Audit Command Language

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Audit Command Language
Type Private
Founded 1987
Headquarters Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Industry Computer software
Consulting
CAATTS
Products Audit Command Language (Network and desktop versions), Continuous Controls Monitoring, Direct Link, ACL Server Editions
Website www.acl.com

According to the Internal Auditor magazine, Audit Command Language ACL is "the most widely used data extraction and analysis product" and "the most widely used product for fraud detection and prevention" used in audit profession.[1] Traditionally auditors have manually sampled and reviewed documents supporting various transactions. The sampled items represented "a small portion of the total transactions and required auditors to statistically project the results to the overall universe. That process is largely obsolete in today's highly automated environment."[2] By sampling 100% of the data, ACL can be used to find irregularities or patterns in transactions that could indicate control weaknesses or fraud.

The "Financial Express" declared, "One major development in audit is the availability of General Audit Software such as Audit Command Language (ACL). ACL is a powerful auditing software that can be used for developing Computer Assisted Audit Tools or CAATS."[3] ACL's GUI is "user friendly and does not require knowledge of a programming language."[4] While ACL can be readily used with minimal instruction, a study sponsored by ISACA noted that Interactive Data Extraction and Analysis (IDEA) , ACL's main competitor, may be easier to learn and use.[5]

Contents

[edit] ACL Services Ltd. - the Company

The company's clients include 82 percent of the Fortune 100 companies, 54% of the Global 500, the Big Four public accounting firms in 110 countries and hundreds of national, state, and local governments.[1] The Institute of Internal Auditors selected ACL Services as one of only seven to participate in its IIA Partnership Program. This partnership program requires is a commitment to "share tools, techniques, concepts, and philosophies with" IIA members.[6] On May 9, 2007, Deloitte & Touche, one of the Big Four accounting firms, and ACL announced an alliance where D & T will become ACL Services' distribution network for ACL's Continuous Controls Monitoring (CCM.)[7] ACL's CCM solutions are designed to be compliant with the Treadway Commission of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO). This is considered the standard bearer for supporting SOX 404 compliance.[8]

[edit] ACL - the Product

ACL technology comprises data analytics software which provides assurance to organizations on its transactional data accuracy, completeness, and integrity. The technology gives organizations a single point of view into enterprise data. Prior to the late 1990's the use of personal computers for data analytics was impractical. PC's did not have sufficient memory to perform tests of large data sets. With the increase in size of computer storage, this limitation is no longer a factor.[4]

There are three fundamental ACL windows with ACL: view, navigator, and command log. The view window consists of the data's fields and records. The view can be edited, sorted, and modified to perform various test. The navigator mirrors the functionality of Windows Explorer in that it uses a tree-structure to present tables, scripts, and other ACL objects. The command log is one of the major selling points of ACL. The log preserves the steps and results of an ACL project/script. The log thus becomes a permanent record that can be included in one's work paper demonstrating the steps used to reach various conclusions.[4]

When the Salt Lake City audit department was "rocked by a seemingly endless string of scandals," the county auditors relied upon ACL to test every record in their review. Interim Auditor Sean Thomas concluded that by using ACL, the county auditor's office was able to streamline the audit process while making it more comprehensive. "We are pleased to report," he wrote, "that the software does provide the user benefits outlined above, and it is very thorough and incredibly fast in providing answers to well-structured inquiries."[9][10]

The United States Air Force uses ACL to perform near real time audits.[9] The Catholic Healthcare Audit Network (CHAN) concluded that with the use of ACL "computer assisted audit technology will undoubtedly continue to play an integral role in CHAN's efforts to help clients manage business risk and comply with the government's increased scrutiny of healthcare billings."[11] The Investor's Group, a Canadian financial planning service, concluded that traditional audit techniques were "a waste of resources and time" after discovering "ACL's processing and analysis capabilities."[12]

[edit] ACL Certified Data Analyst (ACDA)

ACL offers a certification as an ACL Certified Data Analyst. This certification indicates that the user has met a certain level of skill expertise with ACL and data analytical concepts.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b ACL Software and Support Services Deloitte & Touche Website.
  2. ^ Speer, James. Notes from the: Auditor General of the Air Force 1 January 2003. Air Force Comptroller. Vol 37. Issue 1. ISSN 0002-2365
  3. ^ Financial Express - Prevention Of Computer Frauds In Banking. 1 June 2003.Financial Express
  4. ^ a b c Warner, Paul. ACL for Windows. 1 Nov 1998. CPA Journal. Volume 68. Issue 11. ISSN 0732-8435
  5. ^ Utilization of Generalized Audit Software in an Information Systems Auditing Course
  6. ^ IIA Partnership Program
  7. ^ ACL Announces Alliance Agreement with Deloitte & Touche at the Gartner Compliance & Risk Management Summit
  8. ^ "Telus Chooses ACL for Continuous Controls Monitoring and Compliance" June 15, 2006. Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal. Accessed 6/29/07
  9. ^ a b Edwards, Alan. "Audit System Passes Test". 25 August 2004. Deseret Morning News.
  10. ^ Burr, Thomas. "County Auditors get boost from software" 10 August 2004. Salt Lake Tribune.
  11. ^ Rice, Tammy. "Automating health-care audits." 1 June 2001. Internal Auditor. Vol 58. Issue 3. ISSN 0020-5745.
  12. ^ Kirk, Brad. "Delivering speed, accuracy, compliance". 1 Feb 2000. Internal Auditor. Volume 57. Issue 1. ISSN 0020-5745
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