diff --git a/packages/common/__tests__/helpers.test.ts b/packages/common/__tests__/helpers.test.ts
index a5e6f6ec..92aec0ca 100644
--- a/packages/common/__tests__/helpers.test.ts
+++ b/packages/common/__tests__/helpers.test.ts
@@ -67,22 +67,22 @@ describe('Your Module', () => {
         delete process.env.SA11Y_AUTO_FILTER_LIST_PACKAGE_NAME;
     });
 
-    it('should return empty array if SA11Y_CUSTOM_RULES env variable is not set', async () => {
+    it('should return empty array if SA11Y_CUSTOM_RULES env variable is not set', () => {
         process.env.SA11Y_CUSTOM_RULES = '';
-        const result = await useCustomRules();
+        const result = useCustomRules();
         expect(result).toEqual([]);
     });
 
-    it('should return empty array if reading file encounters an error', async () => {
+    it('should return empty array if reading file encounters an error', () => {
         process.env.SA11Y_CUSTOM_RULES = 'packages/common/testMocks/WrongFile.json';
-        const result = await useCustomRules();
+        const result = useCustomRules();
         expect(result).toEqual([]);
     });
 
-    it('should return rules array if file is read successfully', async () => {
+    it('should return rules array if file is read successfully', () => {
         process.env.SA11Y_CUSTOM_RULES = 'packages/common/testMocks/sa11y-custom-rules.json';
         const mockRules = ['rule1', 'rule2'];
-        const result = await useCustomRules();
+        const result = useCustomRules();
         expect(result).toEqual(mockRules);
     });
 });
diff --git a/packages/common/src/helpers.ts b/packages/common/src/helpers.ts
index 9418d18b..23deb934 100644
--- a/packages/common/src/helpers.ts
+++ b/packages/common/src/helpers.ts
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
  * Logging is enabled only when environment variable `SA11Y_DEBUG` is set.
  */
 
-import * as fs from 'fs/promises';
+import * as fs from 'fs';
 export function log(...args: unknown[]): void {
     // Probably not worth it to mock and test console logging for this helper util
     /* istanbul ignore next */
@@ -34,12 +34,12 @@ export function useFilesToBeExempted(): string[] {
     return [];
 }
 
-export async function useCustomRules(): Promise<string[]> {
+export function useCustomRules(): string[] {
     const filePath = process.env.SA11Y_CUSTOM_RULES ?? '';
     if (filePath !== '') {
         try {
             // Read the file asynchronously
-            const data = await fs.readFile(filePath, 'utf-8');
+            const data = fs.readFileSync(filePath, 'utf-8');
             const { rules } = JSON.parse(data) as { rules: string[] };
             // Access the rules array
             return rules;
diff --git a/packages/jest/src/automatic.ts b/packages/jest/src/automatic.ts
index 81879457..92570185 100644
--- a/packages/jest/src/automatic.ts
+++ b/packages/jest/src/automatic.ts
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ export async function automaticCheck(opts: AutoCheckOpts = defaultAutoCheckOpts)
     // Create a DOM walker filtering only elements (skipping text, comment nodes etc)
     const walker = document.createTreeWalker(document.body, NodeFilter.SHOW_ELEMENT);
     let currNode = walker.firstChild();
-    const customRules = await useCustomRules();
+    const customRules = useCustomRules();
     try {
         while (currNode !== null) {
             // TODO (spike): Use a logger lib with log levels selectable at runtime