Automation-enabled software solutions are helping organizations reinvent the auditing process.

FREMONT, CA: Every process in a business organization needs to be evaluated from time to time. Careful assessment helps in fixing operational and financial loopholes and simplifies regulatory compliance. Regular audits best suit the purpose of organizational assessment and audit management solutions available in the market are providing the previously labor-intensive processes with better functionalities with the incorporation of technology. Once detected through efficient audits, weakness can be ironed out to optimize business models, and financial inaccuracies can be fixed with appropriate measures. CIOs must exercise a careful approach before investing in any auditing product available in the market today. Must-have audit management characteristics are listed below.

• Automation-Backed Functioning

Automation is becoming central to many repetitive tasks across workplaces as it reduces the time required for processes and eliminates manual errors. The same points are valid for the automation of audits. Automated internal audits are of better quality since dependence on manual intervention reduces. Documentation and reporting qualities also improve as standardized templates are used, leading to better comparisons and checks. On the whole, a substantial amount of time is saved. Thus, CIOs must ensure high degrees of automation in audit management tools.

• Standardized Yet Configurable Frameworks

When audit management solutions contain standardized parameters and tools, they facilitate better reporting. Companies can refer to the audit reports of other organizations to draw critical inferences that help make the process more productive. Uniform methodologies and templates make it easier to imbibe corrective measures taken by other users of the software. However, it is also a fact that no two enterprises can be the same in all respects. Thus, the solutions must be customizable to some extent. CIOs must look for the presence of particular capabilities that are essential to their organizational model and the industry to which they belong.

• Intuitive User-Interface

Companies can make the most of audit management solutions when users who can understand and run the applications optimally. Solutions that come with well-designed, intuitive interfaces are easy to use and enable easy implementation. Auditors should be able to pick up the technicalities of using the solutions quickly and effortlessly. The software must support the convenient creation of extensive audit reports. Dashboards with all the essential information and simplified navigation tools make working simpler and hassle-free. Thus, software solutions that are user-friendly and compatible with several devices should have the attention of CIOs.

• Easily Decipherable Data- Bars, Graphs and Charts

Along with optimally designed user-interfaces, an ideal audit software must also retrieve and generate data intelligently. The results of an audit must be clearly visible to the auditor with all the crucial information available on the dashboards. It is easier to decipher data represented using visual formats. Thus, solutions that relay critical information through bars, graphs, and charts should have higher precedence for CIOs. Audit solutions must be so designed that they allow stakeholders to see through the information to know the actual state of affairs instantly.

• Effective Integration Across Departments

Bigger organizations have several departments that function simultaneously. Audit solutions must have the ability to accumulate data and evidence from each of these departments and put forth an integrated audit report that covers the entire organization. It should have data processing proficiency and support a range of document formats. CIOs must consider these aspects in the process of finalizing audit management solutions for their companies.

As workplaces evolve in the digital era, the nature of the audit must also transform accordingly. A robust and digital audit management solution can power comprehensive and efficient audits that subsequently result in better operational practices.

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