Ideagen’s Pentana Audit helps improve Travis County’s auditing and risk assessment
Travis County is the local government body that oversees the County base in south-central Texas
The authority’s main responsibilities include building and maintaining roads, jail operations, courts, and law enforcement, as well as providing health and social services to many county residents.
As the local governing body for the whole of the county, Travis County is responsible for the foundation, operation and maintenance of critical operations within the area.
From the building and maintenance of the road structure in the region to the provisions of law enforcement and health and social care, the governing body plays a pivotal role in the economic development of the county.
In relation to their work in the physical and financial upkeep of the area, Travis County is required to conduct several audits per year and provide proof of its operations to external assessors.
What were the issues for Travis County when managing its audits?
Amanda Muehlberg, Financial Analyst/Auditor III at Travis County, said: “Although the shared internal drive was only accessible by our team members, files were not locked or protected from editing; whether accidental or intentional.
This meant that files from previous years’ audits could be altered and no audit trail existed for any changes made.
Because people could work off the internal shared drive or their personal drives, often the most updated file was not available to everyone."
This created the potential for errors in final copies and, therefore, errors in any findings or conclusions based on test work performed.”
Amanda continued: “Since each audit was maintained in a separate folder, there was no way to view the history of an office in a quick snapshot view.
We had no risk matrix to make it easier to see what offices and areas posed the most risk to the County.”
What were the issues for Travis County when managing its audits?
Amanda Muehlberg, Financial Analyst/Auditor III at Travis County, said: “Although the shared internal drive was only accessible by our team members, files were not locked or protected from editing; whether accidental or intentional.
This meant that files from previous years’ audits could be altered and no audit trail existed for any changes made.
Because people could work off the internal shared drive or their personal drives, often the most updated file was not available to everyone."
This created the potential for errors in final copies and, therefore, errors in any findings or conclusions based on test work performed.”
Amanda continued: “Since each audit was maintained in a separate folder, there was no way to view the history of an office in a quick snapshot view.
We had no risk matrix to make it easier to see what offices and areas posed the most risk to the County.”
Pentana Audit has single-handedly removed the issues we were having with our previous, paper-based auditing system. Where before it was difficult to obtain or gain access to the most up to date audit record or simply view a history of a certain office’s performance, this has now been rectified electronically in the software.
How did Pentana Audit improve Travis County’s auditing and risk assessment?
Since the implementation of Pentana Audit, Travis County has been using the software to perform various quarterly, cyclical, year-end and exit audits – which are a legal requirement for when elected officials leave office.
The solution is also used for risk assessments of County offices.
Amanda comments: “Pentana Audit has single-handedly removed the issues we were having with our previous, paper-based auditing system. Where before it was difficult to obtain or gain access to the most up to date audit record or simply view a history of a certain office’s performance, this has now been rectified electronically in the software.
“Assigned audits show up on all employees’ home tabs as well as how many tests are assigned to the employee. This provides a quick snapshot of the work required by them. Previously, lengthy summaries were required that detailed procedures performed including any findings, recommendations, and conclusions.
Since the procedures are listed in the Execution section of each audit, this is no longer required.
“In addition, findings and their significance, recommendations, and conclusions can be populated in designated fields with each test. The reviewing auditor can then run a report listing any issues instead of having to spend time sifting through multiple summaries to find relevant issues that require reporting.”
As well as quickened access to specific documentation, Pentana Audit has brought standardisation to Travis County’s day-to-day auditing operations. Amanda explained: “The various libraries within Pentana Audit allow for more standardisation in work.
For example, the Findings library allows users to create standard wording for various types of findings. Instead of recreating the wording each time, a prior finding can be pulled and that wording can be used.
This not only saves time but creates consistency across all audits and offices.
“The same is true of the Templates library. Now all templates can be easily accessed and attached to certain tests so users know
what the preferred format is for test work.”
Amanda added: “In terms of risk assessments, we are seeing great benefits in this area and it is now easier to identify and rectify offices that pose the biggest risk to the organisation.
With Pentana Audit, we can now view the risk matrix and easily access any relevant files that are attached to the entity library (such as findings) and locate pertinent information in one place.
“Being able to see what offices and areas pose the most risk to the County allows us to perform more targeted audits and reviews making our work more efficient, effective, and valuable to the County and the taxpayer.
In doing so, we are able to see areas where our test work wasn’t as efficient or effective in targeting or testing a particular risk area.”
With the risk matrix, it is easy to see what offices and areas pose the greatest risk to the County. This allows us to perform more targeted audits and reviews making our work more efficient, effective, and valuable to the County and the taxpayers.
How did Ideagen Pentana Audit help?
Ideagen’s audit management software has helped Travis County’s auditing team make great strides in regards to both conducting audits and analysing the data they produce.
Amanda added: “Pentana Audit is very intuitive to use which makes navigating throughout the software easy and less intimidating for employees that may be resistant to change.
It meets our needs and I imagine it will meet even more as we take greater advantage of more of the functionality over time.”
Amanda continued: “In terms of Ideagen, it is clear that this is an organisation that cares about the user experience and the success of its clients.
They are always happy to hear suggestions or “wish lists” of users to consider in the development of future versions.“
Due to that – and of course the capabilities of the Pentana Audit product itself – I would recommend the solution to other organisations. The product has had an outstanding impact on our auditing operations and I have also had great support from Ideagen when needed.
They are quick to respond to questions and any issues are generally resolved quickly. Likewise, as mentioned previously, the software is intuitive and continues to meet our needs.”
How did Ideagen Pentana Audit help?
Ideagen’s audit management software has helped Travis County’s auditing team make great strides in regards to both conducting audits and analysing the data they produce.
Amanda added: “Pentana Audit is very intuitive to use which makes navigating throughout the software easy and less intimidating for employees that may be resistant to change.
It meets our needs and I imagine it will meet even more as we take greater advantage of more of the functionality over time.”
Amanda continued: “In terms of Ideagen, it is clear that this is an organisation that cares about the user experience and the success of its clients.
They are always happy to hear suggestions or “wish lists” of users to consider in the development of future versions.“
Due to that – and of course the capabilities of the Pentana Audit product itself – I would recommend the solution to other organisations. The product has had an outstanding impact on our auditing operations and I have also had great support from Ideagen when needed.
They are quick to respond to questions and any issues are generally resolved quickly. Likewise, as mentioned previously, the software is intuitive and continues to meet our needs.”
Benefits
Standardised working in Travis County’s day-to-day auditing operations – not only saving time but creating consistency across audits and offices
More targeted audits and reviews can be carried out making their work more efficient, effective, and valuable to the County and the taxpayer
Easier to identify and rectify risks to specific offices
Locating specific documentation and audit information has been streamlined
Improve your auditing efficiencies and risk assessments today
Contact Ideagen for more information on how Pentana Audit could help your organisation.