How to Automate Audit Controls & Processes for Tech

A technology solutions company created an ROI-based approach to automate audit controls and processes.

The company needed guidance on using next-generation robotic process automation (RPA) technology to automate repetitive and time-consuming accounting controls and processes

Protiviti helped build a methodical RPA technology strategy to drive efficiencies and cost savings within key business areas of the audit department

Our partnership

A Fortune 500 technology solutions company wanted to implement innovative RPA technology to automate repetitive and time-consuming Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) accounting controls and processes. Protiviti has provided audit and SOX compliance services to the organization for several years. The Protiviti project team is always looking to improve the quality and efficiency of their work and deliver cost savings within the audit department. The team welcomed the opportunity to build an ROI-based RPA strategy that would further drive efficiencies and cost savings within the audit department’s key business areas.

Opportunity

The client identified an opportunity to deploy robotic process automation technology within its audit department to automate Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) control testing. Because of the necessary investment, the audit department was keen on partnering with the business to help understand the potential value that automating certain SOX compliance controls and processes could bring to the organization.

Looking to maximize the ROI of their automation effort and avoid missed opportunities, the audit department approached Protiviti for guidance, with one simple question: “Where and how do we get started?”

Strategic approach

Protiviti assembled an RPA assessment team comprised of technical resources plus audit and SOX compliance team members who could drive the right synergies and efficiencies. The SOX experts brought their intimate knowledge of the time and effort needed to complete testing, review and validate key reports, complete management reviews, and perform other SOX compliance tasks. Protiviti’s audit resources brought their expertise in identifying and communicating any potential risks of implementing RPA into SOX compliance procedures, as well as their experience outlining appropriate mitigating solutions.

Solutions

The project team developed a deliberate and methodical 4-phase assessment approach focused on prioritizing RPA candidates based on their investment return value, while avoiding the temptation to over-automate:

Identify – align on assessment objectives and identify SOX process control sets/activities with automation potential

Evaluate – define evaluation criteria and select automation candidates using a Protiviti-developed automation evaluation methodology

Categorize – define automation themes and group control sets/activities

Prioritize – rank controls/activities and build an automation roadmap, using high-priority projects in the pilot

Results

Protiviti identified more than 100 control/activity candidates for automation. The thorough and methodical approach helped management create a solid business case for further investment. More important, the method helped avoid the “rush to implement” trap that many organizations fall into with new and emerging technologies.

Organizations that take risk-informed and ROI-based approach to their automation investment are more likely to succeed in their RPA efforts than those driven by pressure to innovate without a clear, outcomes-driven strategy. This project was valuable in highlighting candidates that should – and shouldn’t – be automated within the company’s audit department.

The Protiviti project team’s methodical approach helped the organization further define its RPA strategy and automation roadmap, allowing management to move forward with confidence in the type of return each automated activity could generate.

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