Leveraging data to

build, sustain, and

grow an effective
internal audit program
Sio Naidoo
Head of Pre-Sales, Asia Pacific
Wolters Kluwer TeamMate
Contents
Sio Naidoo
Head of Pre-Sales, Asia Pacific
Wolters Kluwer TeamMate
2 Thought Leadership
Introduction 3
Benefits of data analytics in the internal audit process 4
Transforming internal audit to become more data-driven 5
Building an effective audit data analytics program 6
Conclusion 7
About the author
Sio Naidoo is the Head of Pre-Sales, Asia Pacific, at Wolters Kluwer TeamMate,
responsible for TeamMate audit technology that continually aligns with the needs of
the Asia Pacific region. Sio has held internal and external audit roles in KPMG, James
Cook University, and Woolworths. These experiences have taken him from external
audits across various government and corporate sectors to internal audits within the
higher education and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors. Sio holds a Bachelor
of Accounting Science from the University of South Africa and a Master of Professional
Accounting - Master of Business Administration (MPA-MBA) from James Cook University in
Townsville, Australia. He is a Certified Internal Auditor and is an accredited Internal Audit
Quality Assessor. He is also a credentialed project management professional holding
certification as a PRINCE2 Practitioner.
Introduction
We live in a data age, and more data is
generated every day. IDC’s recent Global
DataSphere Forecast, 2021-2025, predicts
that global data creation and replication
will grow to 181 zettabytes by 2025. What
exactly is a zettabyte? A zettabyte is a
measure of storage capacity and is 2 to the
70th power bytes, also expressed as 1021
(1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes) or
the equivalent of a trillion gigabytes.
In 2010, there were two zettabytes of global
data; in 2022, it grew to 97 zettabytes. With
so much data generated, the next obvious
question is, “How do we store it?” While
not every bit of generated data is stored, a
fair amount is. IDC predicts we’ll reach 16
zettabytes of worldwide storage capacity
by 2025. This means organizations will
have some decisions to make, especially
regarding infrastructure, adding additional
servers, and managing the data in the cloud
or on-premise. Most importantly, internal
auditors must consider how to best use this
data to add value.
In theory, internal audit’s mission is to
enhance and protect organizational value
by providing risk-based and objective
assurance advice and insight. In practice,
many audit departments are challenged
by stakeholders who often underestimate
the importance of the internal audit
function and their role as trusted advisors.
Wherever there’s a challenge, there lurks
precious opportunity. Leveraging data
analytics provides a significant opportunity
for internal auditors to advance the value
delivered by their internal audit programs.
Leveraging data to build, sustain, and grow an effective internal audit program 3
 Benefits of data analytics in
the internal audit process
According to Gartner research, internal
audit stakeholders’ key demands are more
timely assurance over rapidly changing
risks (what is the monetary impact if risks
aren’t managed?) and delivering timely
and actionable insights (tell us how to
fix what you found). Internal auditors are
well-positioned to deliver, both in terms of
skill and their role within the organization.
To successfully elevate internal audit’s
position as a trusted advisor, auditors must
leverage data.
Risk assessments
Leveraging the value of data across the risk
assessment process has rapidly changed
over the last few years. The traditional
‘annual’ approach of interviewing senior
management, drafting risk assessments,
and executing the audit plan is fast
becoming obsolete. An annual risk
assessment plan does not fully reflect the
current risk landscape because of the time
it takes to execute and deliver on that risk
assessment. The quarterly approach is an
improvement, but there is still a timeliness
concern. However, as more internal audit
functions move toward a continuous risk
assessment approach, the value of data-
driven audits becomes apparent. Internal
audit teams become more effective
because they provide a proper focus with
real-time data. Actions are taken based
on the continual monitoring of controls
and more frequent check-ins. Being data-
driven helps auditors uncover new risks,
understand trends, and ultimately, make
better planning decisions.
4 Thought Leadership
Audit fieldwork
The traditional audit fieldwork approach
identifies risks and designs procedures
to test the risk and controls. However, a
uniform approach across all areas does
not allow auditors to respond to business
needs and pivot to areas of high risk. By
leveraging the right tools and data, auditors
can provide deeper and more impactful
insights and deliver higher-value fieldwork.
While audit data analytics should be the
starting point of any fieldwork planning,
implementing data at the execution level
is where most organizations begin. The
advantage of using audit data analytics
in the execution phase is that it enables
auditors to eliminate the need for
sampling, thereby completely reducing
sampling risk. This risk is significant, given
the amount of data generated and stored
over time. Instead, audit data analytics
allow internal auditors to test entire
populations to identify trends, duplicates,
anomalies, and control breaches. This is
much more powerful and effective than
sampling and improves audit quality, and
this is where internal audit can add value
to the organization.
Reporting
Traditionally, reporting is a manual and
periodic process. That shifts when auditors
employ a data-driven approach, making
reporting more holistic, intuitive, and
real-time. Automation means management
doesn’t have to wait a month or two
to receive the report – it can even be
available on-demand. The value-add of
audit data analytics in reporting is that the
process becomes more transparent and
allows for better decision-making.
Transforming internal audit
to become more data-driven
The first step in becoming more data-
driven is to establish a data culture.
Your organization must “speak data” as a
common language. What does that mean?
Everyone on the internal audit team should
understand the importance of audit data
analytics and know the value of data as the
primary tool for decision-making. Auditors
don’t go on hunches and opinions; they rely
on the underlying data to make decisions.
Data culture, like culture in general, is hard
to shape. It’s challenging, and leadership
buy-in is critical. Without tone-at-the-top
leadership support and the right tools, your
data dreams will be lost.
The next step is to embed data into your
methodology. Data analytics is no longer
optional and should be baked into the
audit methodology. A “data-first” approach
within the audit methodology is the best
way to embed a data-driven approach.
Thirdly, simplify data access. Often, an
organization’s biggest challenge is getting
access to data and sometimes, challenging
direct access to the data can be frustrating
and often fruitless. Perhaps there is an
opportunity to change the conversation.
Shift the focus from direct access to
actual data exports. The value that can be
delivered from analytics is derived from
analysis, so accepting data exports simplifies
the conversation and reduces what can be
an ultimate roadblock to move forward.
Finally, having the right tools can help
auditors become more data driven. Audit
management solutions and data analytics
solutions can be fundamental to an
organization’s success.
Leveraging data to build, sustain, and grow an effective internal audit program 5
Building an effective audit
data analytics program
Auditors need vision and the right tools to
implement an effective audit data analytics
program. As mentioned, to successfully
implement a strong, sustainable data
analytics program, auditors must create a
data culture throughout the organization.
Data must be top of mind and a part of
daily conversation. Data is not something
auditors should shy away from; auditors
should embrace it as an opportunity to
add value.
Next, auditors should evaluate their team’s
technology skills and nominate a champion
to deliver on the vision. Internal audit teams
typically have a more technology-inclined
member to appoint as the “champion.” The
champion is invested in achieving the audit
vision, which includes conducting data
analytics in every audit by every auditor.
Previously, internal audit teams relied on
specialists which might enhance and grow
one’s individual depth of expertise, create
bottlenecks during the audit process and
should be avoided, as it creates an over-
reliance on one or a few individuals. This is
not a sustainable data analytics program.
6 Thought Leadership
Every auditor should be able to perform
data analytics, including complex analytics,
without limitations.
Choosing the right tools is critical to
supporting the audit vision. Auditors should
select a tool that’s easy to use and doesn’t
require scripting or coding. Most auditors
don’t have these skills or knowledge, so
eliminate that as a barrier. Wolters Kluwer
TeamMate Audit Benchmark has verified
73% of audit teams said they use Excel files
for data analytics. However, the challenge
with relying on Excel formulae for data
analysis is that this is not sustainable or
scalable for the long-term data analytics
program. Technology that supports a data-
driven approach helps auditors better
harness the data they’re creating through
the audit processes, enabling them to
identify areas where they should spend
more time and attention.
Conclusion
Auditors are looking for better ways to coordinate, collaborate, and, most
importantly, drive value throughout the organization as trusted advisors.
Selecting the right tools and technology ensures that your audit data analytics
program is sustainable and positioned for growth. From there, creating a
data culture and threading audit data analytics throughout the audit process
— including risk assessments, fieldwork planning and execution, reporting,
monitoring, and management — positions the internal audit function as
efficient, effective, and a true partner.

Leveraging data to build, sustain, and grow an effective internal audit program 7
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