Portable tools for the traveling auditor - includes related article - PC Exchange

Internal Auditor, June, 1992 by James M. Kaplan, Bob Evart

An audit trip to a sister company in another city begins inauspiciously - with terrible weather, an overcrowded airport, and aircraft maintenance problems. In the boarding area, a four-hour delay has just been announced.

But the internal auditor is undaunted. Thanks to his notebook computer, he is able to use the time to review workpapers, finish a draft report from a previous audit, and prepare schedules for the newly delayed audit. The half day spent waiting for a flight will not be wasted.

Technology has made it possible for traveling auditors to convert almost any locale into a potential office. With the availability of notebook computers and other operating systems (such as Windows, OS2, and others), many internal audit departments are adopting packages and procedures that will allow them to take full advantage of these new operating environments.

However welcome and wonderful it is, the technology does present the portable auditor with new concerns, such as the constant release of "new" and "better" programs, increased hard disk space requirements, and the unrelenting need to keep the portable computer functional, given budget constraints. To maintain the edge that portability provides, the auditor needs a basic tool kit and a few secrets of survival.

The Basics

Of course, the first tool the traveling auditor needs is a portable computer. The PC should be, at a minimum, a 286. However, considering today's declining prices, a 20 MHz 386, now selling for under $2,000, would be a better choice. A 40mb hard disk, I mb of RAM, and a FAX/modem are part of the minimum standard configuration.

Communications

Problems created by extended audits, extended trips to another audit site, and not being able to return to the home office can be alleviated significantly by a modem and a FAX connected to the laptop or notebook computer. An external FAX/modem unit is preferable. The Complete PC's Complete FAX Portable Plus combines FAX and modem into a small, handy unit that can easily be transfeffed from one computer to another. Total costs are less, and other auditors can also use the unit.

On-line services, such as American On-Line and Compuserve, allow users to send files through their small system, or to send FAXes via their network. Connection to these on-line services may be more expensive than just transmitting the file over the phone lines, so the user should review the on-line charges before contracting with one of these services.

Several other basic tools may help to improve communications economy and efficiency. ProComm Plus is probably the easiest and most reliable communication program available for the PC. The program is so intuitive that the manual constitutes unneeded baggage.

When data is transferred via PC between the remote site and the home office, PKzip fills the bill. This program compresses files (data and programs) into a single file. The result is a smaller transfer file and reduced long distance telephone connect charges (time is money).

PrintQ allows auditors to spool or redirect files first to file and then to the printer. This puts the auditor back to work in less time and prepares the file for data transmission in one operation. Spooling or queuing print files also allows the auditor to continue working while printing the files.

Disk Space

Auditors who have been using portable computers for some time may find themselves with a shortage of space on their hard disks. There are several software packages that can "double" the disk size of the old portable's hard disk. Stacker (Version 2.0) from STAC Electronics appears to be the most reliable disk doubler software, and it is more forgiving and less restrictive than some other packages currently on the market. It is an inexpensive approach to increasing disk size and may make it possible to avoid replacing the hard disk.

Using programs designed to require less hard disk space is another survival method. WordPerfect's LetterPerfect word processor has almost all the capabilities of its sibling, WordPerfect, and it requires less space.

Security

Security is always an issue for auditors away from the office, and auditors may want to investigate the benefits of software packages that offer security measures. Program Manager Plus incorporates passwords and virus detection into its menuing system. Nonauthorized users can also be restricted from access to the hard drive.

Trusted Access is a transparent hard disk security program. The program can defeat Ctrl-Break and block access to the hard drive even when booting from a floppy disk. It has flexible password management and three levels of access rights.

CRYPTOLock allows an additional level of security beyond password and disk access protection. CRYPTOLock encrypts data into a format without the program. When transmitting sensitive data, CRYPTOLock does not allow any unauthorized access to the encrypted file transmitted files can normally be read by anyone having access to the system that is receiving the files).

Allsafe, from Xtree Company, is a complete PC security system that includes virus prevention, detection, and elimination. The password protection and data encryption protect the PC from prying eyes, either in the office or while on the road. Ease of installation and use make this a worthwhile tool for the traveling auditor.