Data Analysis

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Defined as those tools that complete transactional, computer system administration, computer system logging, financial statement, data mining, data visualization, and multidimensional data analysis. 

Marketplace Drivers

• Rollouts, upgrades and consolidations of ERP and other enterprise applications.

• Regulatory compliance such as Sarbanes-Oxley, especially given tight deadlines.

• The democratization of data for analysis purposes within organizations.

• Expense of fraud from financial, company reputation, and morale perspectives.

• The move to control and/or prevent control gaps rather than reacting to them as they occur.

Benefits

• Turn-key modules for business unit managers to continuously monitor controls.

• Allows testing of controls that may only reside within the computer system.

• For trapping revenue or cost leakage using non-intrusive data analysis processes.

• Reduces fraud, allows for cost recoveries, and helps change inefficient/ineffective business processes based on quantifiable data analysis of key issue areas.

• Helps quantify issues to improve risk assessments and support audit findings.

• Improve the scope and quality of testing while also speeding the process through automation.

• Tests data quality and identifies any gaps for improvement.

• Improves knowledge of the business (business intelligence) and data streams around the key business processes.

• Automate escalation of issues based on analysis of underlying data.

• Provide a monitoring control of business processes and systems to supplement until such controls can be built back into the business processes.

Vendor Selection Considerations

• Performance

• Reputation and Experience

• Stability

• Customer support

• Integration between data analysis work and audit work management system

• Ease of use

• Price

• Simple, common sense methodology with integrated training

• Implementation and support services

• Seamless fit with current accounting system

• Complete centralized data analysis across heterogeneous systems quickly and easily

• Ability to make all changes to the reports as a user