THOMSON REUTERS AUTOAUDIT MEETS AND SETS
EXPECTATIONS FOR INTERNAL AUDIT PRACTICE
“Now, two years in,
we’re accruing history
in AutoAudit, and
having that history
standardized will help
us have a legacy that
we can build on
for planning for
the future.”
THE CHALLENGE
Accuracy, collaboration, and continuity are trademarks of an efficient audit team. Yet there are many ways the
audit process itself can be hampered, ranging from an inefficient workflow habit to an uncoordinated filing
system, any of which can create challenges.
For a large petrochemical company, one notable opportunity in particular was highlighted during an external
quality assessment review of its internal audit processes in 2012. “It was our approval process,” says the
company’s IT Audit Manager. “We did everything in a spreadsheet or word processing program, and there wasn’t
a clearly defined workflow for approvals. If we ever had to provide evidence something was approved by key
stakeholders, it would require a lot of searching.”
It was then apparent that the audit team needed a stronger governance framework to provide structure and
clarity regarding work product reviews and approvals, and create workflow standards to simplify the overall audit
process.
DELIVERING THE SOLUTION
Financial Audit Team Manager
With a small audit team in place, the company required a solution that was cost effective and intuitive to use.
“We didn’t want to take something on that was overly complicated and required a lot of administrative time,” says
the IT Audit Manager.
The company entertained at least three solution options. It was Thomson Reuters AutoAudit that made the
biggest impression.
“One of our colleagues first read about AutoAudit in a trade magazine, which led us to invite Thomson Reuters to
give us a demonstration,” the IT Audit Manager says. The demonstration presented the full capabilities of the
AutoAudit solution – streamlined workflows, a secure sharing environment, internal controls, risk assessment,
planning, and tracking tools. “We also received some recommendations from others who used it, so that certainly
made an impression,” the IT Audit Manager continues.
After implementation, the team was able to easily customize AutoAudit to meet their needs and specifications. A
select team of auditors created guidelines and requirements, thus standardizing how audits are processed and
saved within the solution.
CUSTOMER BENEFITS
Now in focus, due to AutoAudit, are standardized processes and procedures for audits and set expectations.
“AutoAudit sets expectations for the entire team around milestones, the structure of work papers, how everything
See reverse side
SETTING EXPECTATIONS FOR INTERNAL AUDIT PRACTICE WITHIN LARGE PETROCHEMICAL COMPANY
“AutoAudit makes us
organized, which was
one of our goals from
the start.”
Financial Audit Team Manager
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relates to another, and the approval process,” says the Financial Audit Team Manager. “Now, two years in, we’re
getting some history into AutoAudit, and having that history standardized will help us have a legacy that we can
build on for planning for the future.”
“It forces all of us to do the same thing,” adds the IT Audit Manager. “And that’s a good thing.”
Training new employees also has become far easier thanks to AutoAudit’s intuitive workflow along with the
organization’s customized structure. “My experience certainly is that when there’s these procedures, a system, a
security login protocol, all of that which is very formalized, it makes it a lot easier for someone new to get trained,”
says the Financial Audit Team Manager. “We chose to structure it a certain way, and that structure is very adaptable
to a new employee coming on board.”
When questions arise, both managers have utilized the rather new video help portal on the Thomson Reuters
website which presents an array of “how-to” video guides. “Those videos are very helpful,” says the Financial Audit
Team Manager. “Watching how to do things makes it easier and quicker to understand.”
FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION
With just two years of use, the Financial Audit Team Manager says there are certainly aspects of AutoAudit that
they’d still like to explore in the future, but overall AutoAudit has delivered. “AutoAudit makes us organized, and
that was the goal from the start,” he says.
Having used other audit tools in the past, the IT Audit Manager believes anyone searching for a new audit tool
will find a winner in AutoAudit. “It’s a straightforward framework tool, and those familiar with audit management
tools will not be disappointed with AutoAudit,” he says. “Their experience should be nothing but positive.”
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© 2015 Thomson Reuters GRC02991/6-15