About the Survey
The Institute of Internal Auditors’ tenth annual
software survey examines how audit managers from
around the world rate the various kinds of technology
they use. Respondents included audit directors, chief
audit executives, and IT audit directors from a broad
range of industries and organization sizes.
“As internal auditing continues to play a critical
role in helping businesses meet current regulatory
demands such as Sarbanes-Oxley, more and more
auditors are looking for tools that can perform
continuous monitoring to enable ongoing
assessment of controls. This survey gives our
members the information they need to make
informed choices about audit technology.”
David Richards, President, The IIA
ACL Tops 2004 Internal Auditor Software Survey
Internal auditors worldwide value ACL Business Assurance Analytics software solutions for their unique
combination of data access, analysis, and integrated reporting. ACL technology enables organizations
to rapidly access and analyze unlimited volumes of data, automate data analyses and audit processes,
and implement continuous monitoring to independently test and validate controls effectiveness and
the integrity of the transactional data underlying business processes and financial reporting. In the
tenth annual software survey conducted by The Institute of Internal Auditors (The IIA), ACL solutions
were selected as the preferred technology over other purpose-built audit software tools for continuous
monitoring, fraud detection, data analysis, and data extraction. ACL solutions also had the highest
levels of overall customer satisfaction in each of these four categories.
“Timely insights into the control environment of core business processes and finding opportunities
for operational improvement are pressing issues for today’s businesses. With the additional burden
of ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements, auditors are in a unique position to assist with
embedding audit best practices throughout the organization. It’s a very exciting time in audit and
we are pleased to once again be the preferred technology of auditors around the world.”
Harald Will, President & CEO, ACL Services Ltd.
By incorporating powerful ACL data analytics
technology into a continuous monitoring framework,
auditors and finance professionals can automate the
analysis and testing of transactional data against internal
controls and business rules. The result – independent,
comprehensive insight into business processes to identify
control weakness, potential business risk, and
opportunities for operational improvements.
Continuous Monitoring Software
Excel 25%
SAS 3%
ACL 38%
TeamMate 3%
Internally
developed
software 10%
“The next step for HCA’s audit group is maximizing ACL
as a value-added tool in continuous monitoring, using
data from company sub-systems and third-party vendors.
ACL enables us to institute auditing procedures that are
driving best practices throughout the company.”
Other 14%
Kevin McMahon
Vice President
Internal Audit Services
HCA
Access 7%
Overall Satisfaction
Access
Reprinted with permission from Internal Auditor (August 2004), published by
The Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc. www.theiia.org
ACL
Excel
Internally developed software
0
Fraud takes a toll not only on the organizations that fall
prey to it, but on all their stakeholders including customers,
investors, and employees – particularly given today’s
higher standards of accountability and fiscal transparency.
Using ACL technology to access and analyze unlimited
volumes of data from virtually any enterprise application,
organizations can quickly identify suspicious transactions
that may represent fraud, error, and abuse, and close
control loopholes before fraud escalates.
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Fraud Detection/Prevention Software
Excel 20%
FAMS 1%
IDEA 4%
PeopleSoft Query 3%
ACL 50%
Internally
developed
software 5%
Other 11%
“Uncovering and stopping this fraud, in addition to
recovering millions in lost tax revenue on behalf of the
Ministry, was made possible by using ACL technology. In
addition, because of the new audit standards for all EU
member countries, the Austrian Ministry of Finance is using
ACL analytics for ongoing monitoring and auditing.”
Bernhard Kurz
Senior EDP Auditor
Austrian Ministry of Finance
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Access 6%
Reprinted with permission from Internal Auditor (August 2004), published by
The Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc. www.theiia.org
Access
Overall Satisfaction
ACL
Excel
IDEA
Internally developed software
0
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ACL Tops 2004 Internal Auditor Software Survey
Data analysis technology is a critical and strategic
component in supporting the internal audit mandate.
Using ACL software, auditors can increase the efficiency
and effectiveness of their audit reviews and provide
added value to their organizations by minimizing loss
and improving operational processes and controls.
“We believe ACL is at the forefront of data interrogation
programs and ensures Dow Corning is a world leader in
business technology. ACL offers an effective means for
us to devise audit tests which are global in nature and
rigorous enough to pinpoint the specific details that
we need in each audit location.”
Aaron Rylance
Business Process Auditor
Dow Corning Corporation
Data Analysis
IDEA 3%
SAP 2%
Excel 41%
Internally developed
software 1%
Other 6%
Access 7%
AS/400 Query 2%
ACL 38%
Overall Satisfaction
Reprinted with permission from Internal Auditor (August 2004), published by
The Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc. www.theiia.org
Access
ACL
AS/400 Query
Excel
IDEA
0
ACL technology enables auditors to quickly and
efficiently access large volumes of data without
compromising system functionality, performance, or data
integrity. This reduces the need for costly IT intervention,
allowing resources to be focused on exception-based
testing and reporting that results in improved audit
and business assurance standards.
“ACL is a technology solution, but it has a profound
behavioral impact on our organization. The interactive
nature of the client/server architecture allows you to
interrogate the data, make critical decisions on which
areas to drill down into, and then refine your audit
plans based on the complete picture. ACL allows us
to constantly make substantive improvements to
procedures that mitigate business risks and improve
our bottom-line performance.”
Ed Dudek
Senior Information Systems Auditor
BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
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Data Extraction
Access 6%
Other 18%
ACL 36%
Internally developed
software 5%
SAP 4%
PeopleSoft 4%
Monarch 2%
IDEA 3%
Excel 15%
AS/400 Query 7%
Overall Satisfaction
Reprinted with permission from Internal Auditor (August 2004), published by
The Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc. www.theiia.org
Access
ACL
AS/400 Query
Excel
Internally developed software
0
ACL Headquarters
T +1 604 669 4225
F +1 604 669 3557
acl.com
info@acl.com
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ABOUT ACL
ACL Services Ltd. is the leading global provider of Business Assurance Analytics to financial executives, compliance
professionals, and auditors. Combining market-leading data analysis software and professional services expertise,
ACL solutions give organizations confidence in the accuracy and integrity of the transactions and the effectiveness
of the internal controls underlying increasingly complex business operations. Since 1987, ACL’s proven technology
has enabled financial decision-makers to assure controls compliance, reduce risk, detect fraud, minimize losses,
enhance profitability, and achieve fast payback.
ACL delivers its solutions in more than 130 countries through a global network of ACL offices and channel partners.
Our customers include 70 percent of the Fortune 500 companies and over half of the Global 500, as well as hundreds
of national, state, and local governments, and the Big Four public accounting firms.
S/IIA/300804
Printed in Canada.
© 2004 ACL Services Ltd. ACL and the ACL logo are registered trademarks of ACL Services Ltd. All other company and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.