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Data Analysis for Teams
Consulting Services
Support Services
Technology
North America
Automated testing to enhance control environment
Data-driven risk management through efficient data access, analysis, and reporting
Robust fraud detection and
FCPA compliance assurance and monitoring
Web portal access for Compliance team and external auditors
Timely insight into business processes and risks for key stakeholders
"ACL’S ANTI-BRIBERY TESTS HAVE BEEN VERY GOOD AT HELPING US TO ASSURE
ROBUST REGULATORY COMPLIANCE, POTENTIAL RISK INDICATORS IN TRANSACTIONAL
DATA WOULD BE HARD TO FIND WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY, BUT CONTINUOUS AUDITING
ENABLES US TO PROVIDE MANAGEMENT WITH AN UP-TO-DATE PROFILE OF FCPA
CONTROLS TESTING RESULTS."
PROCESS AND CONTINUOUS AUDIT DIRECTOR
Headquartered in Dallas, Texas Instruments (TI) is a global company with standardized worldwide business processes. The internal audit department at TI identified the need for a continuous auditing and forensics program to monitor inherently risky processes, including purchasing, accounts payable (AP), vendor setup, travel & entertainment (T&E), and purchase cards (P-Cards).
Given TI’s international and business process area risk exposure, developing a robust continuous auditing program was a vital priority. They wanted a data-driven program supported by analytic technology and needed a fast implementation that would quickly generate results, with the ability to provide full data coverage.
Ensuring regulatory compliance in targeted markets
Ensuring compliance with regulations such as the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is another priority for both the audit team and TI as a whole. Esteemed as a highly ethical organization, the company works hard to uphold its reputation for outstanding corporate citizenship and is committed to FCPA violation prevention. In addition, the U.S. government has become increasingly aggressive about prosecuting violators; fines and penalties can be severe.
While TI doesn’t operate in a high risk industry like oil exploration, construction, or pharmaceuticals, notes
Tryon, the company’s widespread global manufacturing operations do require TI to ensure its global processes have internal controls that ensure compliance with governmental regulations. Licensing, import and export activities, plus facilities construction requirements can all present risk exposures if not properly monitored and controlled.
Having used ACL technology for more than a decade, the TI audit group implemented ACL’s Data Analysis for Teams solution powered by ACL™  Analytics
Exchange (AX). Server-based AX ensures sensitive data is secure, and direct ODBC connections to TI systems enable efficient data access. full-time staff member who understood the company’s IT environment to oversee the technology. Senior Auditor Jeremy Fitch, one of the founding members of the team, developed procedures to guide data analysis—including standards for continuous and ad-hoc auditing, documentation, and follow-up reporting.
TI’s audit department created a dedicated continuous audit and forensics team, including a

"AS A FORWARD-THINKING AUDIT
GROUP, WE LOOK FOR EVERY
OPPORTUNITY TO APPLY ACL DATA
ANALYTICS AND DELIVER THE
BEST POSSIBLE SERVICE TO OUR
ENTIRE ORGANIZATION."
PROCESS AND CONTINUOUS
AUDIT DIRECTOR
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Texas Instruments develops analog and embedded processing technologies that power every type of electronic device you can touch— from laptops and cameras to medical technologies, video games, and calculators.
Operates in 35+ countries
100,000+ customers worldwide
Innovating for 80+ years
More than 30,000 employees worldwide
Fortune’s Most Admired
Companies (10 consecutive years)
Ethisphere magazine World’s
Most Ethical Companies
(7 consecutive years)
Call 1-888-669-4225 or email info@acl.com
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| references@acl.com
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Consulting Services extend the TI audit team
ACL Consulting Services helped jumpstart the program by creating a series of custom analytics. To efficiently kick off the program, TI began by focusing on high-risk business processes with accessible data that could easily be tested for anomalies.
Once the analytics produced results, the team began to hone the routines to optimize exception flagging.
Analysis spans travel and entertainment, vendor setup, employee and HR data, journal entry analysis, purchasing and accounts payable, plus related global processes. A series of rollup reports help the auditors identify specific transactions or business areas requiring further investigation—for example, a vendor who appears in multiple flagged accounts payable transactions. Automation frees the team to focus on proactive analysis and critical thinking work.
ACL Consulting also worked with TI to create a series of specific FCPA routines. These analytics identify transactions by applying keyword searches, data comparisons, duplicate checks, expense categorizations, and benefit analyses to provide invaluable oversight into global business processes that require further follow-up and review.
The Compliance team at TI has also used ACL software to automate a series of time-consuming data and report downloads. Team members with different skill levels can run tests through the easy-to-use web portal. Instead of making lengthy IT requests, the Compliance team can easily access the data in ACL’s secure repository, run the routines, and share results with approved parties including TI’s external auditors. problematic transactions across the organization, for example, enabling TI to watch for potential fraudulent activities that would escape detection without the reach and coverage of automated testing.
The dedicated FCPA analytics are also invaluable:
“ACL’s anti-bribery tests have been very good at helping us to assure robust regulatory compliance,” says Tryon. “Potential risk indicators in transactional data would be hard to find without technology, but continuous auditing enables us to provide management with an up-to-date profile of FCPA controls testing results.”
An expert ACL consultant works as an extension of the TI audit team as needed to develop custom analytics that work seamlessly with the company’s technical, audit, and control environments. It’s a trusted relationship that has proven to be costeffective and efficient. Over time, the auditors can dig deeper and use the results to further refine their testing – creating a positive feedback loop that continually strengthens the control environment.
Powerful results around the business
TI’s Compliance team can independently access data, run approved analytics, and deliver requested data and reports to external auditors through the web portal. Pulling all this information together used to take at least three weeks, but now with ACL technology, automated processes complete the task in just two days.
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Texas Instruments uses ACL software to:
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Automate data analysis in high-risk business areas
Save time with secure data analysis and shared system access
Equip the Compliance team with the ability to run tests and reports
Provide timely insight into business processes and risks to key stakeholders
Fact-based insight through automated transactions testing
TI’s continuous audit and forensics program has automated data analysis and given the audit group a new level of fact-based insight into the business. The analytics continuously scour for potentially
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Continuous auditing programs will thrive with a dedicated IT resource – an employee with skills and knowledge to provide timely data access and analysis.
Designated continuous auditing staff minimizes the effect of employee turnover, deadline pressures, and variable technical fluency.
Analytics that continuously monitor high risk transactions provide stakeholders with assurance regarding governmental regulation compliance and protection of company assets.
This value, while difficult to measure, provides significant benefits to company management.
© 2014 ACL Services Ltd.
ACL and the ACL logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ACL Services Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Originally published, 2014.