Audit analytics opportunity assessment

Audit analytics opportunity assessment

Many internal audit teams recognise the potential of data analytics, but struggle to determine where to start, which data to use, and how to turn ideas into practical audit procedures.

The Audit analytics opportunity assessment helps internal audit teams identify where data analysis can make a realistic and measurable difference.

Rather than starting with software features, the assessment starts with your audit objectives, business processes, available data and practical constraints.

The result is a clearer understanding of:

• Where analytics could add immediate value
• Which processes offer useful starting points
• What data is available and usable
• Where roadblocks may exist
• How data analytics could realistically be put into practice within day-to-day audit activities

The assessment is intentionally designed as a focused and pragmatic engagement rather than a large consultancy exercise.

Why we developed this approach

We noticed that data analytics in internal audit often remains stuck between ambition and reality.

Common barriers include:

• Uncertainty about where to start
• Limited time or technical expertise
• Concerns about complexity
• Dependency on ICT or other departments
• Uncertainty about available data
• Difficulty translating audit questions into repeatable procedures

This assessment is designed to bridge that gap.

It combines practical discussion, limited data exploration and advisory reporting to help internal audit teams understand what is realistically possible before committing to a broader analytics initiative.

The focus is not only on identifying opportunities, but also on determining whether analytics can realistically be repeated and maintained within normal audit activities.

What the assessment includes

The exact scope depends on the organisation, but a typical assessment includes the following phases.

1. Discovery and scoping

We start with a discussion of your internal audit objectives, priority processes, existing challenges and potential areas of interest.

This may include processes such as:

• Purchase-to-pay
• Payroll
• Revenue
• Claims or damages
• Inventory
• Master data
• Segregation of duties
• Other audit-relevant areas

The objective is to identify a focused and realistic scope for the assessment.

2. Data access and setup

Where appropriate, Arbutus Analytics is installed within your own infrastructure.

Data is then imported or accessed from agreed sources, such as exports, databases or structured files. The purpose is to assess practical data availability and usability.

This is not a “send us your data” exercise. The work is performed in cooperation with your team, within your own environment and under your organisation’s data governance and access controls.

3. Data exploration and illustrative analytics

Selected datasets are explored to better understand volumes, completeness, totals, structure and potential data quality concerns.

Where relevant, illustrative analytics may be performed to demonstrate what becomes visible through data analysis. Examples could include duplicate records, unusual transactions, missing references, master data inconsistencies or other indicators worthy of further review.

These examples are not intended to replace a formal audit report or forensic investigation. They are used to demonstrate feasibility, accessibility and potential value.

4. Report and roadmap

The final deliverable is an advisory report for internal audit and, where relevant, senior management or the board.

Depending on scope, the report may include:

• Observations regarding data availability
• Candidate processes for audit analytics
• Practical opportunities and quick wins
• Examples from the exploratory work
• Technical or organisational roadblocks
• Potential recurring analytics procedures
• Recommended next steps
• A phased roadmap for introducing audit analytics in a practical and sustainable manner

Typical outcomes

Organisations completing this assessment typically gain:

• A clearer understanding of available audit data
• Visibility into realistic analytics opportunities
• Practical examples based on their own environment
• Insight into technical or organisational roadblocks
• Prioritised quick wins
• A clearer roadmap for introducing recurring audit analytics

What this assessment is not

This service is not intended to be:

• A full audit execution
• A forensic investigation
• A complete control review
• An outsourced analytics function
• A generic software demonstration

The objective is to help internal audit understand where data analytics can add value, what is realistically achievable, and how to move forward in a controlled and practical way.

Typical duration and effort

A typical assessment requires approximately 3 to 5 consulting days, usually spread over 2 to 4 calendar weeks.

The exact duration depends on:

• The selected process scope
• Availability of key stakeholders
• Data accessibility
• ICT involvement
• Whether work is performed remotely or on-site

A fixed price can normally be agreed after an initial scoping discussion.

Why Arbutus Analytics

Arbutus Analytics is particularly suited to this type of assessment because it allows internal audit teams to work with large datasets in a controlled, repeatable and audit-friendly way.

Unlike many broader data initiatives, meaningful audit analytics does not necessarily require a centralised data warehouse or large-scale data lake project before value can be demonstrated.

Arbutus Analytics can help internal audit teams start pragmatically by working directly with data originating from multiple operational systems and file formats.

Key strengths include:

• Read-only access to source data
• Support for large data volumes
• Broad data access capabilities
• Repeatable analysis procedures
• Automatic audit trail
• Workflow automation
• The ability to build recurring controls without requiring specialist coding skills or major IT projects

Sepia Solutions supports the full journey from assessment to implementation, which typically includes installation, training, automation development and ongoing analytics support.

Who may benefit from this assessment?

This service is especially relevant for internal audit teams that:

• Believe data analytics could add value, but are unsure where to start
• Want to better understand their available audit data
• Need practical examples before investing further
• Want to identify realistic quick wins
• Are considering Arbutus Analytics
• Want a clearer roadmap before moving into implementation