It seems like there is an audit for everything these days. There is an audit for financial statements, an audit for internal controls, an audit for operations, an audit for suppliers, and an audit for quality. In fact I recently wrote an article on telecom audits. It can be difficult to manage all of these different audits. We recommend using some form of audit management software.
The first question we always get asked is about whether or not your company should just use excel to manage the audits. The truth is Excel is a really valuable tool; in fact, it is probably the main weapon used by the Big 4 a.k.a. the kings of audit. However, there has been a recent push by the profession as a whole to use something that is less prone to error. Recent studies have shown that almost all (9 out of 10) spreadsheets have errors in them.
One advantage of using audit management software instead of excel is that you don’t have to create the program from the ground up. It can be difficult to know exactly what needs to be tracked and even what should be done. A software program will be created by experts that know what audit steps need to be done. In addition software programs are rigorously tested for errors, although there are still bugs occasionally.
What exactly does audit management software do?
There are usually three stages to an audit: (1) Developing an overall audit plan, (2) Performing tests on the controls, transactions, or whatever it is that you are auditing, and (3) forming conclusions and evaluating the audit. Software that manages audits assists you in these three phases.
While you are developing a plan, the software already presents a “canned” solution so you are not starting from scratch. It can give suggestions on what to evaluate when determining overall audit risk. It can offer questions that may be asked to better understand the auditee’s internal environment. This type of software can keep track of all your information and have it in good form when it is time for documentation. Instead of having to search through potentially hundreds of papers and spreadsheets, you can store all your accounting services and audit information in one place.
Potentially one of the best features of audit managing software is that it allows for checklists that need to be performed under the different account or transaction assertions. Auditors can complete a task, check it off, and leave notes and supporting evidence all under the same umbrella.
Another useful tool when using audit management systems is that they can track progress and clearly illustrate if deadlines are being met. Usually auditors work in teams and a manager using this type of software can see how much work each team member has done and how much more needs to be done to complete the audit.
Finally auditing management software can produce useful reports. The software already knows some of the reports that an audit team would want. The software can also be used to produce customized reports.
Basically if you are going to be performing some form of audit you can start from scratch and use 100’s of excel spreadsheets to keep track of everything or you can use one piece of software that will keep everything organized.
A list of Audit Management Software available:
MetricStream.com: Metric stream focuses on governance, risk, compliance, and quality management solutions. They have some software that manages almost all types of audits.
MasterControl.com: Master control has two different options of auditing management software. One for larger companies and one for smaller companies. This is a good idea because some audits are meant to be less rigorous in nature, timing, and extent than other audits.
Auditnet.com: They don’t have any software per say, but they do have a lot of resources about setting up and executing an audit plan that may be worthwhile.
CCH TeamMate: Most people know about CCH because of their tax prowess. They actually have some really good software for managing audits. http://tax.cchgroup.com/TeamMate/default They have a online demo that you can take a look at to see if it is a good fit.
Paisley AutoAudit: http://paisley.thomsonreuters.com/ A program by a well-known name, ThomsonReuters, that claims to be a comprehensive audit automation solution. Definitely worth taking a look at.
So whether you are involved in a telecom audit or an audit over financial statements, think about using software to manage your hard work.
Great post thanks for post