IDEA Data Analytics – Saving You Money through Increased Efficiency  

Duplicate Payments

Duplicate payments cost organizations money. Thanks to data analytics software we now have the ability to examine every check written during the year looking for patterns in both payment amounts and payment dates. By using specialized tools we can extract any payments from the system that have been made to the same address and have identical dollar amounts. This process allows us to quickly generate a list of potential invoices that have been paid multiple times. The review described above can produce some surprising results and the savings to the organization can be quite significant depending on the number of duplicate payments identified.

Summarization of Payments by Vendor

Would you like to have a better picture of what you are paying each of your vendors on monthly basis? Standard reports in many of today’s software packages often do not meet all of an organization’s needs when it comes to analyzing data. There are a multitude of custom reports that we can generate by simply downloading a copy of the check register file from within your software that will give you a better picture of how often payments are being made and to whom. This process can help you identify the top vendors in terms of cost as well as instances where a large number of payments for small amounts are repeatedly being made to the same individual.

Also, by obtaining a copy of the vendor master file, we can identify instances where the same vendor is setup multiple times within the application due to differences in data entry. By removing these duplicate vendors from within the system you can greatly reduce the risk of paying the same invoice twice.

In both cases these reports can highlight issues that when addressed, can lead to a higher level of operational efficiency which at the end of the day saves the organization time, effort, and money.

Fraud Detection

Does your application grant you the ability to identify trends in payment dates and amounts? By using our analytical software we can generate reports showing a monthly breakdown of payments as well as payments made on weekends, holidays and other suspicious times.

We also have the ability to cross check any payments made to vendors who have P.O. addresses, or payments made to vendor addresses that match current or past employee addresses, in order to identify potential payments made to related parties.

We can also quickly generate a breakdown of payments made to employees in order to facilitate a review of reimbursement costs and potential personal spending abuses.

Custom Reporting

We can also generate a wide range of custom reports based on your individual needs and data mining objectives.

Information Technology Audits and Internal Control Assessments

Why Internal Controls?

With the emergence of more and more regulations pertaining to corporate governance, responsibility, and the protection of sensitive data and fraud prevention such as the Sarbanes Oxley Act, Graham-Leach-Bliley Act, and the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA), it is increasingly important for an organization to have a strong framework of internal controls in place.

Every organization can benefit from a strong set of Internal Controls even if they are not required by law. Internal Controls should not only address compliance issues related to applicable laws. A properly designed Internal Control framework should also provide a streamlined, efficient, and effective environment in which to conduct business on a day to day basis.

Properly designed internal controls can also reduce the risk of financial losses due to fraud and waste by reducing the existing opportunities to commit fraud.

The Key Role of Information Technology

In today’s environment, technology touches nearly every aspect of our daily lives. A well defined and controlled Information Technology environment is critical to maintaining the consistency, accuracy, completeness and availability of an organization’s financial, personnel, and business data.

By properly leveraging their information technology assets, an organization can reduce the amount of costly man-hours spent on performing manual reviews of transactions and other business rules. Properly configured and maintained applications and networks can automatically enforce the Internal Controls and business rules being relied upon by management so that management can in turn spend more time and energy on achieving the goals of the organization.

Where to Begin?

Designing an effective framework of internal controls begins with a thorough examination of each major business process by management. This process analysis phase provides management with a clearer picture of where the risks to the organization lie. Once these risks have been identified we can assist you in the design of controls that mitigate the risks to a level that is in line with the organization’s goals.

Why Hungerford, Aldrin, Nichols, and Carter, PC?

Our highly-trained and certified professionals have had experience in the public, private, governmental, educational and not-for-profit sectors, and can draw on this experience in order to help you identify high-risk areas and assist in the design of mitigating controls that use resources in an efficient manner. Let our experienced staff assist you in taking the guesswork out of the process.

Services

Assistance in the design and implementation of strong internal controls related to business critical Information Technology assets.

1. Independent assessment and testing of existing internal controls for design and operating effectiveness
2. User access and segregation of duties review
3. Assistance in the development of organizational policies and procedures
4. Network Security Analysis and Application Control Testing
5. Software package selection assistance

Contact Christopher J. Pegman, CISA, Senior IT Auditor for more information at (616) 949-3200.