year.
None of this changes the scope of the audit. It changes how much of the engagement is spent on administration versus the substance of forming an opinion.