Keith Cerny Vice President, Research & Development ACL Services

ACL , the company that is transforming audit and risk, has announced the launch of a pre-packaged solution, ACL Audit and Financial Control Solution for SAP® ERP . The solution assists audit, risk, and compliance teams that are struggling to gain access to transactional SAP data necessary to test controls and ensure regulatory compliance under Sarbanes-Oxley and other financial requirements. In addition, ACL has released a new version of ACL Direct Link for SAP® ERP   and SAP CRM, an SAP-certified data extraction add-on for ACL£ Analytics   (AN) and ACL£ Analytics Exchange  (AX). “This release has several enhanced, new features that will prove useful in our SAP environment and help us to be more efficient,” said George Gitson, Manager, Audit Analytics at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company.

“The SAP interface allows auditors and data analysts to tap into their complex enterprise systems with ease and deliver value-added insights more quickly.” Designed for integration with ACL’s data analysis and audit and compliance management software, the new Audit and Financial Control turnkey solution includes analytic scripts that leverage Direct Link and data models tailored for SAP ERP. By combining this with consulting services, the burden on IT teams can be reduced through enabling direct self-service, SAP-certified data access to individuals within each department. 

In addition to empowering productivity via pre-packaged SAP expertise, users are able to: 

• Eliminate roadblocks typically associated with exporting data held within SAP systems 
• Expand the scope of audits for increased coverage and assurance 
• Uncover key information hidden in SAP data, reducing costs and increasing compliance 
• Generate faster results with less effort 
• Deliver credible governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) by effectively leveraging analytics 

According to ACL’s 2013 GRC Technology Pulse Survey   of 2,200 audit, risk management, and compliance professionals, 66% of respondents are focused on internally-driven risk exposures for   2014, causing SAP ERP data to be considered a goldmine. Having the ability to easily access and analyze this information in order to identify trends, anomalies, and gaps in business processes helps reduce operational risks, minimize profit erosion, and mitigate fraud risk. However, many teams are unable to effectively extract insightful data due to a lack of expertise or powerful analytics program. 

“There are countless barriers to effectively auditing SAP ERP data, such as delays with obtaining IT department assistance, difficulty in determining the most relevant data, and a lack of technology to analyze massive volumes of data,” said Keith Cerny, Vice  President of Research & Development at ACL. “Our new offerings break down the walls for auditors, risk management, and compliance professionals, allowing them to directly access information that they previously would have had to obtain through IT.” 

About ACL

ACL delivers technology solutions that are transforming audit, compliance, and risk management to give organizations unprecedented control over their business. Our integrated family of products—including our cloud-based governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) solution and flagship data analytics products—are used at all levels of the enterprise to help maximize growth opportunities by identifying and mitigating risk, protecting     profits, and accelerating performance. Thanks to 25 years of experience and our consultative approach, we implement flawlessly so customers realize concrete business results fast at low risk. Our actively engaged community of more than 14,000 customers around the globe—including 89% of the Fortune 500 and hundreds of governments—tells our story best. Visit us online at www.acl.com .