Florida Audit Forum
Brent Godshalk
Assistant City Auditor
City of Gainesville, Florida
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
1
February 15, 2002
User Survey

Participant Usage of Audit Software?
– ACL, IDEA, Access, Excel, Monarch, Others

Extent of Usage
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–
–
–
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Data Extraction and Analysis
Statistical Sampling
Fraud Detection
Continuous Monitoring
August 2001 IIA Survey
– ACL usage 13/1 over IDEA usage
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Gainesville’s History With
Computerized Audit Software


Small Shop with Limited Resources
Began Evaluating Mainframe-Based CAAT’s in
mid-1980’s
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


EasyTrieve, PanAudit, etc.
Purchased PC-Based IDEA software in 1988
from CICA/AICPA
Immediately found uses for software, but training
and support were limited
Accessing data was difficult
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Gainesville’s History
With IDEA

Marketing and Training for IDEA
improved in mid-1990’s
– Audimation Services, Inc.
– Window’s Version of IDEA released –
improved functionality and ease of use
 Window’s
version 2.0 in 1999 added print report
extraction capability
– Training Offered
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
IDEA’s Recent
Business History

IDEA Software Sold to Private Company
by CICA 2 years ago
– Caseware International, Inc. appears to be
moving to try to compete with ACL
– Benford’s Law analysis to be added to IDEA
this year
– ACL versus IDEA
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
IDEA Functionality

Importing and Exporting Files
– Numerous file formats supported, print reports
Extracting Records – exception testing
 Duplicate and gap detection
 Statistical Sampling

– sample planning and results analysis
– random, stratified, monetary, systematic
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Importing Print Files – Selecting File
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Importing Print Files – Creating a Mask
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Importing Print Files – Opening Saved Mask
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
IDEA Import Assistant Demo – Masked View
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Importing Print Files – Importing Data
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Importing Print Files – Resulting Data File
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Summarizing Data
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Extracting Exceptions – Regular Hours > 80
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
IDEA’s Equation Editor
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Sorted Exceptions to Evaluate
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Duplicate Detection – Direct Deposit Accounts
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Joining Databases – Salary Comparisons
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Gainesville’s
Usage of IDEA
Payroll Processing Reviews
 Disbursements/Purchasing
 Utility Billing and Receipting
 Work Order Completion
 County Traffic Fine Collections
 Overtime Reviews

Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Summary
IDEA has been a powerful and productive
tool for the Gainesville City Auditor’s
Office
 With tools like this, auditors are only
limited by our creativity
 Acquiring and using the tools available is a
great way to improve audit coverage,
productivity and effectiveness

Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Where to Get More Information
IDEA website - www.audimation.com/
 ACL website - www.acl.com/en/
 Monarch website - www.datawatch.com/
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Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002
Questions and Comments
Computer Assisted Audit Techniques
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February 15, 2002