Audit analytics have revolutionized the auditing profession, as firms seek to utilize more modern methods in their attempt to offer a better quality of service. According to Ed Wilkins, partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP and an expert in his field, ‘doing 100% populations’ must be the ultimate goal, and this can only be achieved with the use of dedicated audit analytics software.
After all, findings based on 100% of a company’s data will always be more exact than those inspired by a sample. Let’s look further into who uses audit analytics and why below.
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Audit analytics are used by a huge number of external auditors and accountants. The process has dramatically changed the auditing profession, given the number of insights that audit analytics offers. Traditional approaches generally took a sample of data evidence and based findings upon that sample. Audit analytics means that all data evidence can be utilized for much more accurate results.
Audit analytics can be used at any stage of the auditing process. Dedicated software can collect and analyze any data, in a minuscule timeframe, when compared to humans performing the same task. However, the role of the human auditor remains of the utmost importance. People are needed to determine the areas of data to collect and to suggest actionable steps based on the findings.
The main reason for using audit analytics is to improve the quality of service. This is considering that a digital approach can result in 100% of data being used. It’s much easier for auditors to make recommendations based on cold, hard data, as opposed to relying on assumptions based on a small selection of figures.
Moreover, although switching an audit procedure from an analogue to a digital one may initially add time to the audit process, the benefits will definitely be felt in the long run. Find the right tools for your own needs and your whole auditing procedure will be faster, and more accurate.
An audit data analytics specialist is a modern-day financial auditor. They’ll likely use dedicated analytical software as a digital work buddy throughout the procedure. A specialist will select the data sets that require analysis and set their software to work.
Following data collection, audit analytics specialists will look for positive and negative trends. They will begin to build up a story surrounding that data set. Other data sets will be identified, collected and analyzed as well, depending on the size and needs of a business.
Finally, the stories found may be presented in a series of data charts, with all findings. This may then be presented to other members of the auditing firm, or representatives from the business being audited.
Find the difference between data analytics and audit analytics here.
Audit analytics can supercharge the processes used in a traditional audit, reducing timescales, potentially saving money and delivering more accurate results. This is not only good for the audit firm’s reputation – but it’s also good for the business being audited. Furthermore, accurate audits serve to reinforce confidence in the audit profession as a whole.
It’s also worth considering the shortcuts that a dedicated audit analytics platform can deliver. On top of being able to collect and analyze massive amounts of data, certain software can present this in a series of graphs or charts. This makes the info extracted simple for anyone to understand.
Auditing firms across the world are already reaping the benefits of audit data analytics. Given the immense scope of data that software can gather, dedicated tools make for greater precision. Resulting in the delivery of real results in fractional timescales.
For a deeper understanding of companies and their processes, adopting the best and latest technology is a must. Used by more than 1,000 accounting firms worldwide, Inflo software can act as your 24/7 assistant, analyzing and mapping out data analytics for any company, big or small.
Contact us today for an entirely new approach to audit data analytics.
