Internal audit software: Have it your way

Defining your software needs and delivering for internal audit

In the consumer market, we have so many choices these days. We can customize nearly any meal to match our diet. We can stream TV on-demand instead of subscribing to bloated, expensive cable packages. We can even learn new skills online (often for free!) if traditional classroom education isn’t our cup of tea. We live in an era of choice and flexibility, but sometimes the places where we need flexibility the most are the ones that remain painfully rigid. I hear this a lot from internal auditors—particularly those who work on small or mid-sized teams. Their frustration with hard-coded, “do-it-this-way” solutions seems to have reached an all-time high.

When describing her selection process for internal audit software, one CAE recently told me:

“Most of the tools out there are very structured, not very agile, and meant for large companies with complex footprints and operations. They’re complicated and very expensive—something I knew I couldn’t take a risk on.”

Another IA director said:

“I don’t want to have to change our processes to match the way a developer thinks we should run our department.”

When the world around us seems to be all about choice and flexibility, why do so many software companies still push their clients into a one-size-fits-all solution? Perhaps it’s because giving people choices is hard. It requires you to:

  1. Make sure your customers know what their choices are
  2. Educate them on how to take advantage of those choices
  3. Verify that the choices you offer align with your customers’ needs
  4. Continue to expand or refine your choices to help customers solve new problems

This work is difficult, but it’s entirely worth it. You see, flexible software is not a passing fad. It’s here to stay, much like our streaming TV.

For internal auditors whose work evolves as rapidly as the organizations they serve, flexible software can help them:

  • Easily adapt to new types of projects (as part of planned audit work or short-term engagements)
  • Adjust ownership, assignments and workflow as their teams expand or contract
  • Quickly generate the reports they need without having to engage technical resources or burn hours of effort
  • Add new processes as their responsibilities evolve

At Onspring, we gladly take on the challenge of delivering flexible, feature-rich software for every one of our clients—particularly those in internal audit where adaptability is so greatly needed. We’re proud to tell audit teams of all sizes: “Have it your way.” We’ll help you get there.

If you’re looking for better choice and flexibility from your software provider, I invite you to download our E-Book: A Buyer’s Guide to Audit Management Software. You’ll find a checklist of criteria you should consider as you evaluate your options and select the right platform for your team.

About the author

Sarah Nord Director Learning at Onspring GRC Software

Sarah Nord
Director at Onspring
10 years GRC experience