An intranet success story: auditors at a large financial services organization discover the power of intra-enterprise connectivity

Internal Auditor, June, 2004 by Antonio Carlos Correia, Eder Luiz Menezes De Faria

Our intranet also facilitates coordination among auditors from different departments, audit branches, workgroups, and other domestic organizational units, not just those outside the country. Even if the intranet is temporarily unavailable at a particular connection point--due to server trouble or local connectivity issues--auditors can still work without a problem. They simply complete documentation locally, record it, and then transfer the information when the intranet becomes available again.

TIME SAVINGS The intranet has substantially reduced the time required to follow-up with clients to determine whether audit recommendations have been implemented. Auditors can record follow-ups with clients on the intranet, and the customer can then view, analyze, and comment on them, immediately. For example, our system log shows a recent follow-up that was recorded at 9:14 a.m. Customer comments then appear at 9:29 a.m. that same day--only 15 minutes later. Before establishing our intranet system, this process might have taken up to two weeks.

We also perform our annual planning via the intranet, using the system to budget, schedule, and keep track of risks we've investigated. Before using the intranet, our annual audit plan took approximately two months to complete. Now, the whole process takes just three weeks, and it encompasses all audit units within the country and abroad.

FLEXIBILITY At the audit-management level, one of the most important advantages of working via the intranet is our ability to change the priority of an audit task and deliver that information across the audit organization instantly. For example, managers can shift priorities "on the fly" by changing the scope of testing, modifying workpapers, or posting new assignments. After the manager clicks "OK," all auditors are notified immediately. Auditors can then review their priorities in light of these updates and make any necessary adjustments to their schedules.

Audit managers can also use the intranet to plan engagements and ensure effective allocation of resources. Managers can view the location and current activities of each auditor instantly and then use this information to measure the budget impact of staff assignments--such as costs that would be incurred due to air travel or hotel reservations--before making decisions. Managers can also analyze audit plans, monitor assignments, measure auditors' effectiveness and efficiency on the job, obtain information about costs and time span for each job or activity, analyze and approve reports and audit documents, and interact with auditors and customers online. Virtually every facet of the internal audit department's activities is recorded and accessible via the intranet.

REDUCED TRAINING AND SOFTWARE NEEDS Just like the Internet, our intranet system enables client-equipped business users to access information using standard browser techniques by retrieving internal HTML pages and documents and navigating through multiple databases, many of which were not previously accessible on such a wide scale. The document-oriented browser interface is simple and familiar to most users. Using this type of interface enables us to reduce training costs, and it allows auditors to navigate and manage information with greater ease.