When most people hear “auditing,” they think of the IRS showing up on their doorstep. But auditing also pertains to reviewing a company’s overall operations, to ensure it’s running effectively. Of course, a big side benefit is saving money and/or learning to spend it more wisely. The concept has been applied in aviation in recent years, and it’s now coming to megayachts.
Actually, the two partners behind Yacht Auditing International have been doing it informally, individually, for some time. Scott Bartle and James Cooper, captains who have run power and sailing yachts ranging from Feadships to Perini Navis and worked with each other aboard Méduse, decided to join forces and launch the firm last fall. Since then, not only have they worked with owners and their crews, recommending changes to generally improve life aboard and even increase safety and reduce crew turnover, but they’ve additionally helped the owner of one particular 170-footer save nearly $100,000.
Yacht Auditing International’s philosophy is based on the principle that it’s not enough to ensure a superyacht’s structural integrity is sound; it is equally important to certify that both crews and owners troubleshoot problems and overcome obstacles. These can be with personnel, planning maintenance and/or refit regimens, even communicating with one another.
You may be wondering, isn’t this the same role that a management company serves? To some degree, yes, but unfortunately, sometimes owners are dissatisfied with the companies servicing them. In this case, “if the owner’s got an issue, who do they turn to?” Cooper asks. “Nine times out of 10, they just make a change, to a new management company or captain,” he adds, but as Bartle explains, “this gets expensive,” and it may not even be necessary. Yacht Auditing International provides an analysis of what’s in place and how best to proceed, he says, with the solution sometimes being minor changes, with no switch of contracts.
In other cases, the yacht may not be overseen by a management company, with the owner giving the responsibilities to the captain, who may not be best suited to the tasks. Cooper gives the example of an owner tapping the captain of his 100-footer to run the new 200-footer he’s purchased–an example that is not isolated. I have heard of similar situations in recent years, and Bartle can speak from personal experience: He stepped up from a 164-footer to a 200-footer, and “it’s such an ordeal for the guys to go through the upgrade,” because systems are more complex, more crew is needed, etc.
So how does Yacht Auditing International uncover what needs addressing? Upon initially meeting with an owner, the team presents a questionnaire, “to isolate the areas of concern,” Bartle explains. The firm then presents an audit report containing recommendations and resources to tap. Owners can then act upon the advice themselves or ask Yacht Auditing International to assist in execution. If crew turnover is a concern, for example, the audit may find that securing proper visas or better training is the solution. If an owner has recently purchased a brokerage yacht and is facing a crew of unfamiliar faces, the audit report can clarify expectations and outline proper behavior for all parties–owner included. Sometimes, the audit report even backs up what the captain has been telling the owner when it comes to expenses. Whatever the need, “We can hold your hand to the very end,” as Bartle puts it.
In addition, Yacht Auditing International works with owners to institute an ongoing program that best serves their needs, whether it be another audit in six months’ time or an annual audit. Crew particularly like the semiannual audits, Bartle says, since “it gives them a way of showing they’re doing a good job.”
And when it comes to both owners and crew, isn’t doing the best job you can the one thing that matters most?
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