Project Description
A case study on disciplined internal audit processes
Manufacturing engineered wood products and operating mills across several continents require a disciplined approach to monitoring compliance against myriad internal controls and policies. Add in the complexities of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) audit requirements, and Word and Excel quickly become obsolete tools for effective internal audit management. Lousiana-Pacific Corporation’s internal audit team turned to the automation and real-time reporting capabilities of Onspring to create major improvements in audit planning, fieldwork, and reporting.
100%
recommended for its flexibility & internal audit discipline
Challenge
To keep up on agile internal auditing processes, the internal audit team at Louisiana-Pacific Corporation adheres closely to professional standards set forth by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). Keeping up with IIA standards and SOX regulations proved challenging when it came to staying organized and disciplined.
Risks and controls for SOX were managed in Excel while narratives were documented in Word. Not only was information scattered across documents, but it was also saved on different devices and storage locations. The internal audit team found it more and more difficult to keep data points aligned.
Disparate tools
- SOX risks & controls in Excel
- Narratives in Word
No version control
All document sharing conducted via email
Reactive testing process
- Narrative updates constituted design phase
- External auditor Deloitte drove controls in scope
Solution
From the very first conversation with Onspring, the Louisiana-Pacific internal audit team could see how the platform would bend and adapt to their needs. Not only did the flexibility in workflows and reporting provide benefit, but the flexibility in pricing structure meant there was little risk.
Combining both compliance and internal audit solutions from Onspring, the Louisiana-Pacific internal audit team immediately went to work.
Implementation experience
Getting started in Onspring was quick and easy.
Onspring provided Lousiana-Pacific with workflows, reports and dashboards set up for both compliance and internal audit management. As soon as the internal audit team learned how to use one piece of functionality─build a report, change a dashboard, restructure projects─the knowledge applied to everything else. When questions came up, the team contacted Onspring support for resolution over the phone.
“We really just ‘opened the box’ and went. From the start, we’ve been fully comfortable using the platform and completely manage it ourselves.”
– Director, Internal Audit
Creating custom dashboards
In an effort to instill uniformity and discipline in auditing processes, custom dashboards were created to manage workflows and information sharing.
- Color-coded key metrics run horizontally on top of the control programming dashboard to designate any controls needing immediate attention.
- Team workloads and project stages are simultaneously visible to help with assigning audit projects.
- All internal audit team members reference the same central hub to initiate action for new findings, controls, design tests, and operating tests.
SOX compliance reporting
Overcoming one of the major challenges brought on by SOX, the team automated quarterly reports on audit and quality compliance. The detailed testing, documentation, and required reporting finally became manageable and remarkably quick.
Automated SOX reports provide real-time data on General Ledger account assessments and risk ratings. Without the manual effort associated with collecting data, formating spreadsheets, and checking formulas, the team can now see:
- which accounts are due for assessments,
- which are included in SOX scoping,
- which need to be evaluated to reduce risk exposure.
The team is also looking to integrate SOX with other audit workflows to increase visibility in financials, control effectiveness, and policy writing.
Result
The biggest gain for Louisiana-Pacific is a greater discipline in the audit process. Onspring now drives the behavior of the internal audit team, helping them deliver more efficient, accurate, and timely audit projects.
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