Reconstruction of SAP processes

Before zap Audit starts checking business transactions, the Financial Process Mining algorithm first reconstructs all processes that led to a posting in accounting. This fully automated audit procedure by zap Audit reflects the conventional audit approach, in which the process is first collected and then the actual audit is started.

Our Financial Process Mining Algorithm has been researched at the University of Hamburg and developed to perfection since 2012. Unlike many other process mining methods, our algorithm works fully automatically and completely reconstructs all processes that have led to a posting in accounting.

However, not only are all your accounting documents taken into account in Process Mining, but also the following business transactions outside accounting:

• Purchase requisitions (SAP MM)
• Purchase orders (SAP MM)
• Orders (SAP SD)
• Deliveries (SAP SD)
• Billing document in Sales and Distribution (SAP SD)
• Fixed asset accounting
• Change documents and
• Master data changes (vendors, customers, assets).

In this step of the audit procedure, all process sequences are automatically reconstructed "end-to-end".

The sequence is the informational basis for a modern, risk-oriented process audit and thus an essential component for the digitization of the review.

Auditing of all processes and documents

After our Financial Process Mining algorithm has reconstructed the processes, the automated verification of all processes and documents by our indicators begins.

Indicators represent relevant auditing questions that we have concretized to such an extent, despite a high level of abstraction, that data auditing works in every SAP system worldwide.

Each indicator has exactly one audit objective and is assigned to a process and a process area and thus corresponds to the proven, process-oriented audit system.

Examples of the versatile indicators for checking purchasing processes, sales processes, asset accounting, financial accounting and access authorizations include:

• Segregation of duty conflicts
• Expenses to bank postings
• Subsequently adjusted orders
• Changes to bank details during the process
• Discount losses

With zap Audit, the indications found are not juxtaposed incoherently, but are placed in a process-related context by the sequence. This identifies whether several indicators occur simultaneously in a process. False positives are also effectively reduced by exactly this correlation.

It is precisely this aspect that characterizes our audit methodology: thanks to several combined indicators, the most critical variants, documents, suppliers and customers can be identified quickly.

This is where your audit begins!

After the algorithms have done their work, the most exciting part of zap Audit begins - Professional Judgement.

Our indicators are designed to work on any SAP system in the world. The assessment of the indicator results (indications / findings) in the overall context of the audited company / unit is now the responsibility of the experienced auditor.

In this respect, zap Audit in no way supposes replacing the auditor by the machine!

The up-to-date data analysis guides the auditor through the essential findings, enriches them with the necessary information and enables the audit opinion to be finalized and documented in a user-friendly interface.

What does this mean in concrete terms?

In the first step of Professional Judgement, the auditor should familiarize himself with the data set and the automated results. The zap Audit Dashboard provides various graphics for this purpose:

• Process house
• Document statistics
• User statistics

In the following, the audit with indicators starts.

The zap Audit audit methodology in Professional Judgement helps the auditor to become more of a professionally experienced moderator in the audit process and relieves him of having to perform extensive task of data analysis!

This leaves more time for auditing!

Integration of zap Audit results into your audit process

The zap Audit audit results are divided as follows:

1. zap Audit indications as a result of fully automated data analysis
2. Your opinion on the zap Audit indications resulting from Professional Judgment including your comments

Both results are prepared by zap Audit in the form of Excel exports and are available to you for further processing in your audit process.