When you’ve been working in an industry for as long as we have, you start to see patterns among those you’ve set out to help. We speak to many auditors every month, and it’s often the same story time and time again; you’re all facing common challenges with your existing audit platform.
Trust us, you’re not alone! We’ve summed up the six most common challenges posed by other audit platforms and given you a taster of how Inflo overcomes them.
1. No linkage or dependencies
Without clear linkage or dependencies within a platform, the audit process lacks the ability to efficiently establish connections, such as between risks and the related response workprograms, or between logically dependent responses within workprograms. There are far too many moving parts that, when handling it manually without automation, audits become time-consuming, prone to errors, and there is a general lack of consistency. This then results in duplicate or contradicting documentation, and inconsistent output across the firm's audit teams.
How Inflo solves this…
Our job is to make your life easier. In this case, audit work programs in Inflo Workpapers contain details of the audit risks they are addressing, with very clear linkage. This ensures engagement teams only plan and perform relevant work each year, not simply repeating work that no longer addresses risks identified this year which reviewers may not easily spot without clear linkage. In addition, when you give a certain answer in one procedure, Inflo’s downstream dependencies and automation will automatically answer all other answers in your audit that are a logical necessity from your initial answer. This drives efficiency of the audit and avoids contradicting information arising, particularly when there’s unavoidable changes in assigned team members over the course of an audit cycle.
2. Slow interface and outdated architecture
Most of us – at one time or another – have wanted to bang our heads on the table as we wait for a painfully slow interface to load. For auditors, this becomes a real challenge to navigate and utilize their audit tools effectively and can lead to frustrating errors or oversights.
Outdated architecture can also limit the incorporation of modern audit techniques, affecting the efficiency and quality of the audit. Increasing volumes of data or evolving audit requirements also makes legacy software hard to scale with your business growth.
How Inflo solves this…
Inflo has been a cloud-native platform since its inception nearly a decade ago. This means we have the latest architecture, modern digital audit files and methodology, advanced data analytics and file sharing designed for audits - all fully integrated together in one platform. The platform also features a responsive, user-friendly interface that moves away from the blues, greys, and browns of traditional audit software. Your staff, particularly graduate intakes, will find it so much easier to get to grips with the tool and understand how each procedure links to ISA standards, and ICAEW students in the UK already use it during their ACA exams.
3. Admin and support burden
With a portfolio of clients that value your expertise, the last thing you want to be worrying about is administration. But it can sometimes feel like a never-ending burden. For example, ineffective processes related to licensing can create challenges when it comes to management and assignment, causing delays or disruptions in the audit process. On top of this, any system downtime (including waiting for a user license to be assigned to team members) with a lack of real-time assistance creates interruptions for your audit team.
Without API support, processes for data sharing and collaboration become manual and error-prone, limiting both the efficiency and the quality of the audit and making the creation of a streamlined tech ecosystem near impossible.
How Inflo solves this…
We know that admin stress is something you certainly could do without. So, regardless of how many audits you run on Inflo, you will always have unlimited user licenses. We price on a per-engagement module, meaning you only pay for what you use and how much value you get out of the platform.
We have one, global platform that uses rich API technology so you can build your tech ecosystem and workflows that work for your firm, whilst still being able to collaborate with your global colleagues.
4. Limited client value
Your clients are at the heart of your business. So why is it that audit teams so often find their platforms lack features that provide additional value to clients?
A purely traditional, checklist style approach diminishes the quality of audits by limiting the potential for efficient collaboration, better insights and happier clients.
How Inflo solves this…
Using Inflo’s integrated data analytics and modern workflows allows you to provide impressive, automated reporting and insights for your clients not available in other checklist-based audits.
In addition, Inflo allows for effective, real-time collaboration throughout the audit, meaning clients benefit from a more efficient, professional and streamlined experience.
Furthermore, Inflo enables auditors to pose insightful queries and challenges to clients, fostering a higher-quality audit. With more time available, auditors can concentrate on critical areas of work, moving beyond mundane tasks.
5. No risk-based approach
Failing to adopt a risk-based approach is a risky game! Plus, engaging in excessive or unnecessary auditing may result in the misallocation of resources and time. For example, rolling forward the audit file year on year and re-working old documents increases the likelihood of errors, slows down the audit process and can lead to over or under auditing.
How Inflo solves this…
Inflo is the only platform that seamlessly integrates proprietary data analytics, client collaboration, and quality management products in one unified space.
Our digital audit methodology, coupled with Hybrid-AI, not only delivers a risk-based approach but, more significantly, ensures a smooth and comprehensive audit experience.
6. Lack of controls
The ability for individuals to amend files after the audit review introduces a risk of unauthorized changes, potentially compromising the integrity and reliability of the audit outcomes. Post-review amendments can lead to discrepancies and undermine the credibility of the audit.
A lot of work goes into each audit – not controlling these changes risks not only this hard work being undone, but costly compliance issues.
How Inflo solves this…
Inflo’s digital audit file approach means that good governance can be implemented and tracked at all times, identifying self-review threats, locking work programs upon final review and many other features that ensure quality and consistency across the audit file.
So, if you’re facing any of these challenges with your current audit platform, it’s time for us to talk! Reach out for a free consultation with a digital adoption expert today.