adminAudit Issue Management Software Justification
Most small and medium-sized businesses use spreadsheets for audit issue tracking. In general, these companies cannot afford to implement automated audit work programs and tracking systems. Historically, there were few options for such companies for improving audit issue tracking, such as stand-alone audit issue management software. As we have outlined in other articles (Spreadsheet vs. Software for Audit Issue Tracking), spreadsheets are substandard tools for tracking and resolving audit issues.
With AuditFindings.com, any business can implement a robust tool for tracking audit issues. The web-based tool for audit issue tracking is easy-to-use and eliminates the pitfalls of using spreadsheets for audit issue tracking.
Although we provide a free audit issue tracking software option, we have created a business case to use when pitching management as justification for the complete business version of our audit issue management software.
Use the link above to download a Microsoft Word version of the business case. This document can be edited and modified for your specific needs. There are also other resources available in the Resources section of our site at https://www.auditfindings.com/faq/.
As indicated above, you can download an editable copy of the business case. However, the text is included below.
TITLE: BUSINESS CASE: IMPLEMENT A FORMAL AUDIT ISSUE TRACKING SYSTEM
This document is intended to be used as a resource to help prepare a funding or approval request for phishing simulation at your organization. The information contained within this document should be incorporated into your organization’s specific funding format. The context of the text is from the point of view of you making a request for funding internally; this is not a sales proposal per se.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This document provides support for implementing a formal audit issue tracking system. With the number of audits and other reviews, tracking corrective action can be difficult using spreadsheets and other documents.
We are recommending the system from AuditFindings.com. It is a secure, web-based audit and issue-tracking platform that will provide a central location to document and report on corrective action. With a web-based issue tracking system, we can reduce the time spent overseeing items and more easily ensure that issues are being resolved. We anticipate the system to save us over 100 hours of employee time a year in tracking and reporting on issues. In addition, the system will provide us with a method to easily ensure issues do not go unresolved. In our industry, unresolved issues could negatively affect our regulatory status.
The cost of using the system will be $99.00 a month. We can cancel the subscription at any time. There are no upfront charges or incremental fees.
SITUATION/PROBLEM
At present, our organization has many internal and external audits being performed. In addition, we have regulatory agencies that perform reviews as well. Keeping track of all of the issues is currently a manual process using spreadsheets. We receive audit or examination reports from the various entities and then we record the issues identified within spreadsheets. The problem with this process includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- It is hard to get others’ input to update the spreadsheet. If we email a copy to others to update, we now have multiple copies that need to be reconciled. This takes a lot of time and is prone to errors.
- Controlling spreadsheet versions is difficult. Sometimes, auditors or examiners are provided a previous or non-updated version of the document, which reflects poorly on the organization.
- It is difficult to control what users change in the spreadsheet. Sometimes users enter content that then needs to be edited for uniformity, taking more time.
- With a spreadsheet, it can be difficult to report on specific items. If we only want some of the data for a meeting, it is hard to limit spreadsheets to just certain items.
- No ability to make actionable items. With a spreadsheet, we cannot set triggers to notify people of issues they are assigned to correct or notification of past due items or being alerted when others update audit issues.
- Without actionable items or notifications, it is easy to overlook the corrective action for an item. Any unresolved audit or exam findings reflect poorly on our organization.
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
To minimize this problem, we considered several alternatives. These alternatives range from continuing to use spreadsheets, to developing our own in-house solution. A summary of these alternatives is listed below.
| Option | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheets | Low-cost and already in use | Difficult to update, version control difficulties, no automation, difficulty in reporting |
| Hosted/dedicated solution from AuditFindings.com | Low-cost, good reporting, advanced features, multiple-user access, vendor support | Vendor reliance |
| Internally developed database, such as Microsoft Access | Control platform | Expensive (potentially), reliance on employees, no updates/support |
RISKS AND MITIGATION STRATEGIES
With any new product, there are some risks involved. The key risks related to the various alternatives, including mitigation strategies, are listed below.
| Risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|
| Poor or no return on investment, employee time taken to learn a new system, lack of support for solution chosen, lack of availability of the data, compromise of information via a data breach | Ensure financial costs are minimal, ensure system chosen is easy to use, ensure system chosen has adequate support, ensure system chosen has adequate business continuity/data recovery plans, ensure system has adequate security and controls |
RECOMMENDED SOLUTION
The solution to the problem is having multi-user software for an employee to access and update information. We are recommending the AuditFindings.com solution. It is a dedicated system focused solely on tracking and resulting audit and examination issues.
The cost of using the system will be $99.00 a month. We can cancel the subscription at any time. There are no upfront charges or incremental fees.
BENEFITS TO US
A software solution dedicated to tracking and resulting audit and examination issues would benefit us by the following.
- With auditfindings.com we can assign issues to others and they then log into the system and manage and update their items. This feature saves us time in overseeing corrective action. No more emailing and reconciling spreadsheets.
- We can limit what information people view. If someone is an “assignee” they can only view the items assigned to them.
- We can get the reports needed for management oversight. With advanced search and filter functions, we can query the data to report only the information we need.
- We can easily monitor unresolved issues. From a Dashboard, we can see any items that are still unresolved. The system can send notices or reminders at certain intervals as well.
- Should anyone leave the company, having items centralized ensures that audit or exam findings are not forgotten.
REFERENCES
- AuditFindings.com Brochure
- AuditFindings.com FAQ
- AuditFindings.com Security Summary
AuditFindings.com is a system for managing audit issues.
