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April 22, 2008 by Mike.Blakley.
Version 1.56 includes faster sorting speeds for files of up to 2 billion rows with sorting by up to 200 columns. Also included is the ability to run XL Audit Commander using either Excel macros or through the Windows Scripting Host. A paper on the topic is available which describes the process. An Excel macro workbook named Macros.xls is included with the installation software. Note that version 1.56 is required in order to run these macros or scripts. The setup program (11.9 MB) is available for download.
Hope to see you at the IIA Fraud Forum in Bonita Springs, FL on May 16th. Topic is the use of digital analysis for the detection of fraud patterns.
Posted in Data Extraction, Data Classification, Audit Software | 2 Comments »
February 23, 2008 by Mike.Blakley.
Support is now provided for both comma separated value format files (CSV), as well as “print” files through the use of file specifications. Further information is available. Also, there are now a variety of tutorials available in shockwave format to demonstrate the system in action. Information about system limitations is now available.
Posted in Data Extraction, Error identification, Audit sampling, Data Classification, Audit Software, Data Validation and conversion, Data Validation | No Comments »
November 27, 2007 by Mike.Blakley.
The latest version, released 11/24/2007, includes support for CSV files and “print” files and also includes a “help” button on the forms screen. Further, there are several examples demonstrating its use: 1) interval sampling, 2) testing Benford’s law in MS-Access database, 3) Data Stratification and 4) Date checking. Other examples and articles have been added.
A demo of the system is available for viewing.
Posted in Data Extraction, Audit sampling, Data Classification, Audit Software | No Comments »
June 29, 2007 by Mike.Blakley.
I have established a web page devoted to sharing articles and ideas on IT auditing. Part of it consists of tutorial modules as shown below. Some are VBA classes for use within Excel, others pertain to use of the XL Audit Commander.
| General Audit Topics | ||||
| Module | Description | Approx Length | With Quiz? | Last Update |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Module-1 | Obtaining Basic Population Statistics | 15 minutes | Yes | 06-22-2007 |
| Module-2 | Audit uses for Benford’s Law | 15 minutes | Yes | 06-22-2007 |
| Module-3 | Use of histograms in audits | 15 minutes | Yes | 06-23-2007 |
| Module-4 | SQLite as an Audit Tool | 30 min | No | 06-29-07 |
| Module | Description | Approx Length | With Quiz? | Last Update |
| Module-5 | Beyond the COUNTIF and SUMIF functions | 20 min | No | 06-25-07 |
| Module-6 | A work-around for very large files | 20 min | No | 06-29-07 |
| Module-7 | Identifying duplicates and gaps in large files | 20 min | No | 06-29-07 |
| Module-8 | Sizing up the population - Going to Extremes | 20 min | No | 06-29-07 |
Posted in Data Extraction, Data Classification, Audit Software, Data Validation | No Comments »
January 20, 2007 by Mike.Blakley.
Two common audit procedures are to classify data by their frequency of occurrence and to determine if there are any duplicate items. Often, this data may reside within an Excel spreadsheet. Both procedures can be done manually within Excel - for example by first sorting the data, doing subtotals, etc. However, this procedure can be both time consuming as well as error prone.
Here I discuss how this can be done very quickly, and I provide example procedure steps and screen shots of the results. The data I use to illustrate the concepts is the list of debarred medical providers in the State of New Jersey. This list can either be downloaded directly, or else you can use the spreadsheet I have already prepared. The reason for using this list is that it contains elements common in many audit tests - e.g. State code, dates, reason codes, etc. Also, the data is public record. The data elements that I will focus on in this exercise are: state code, effective date and action taken. Four analytical procedures will be performed:
1. Classify state codes by frequency
2. Determine if there are duplicate state codes.
3. Classify action taken by type,
4. Determine if there were any duplicate effective dates.
Posted in Data Classification | No Comments »