TAKE COST CONTROL AND COMPLIANCE TO A NEW LEVEL. with ACL Travel & Entertainment Expense Fraud and Cost Control Solution

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1 TAKE COST CONTROL AND COMPLIANCE TO A NEW LEVEL with ACL Travel & Entertainment Expense Fraud and Cost Control Solution

2 TAKE COST CONTROL AND COMPLIANCE TO A NEW LEVEL with ACL Travel & Entertainment Expense Fraud and Cost Control Solution Travel & entertainment expense monitoring is quicker and easier than you think For most organizations, travel and entertainment (T&E) expense costs typically represent the second highest controllable annual expense, exceeded only by salary & benefits. As a result, it s not surprising that rising costs are the number one factor influencing companies to improve their T&E management practices and systems according to Aberdeen Group. However, many organizations fail to take a closer look at their T&E data and consequently miss out on a prime opportunity for controlling costs and increasing compliance with T&E policies - according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) most recent Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, T&E Expense Frauds alone account for 14.5% of all frauds uncovered. Key challenges with auditing and monitoring T&E expenses Auditing and monitoring T&E expenses effectively on a repeatable basis is an arduous task if the right solution is not in place. While controls can help govern and enforce T&E expense policies, most organizations use managerial approval as their main control which can be easily undermined. This eventually breeds a corporate culture that pays little attention to expense policies because no solution is in place to enforce these policies and identify offenders. While many organizations may start with the misconception that cobbling together existing piece part solutions, such as spreadsheets and BI tools, can do the job, these homegrown, manual processes quickly fall apart. They aren t designed to address audit-specific challenges in the first place, nor do they provide a repeatable, sustainable framework that can positively impact corporate culture into being more accountable. Identification of exceptions and trends The key driver behind T&E expense auditing is to cut expenses, but how do organizations know where to cut? In order to identify employees who are not complying with corporate expense policies, T&E audit-specific analytics tests, such as looking for split transactions or invalid expenses, must be applied to the data in order to reach these conclusions. These audit-specific capabilities are markedly different from the standard aggregation and summarization functions provided by BI tools. Demonstrating continual progress and results All auditing efforts are of limited value if stakeholders aren t aware of how it contributes to the larger goal of increasing compliance and the cost impact to the organization. A means is required to easily disseminate this information to the key people, as well as immediately notify employees who have violated expense policies. Volume & variation of data In order to get credible results and draw meaningful conclusions, the data for analysis must span a long period of time to be able to detect any patterns, trends, and anomalies. In addition, relevant data for T&E expense auditing can come from multiple sources ranging from expense tracking systems, financial applications, and HR systems. Given the large volume and variety of data required, scalable processing capabilities to analyze the data effectively are required. 2

3 SOLUTION SHEET EASILY CUT COSTS WHILE INCREASING COMPLIANCE with the ACL Travel & Entertainment Expense Fraud and Cost Control Solution When used with ACL Analytics, ACL Analytics Exchange and ACL GRC (governance, risk and compliance), the Travel & Entertainment Expense Fraud and Cost Control Solution can help quickly identify employees who violate corporate expense policies, with supporting data as evidence, on a repeatable basis. This not only helps reduce costs, but also increases compliance throughout the organization as there is now a solution that ensures violations can be detected, making employees more cautious in claiming their expenses. The solution also helps optimize corporate productivity in that it makes it much easier to audit and monitor T&E expenses, which frees up the auditing team to tackle more complex projects. The Travel & Entertainment Expense Fraud and Cost Control Solution provides: A complete risk and control framework specific to auditing and monitoring T&E expenses Pre-built analysis scripts used for auditing or continuous monitoring the key risks and controls for T&E expense fraud Pre-built common data models to leverage in developing data import scripts that support the pre-configured analysis scripts Approximately 60 hours of consulting for implementation in the client s environment

4 Benefits of the Travel & Entertainment Expense Fraud and Cost Control Solution Easily identify exceptions and violations from pre-built T&E expense fraud tests Simplify T&E auditing with pre-built analytics tests The Travel & Entertainment Expense Fraud and Cost Control Solution leverages ACL s 25+ years of auditing expertise to provide pre-built tests specifically designed to test for common T&E expense fraud scenarios, such as split transactions, over limit expenses, or blocked merchant charges. Having both these elements of the process already pre-built and tailored for T&E scenarios help speed up and simplify the process significantly, while adding more value to the organization as it allows auditors to focus more effort on the results for increased coverage and assurance instead of procedure logistics. Examples of T&E expense fraud risks that can be identified with the solution include inappropriate or unauthorized expense claims, claiming for expenses that did not occur, or circumvention of approval controls with self-approval. Get analysis results faster and more frequently with automation With the ability to automate analytic tests or ad-hoc analysis on large volumes of data in ACL Analytics or ACL Analytics Exchange, users can maximize their time with minimal effort by scheduling these tasks to run during off-hours so that the data they need is ready first thing the next morning. Automation also allows for the continuous assessment of problem areas, making the solution repeatable and sustainable rather than a one-time fix. Improve existing T&E controls and corporate culture with a repeatable approach Although identifying exceptions and violations are important, identification alone is not enough to prevent it from happening again. When used with ACL Analytics, ACL Analytics Exchange, and ACL GRC, the Travel & Entertainment Expense Fraud and Cost Control Solution provides a repeatable, structured and accountable approach for expense analysis, ultimately resulting in remediation actions, with analytics-driven results for justification, to improve existing expense controls. Given the repeatability and sustainability of this approach, it helps remove the handcuffs of an overburdened expense management team to focus on the worst offenders and help shift corporate culture to be more accountable. Achieve faster time-to-value with 25+ years industry expertise & consultative approach The solution includes an on-site professional services engagement for a smooth and quick implementation, ensuring that the analytics tests are automated through continuous monitoring. ACL has been in the forefront of the auditing industry since their creation of the audit control language that has now become an industry standard. With over 25 years of knowledge and expertise, their proven consultative approach has helped Fortune 500 clients gain significant insight into their data through the identification, analysis, and management of risk. Help increase compliance by specifying remediation actions for violations 4

5 SOLUTION SHEET Raise stakeholder visibility through a flexible review workflow When coupled with ACL GRC, the Travel & Entertainment Expense Fraud and Cost Control Solution can quickly and easily share results and findings through a flexible review workflow on a centralized platform to easily raise visibility of critical issues and mitigation efforts. A free application is also available from the Apple AppStore to provide mobile access to the solution, allowing instant visibility of analysis results and progress regardless of location. Provide more flexibility for related strategic initiatives The drivers behind an audit are varied: it could be an ad-hoc request, verifying the effectiveness of a control, addressing a corporate risk there are multiple possibilities. What started off as a tactical T&E expense audit could very well grow into a larger effort such as a corporate cost saving strategy. When investing in an auditing solution, its ROI is maximized if it not only has the breadth and depth of capabilities to address current challenges, but also the flexibility to meet expanding, but related, requests. While the Travel & Entertainment Expense Fraud and Cost Control solution can more than sufficiently meet the needs for auditing with ACL Analytics or ACL Analytics Exchange, when coupled with ACL GRC, it can also efficiently and easily manage governance, risk, and compliance projects as the requirements increase not only in scope, but also complexity and corporate visibility. Easily increase capacity for more users The Travel & Entertainment Expense Fraud and Cost Control Solution is designed for use with ACL GRC, a SSAE 16- certified cloud-based solution, to distribute results making it not only secure, but also easy to scale and add capacity. Another cloud-based advantage is the reduced burden on IT given that upgrades are provisioned automatically, ensuring the organization benefits from the latest features of the release with minimal effort from IT. Help increase corporate visibility of T&E expense auditing Summary The ACL Travel & Entertainment Expense Fraud and Cost Control Solution, when used with ACL Analytics, ACL Analytics Exchange, and ACL GRC, not only helps increase expense visibility to decrease costs and fraud with analytics-driven results, but also helps shift corporate culture to become more accountable through a repeatable, sustainable approach. By continually auditing and monitoring expenses, identifying trends, and providing remediation actions all while maintaining transparency and traceability throughout the entire process, organizations can easily elevate cost control and compliance to a new level while transforming their corporate culture for the better.

6 SOLUTION SHEET acl grc Interested in learning more about our products and services? Call to speak with a representative Visit our website at acl.com us at info@acl.com Solution_Sheet_TE About ACL ACL delivers technology solutions that are transforming audit and risk management. Through a combination of software and expert content, ACL enables powerful internal controls that identify and mitigate risk, protect profits, and accelerate performance. Driven by a desire to expand the horizons of audit and risk management so they can deliver greater strategic business value, we develop and advocate technology that strengthens results, simplifies adoption, and improves usability. ACL s integrated family of products including our cloud-based governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) solution and flagship data analytics products combine all vital components of audit and risk, and are used seamlessly at all levels of the organization, from the C-suite to front line audit and risk professionals and the business managers they interface with. Enhanced reporting and dashboards provide transparency and business context that allows organizations to focus on what matters. And, thanks to 25 years of experience and our consultative approach, we ensure fast, effective implementation, so customers realize concrete business results fast at low risk. Our actively engaged community of more than 14,000 customers around the globe including 89% of the Fortune 500 tells our story best. Here are just a few. Visit us online at ACL Services Ltd. ACL and the ACL logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ACL Services Ltd. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.