In a significant development, HSBC has joined the BBA Confirmations network, an industry-wide audit confirmations solution for the UK.

BBA Confirmations is a unique partnership formed between BBA Enterprises and Confirmation.com which equips UK banks to process audit confirmations online rather than through the post. Now auditors acting on behalf of thousands of businesses, charities and other organisations can send their end-of-year requests to 36 banks in the UK, saving valuable time and costs during the busy audit season. Confirmation.com will be HSBC's preferred method for auditors to send requests from December 2015.

Since early 2015, when BBA Confirmations launched, UK bank participation has more than quadrupled, underscoring the need to streamline a challenging, decades-old postal process. With BBA Confirmations, banks can now respond to confirmation requests in a fraction of the time that it would normally take, which is a great benefit for both clients and auditors alike.

Auditors sending requests through Confirmation.com can expect to see turnaround times reduce by up to 90 percent and to save costs by eliminating manual work. The service is a significant benefit to customers allowing UK banks to respond more quickly and efficiently to requests, reducing lead times, and providing visibility to auditors.

In the past, clients often had to get involved in the process. In a recent survey, Confirmation.com found that two thirds of auditors have had to ask their client to follow up with the bank on their behalf. Now, with guaranteed responses, client involvement disappears and mishaps such as lost post no longer create painful delays for the 350 audit firms already using Confirmation.com in the UK.

Ian Stuart, HSBC Europe Head of Commercial Banking, said:
"BBA Confirmations provides a great, time-saving online solution for our business customers who require audit confirmations. It is now our preferred method for receiving confirmation requests in the UK."

Anthony Browne, the Chief Executive of the BBA, said:
"The continued growth in the number of participating banks demonstrates that this is a very important service that will both benefit customers and reduce the risk of fraud. We're delighted that HSBC have decided to join as this will further benefit tens of thousands of businesses throughout the UK."

Chris Schellhorn, the CEO of Confirmation.com, said:
"It has been great working with the BBA to bring our service into the UK. For the last couple of years, more and more requests have been made by auditors to expand our online audit confirmation service into this region, and we are pleased to have HSBC join our network."