Hello Group Members,
More than two decades back I was conducting an Internal Audit of Factory Operations for a Plastic Moulding unit where I stumbled upon a single unaccounted scrap sale transaction of moderate value. This did not happen through Data Analytics but through a sheer manual chance detection. Being a single instance of moderate value I did not delve too much into the "Why of the Event?" and "What should be done to ensure the event does not recur?"
When I recollect that event from two decades back, I realised that I ought to have done more, but did not have the means to do so. I was delivering incomplete information at the best in a reactive mode.
Fast forward to 2018.
Thanks to the power of Data Analytics using IDEA Software, we have the benefit of the data telling us a detailed story of "What happened?", "When did it happen?", "Where did it happen?" and "Who was involved?".
Data Analytics through IDEA Software gives us a detailed and comprehensive coverage of the underlying data and helps detect all the instances of events rather than just a single chance event like from two decades back. With all instances of the event (including underlying triggers) being reflected through Data Analytics, we are now in a position to ask pertinent questions to the Process Owners like "Why did this event happen?" and "What safeguards should be put in place to ensure the event does not recur?"
Data Analytics allows us to ask pertinent proactive questions to the right Team to ensure disruptive events do not affect the organisation.
In the specific example of scrap sale by using IDEA Software, we could have matches the Sale File with the Gate In / Out File for the Plant to detect scrap movements out of the Plant not appearing in the Sale File using Join Databases. This activity in IDEA would cover all the data in a jiffy and allow us a detailed view into all the unaccounted scrap sales. With this information on hand we are now in a position to ask pertinent questions to the Process Owners like ~
(a) Is it an act of omission with a malafide intent ?
(b) Is it genuine system abend where controls are not in place or in place but not working as intended ?
(c) Do concerned Process Users need to be properly trained to ensure this event does not recur ?
(d) Are individuals doing their job but the IT System is at fault and has a bug ?
Data Analytics throws up so many valuable nuggets and patterns of insights that we are well placed to ask such questions with ease thereby elevating the state of Internal Audit and gaining much respect and admiration from our stakeholders thanks to quality reporting and deliverables.
So let's ask ourselves each day - How are we creating our own story line through IDEA Software ?
Regards
Group Admin Team