PwC Australia’s Assurance business has built a new tool to help companies identify and predict potential risks by collating and analysing thousands of data points across multiple systems.
The Financial Processes Analyser enables organisations to monitor their financial transactions in real-time in one integrated model, bringing together payables, receivables, payroll and expenses data to give an organisation full visibility of its financial story.
Paul McMahen, PwC Data Assurance Partner, said: “Traditionally different financial processes are housed across multiple systems that don’t always talk to each other. By feeding this data into one integrated application which monitors the data around the clock, management can identify unusual activity, trends or behaviours in real time and take swift action.
“The range and significance of anomalies the tool can pick up will include everything from duplicate payments to uncovering a supplier bank account that matches that of an employee, thereby indicating potential fraud.
“This type of analysis is crucial in helping business shift their focus to more real-time, forward looking compliance, enabling them to deal with control breakdowns or other issues as they occur and before they become a significant problem.
“The tool also includes machine learning capability, alerting management to developing trends from their data. For example, the tool could predict potential employees who may be a higher flight risk than others, or unusual employee expense claims which require investigation.
“The financial services royal commission has put a spotlight on compliance like never before. With ongoing regulatory reform, continuing operational challenges and evolving customer expectations companies are looking for ways they can better understand, explore and make informed decisions using the thousands of financial transactions they generate everyday.”
The Financial Processes Analyser is the first in a series of tools that will be released by PwC across Asia Pacific to help organisations digitise their assurance and compliance functions.
