Archived media coverage is available below. To view the most recent coverage,
return to the main ACL Media Coverage page.
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ACL Services acquires Workpapers.com
Vancouver-based ACL Services Ltd., a provider of audit analytics and continuous monitoring software to auditors and financial management professionals, has acquired Workpapers.com. (Business in Vancouver, December 15, 2011) Read the article...
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Vancouver's ACL Services Acquires Workpapers.com
Vancouver's ACL Services has expanded into the electronic work papers market with the acquisition of Workpapers.com. ACL’s audit analytic solutions and the Workpapers.com audit management system will be integrated "for a seamless audit experience that spans the complete audit process." (Techvibes, December 14, 2011) Read the article...
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Audit Analytics Tip: Cleaning Up
It’s been said that there are 3 kinds of people in this world: those who can count, and those who can’t.
OK, that’s an old one, but I’m going to hopefully show a new trick here that can help to reduce a company’s vendor count if they suffer from bad data quality. One of the biggest reasons companies make erroneous or duplicate payments is bad vendor data. (AuditNet Newsletter, December 2011) Read the article...
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New Microsoft Excel Add-in Designed for Auditors
ACL Services Ltd., a provider of business assurance technology for audit and compliance professionals, on Wednesday introduced ACL Acerno, an add-in for Microsoft Excel specially designed for auditors working with data analyzed in ACL Desktop or AuditExchange. (AccountingToday, November 30, 2011) Read the article...
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Audit Analytics For Bribery Act Compliance
A technology-enabled strategy using audit analytics is a keystone of an effective and efficient Bribery Act compliance program. It’s risky to rely on “policies” alone – companies need to actively monitor transactions to ensure compliance with policies and ensure potential issues can be quickly identified without relying on a lot of additional manual effort. (The FCPA Blog, November 9, 2011) Read the blog post...
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Auditors learn of latest fraud technology
Auditors from key government, financial, educational and service-sector organisations were informed about cutting-edge computer technologies to assist them to spot fraud faster, and to improve efficiency in their day-to-day duties. "The new mandate is to be proactive," Sabino Ramos, ACL regional sales director, who was the chief presenter at the seminar, said. He explained that it was essential to be able to identify fraud as soon as possible. (The Gleaner, October 19, 2011) Read the article...
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Closing the Analytics Gap
Reviewing every purchase that an organization made over the past quarter, seeking compliance with internal controls, and verifying that errors, omissions, and fraud haven’t occurred is impossible given the time allocated in the organization’s internal audit plan — or is it? By leveraging audit analytics technology effectively, it becomes far more efficient and highly achievable. (Internal Auditor magazine, October 2011) Read the article...
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Internal auditors get analytics training
P N Rajesh of Argon Global highlighted the growing presence of ACL in Qatar.
Sundaresan Rajeswar, IIA board member, who co-ordinated the event, said that an automated model enables internal audit to shift from a reactive to a proactive approach for identifying and managing risk and delivers foresight for greater assurance and value to the business. (Gulf Times, October 4, 2011) Read the article...
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How to Chart Your Course with Audit Analytics
In reality, almost all audit departments are in a somewhat different stage of use of data analysis as they travel, at varying paces, towards the goal of continuous auditing and of transactional monitoring. This article explores the characteristics of each stage and how to successfully get to the next level. (Protiviti KnowledgeLeader, September 2011) Full Story...
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FAST Auditing
To reduce the business and regulatory risks, Jacksonville, Fla.-based FNF sought a continuous monitoring solution to proactively identify questionable transactions. As the core analytics engine, FNF selected AuditExchange by Vancouver-based ACL Services. (Insurance & Technology magazine, August 2011) Read the article...
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Connecting the Dots on Risk, Analytics, and Compliance
There have been many great articles published lately about risk management, analytics, fraud, compliance and the value of internal controls. All are good reading and very informative. There is a ton of good information that can be gleaned from each of them. But the greatest value is achieved when one connects the dots between these diverse topics. (Business Finance, Aug. 9, 2011) Read the article...
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Put Your Controls to the Test
An accounts payable department
is only as strong as its internal controls. A weak segregation of duties or a lax invoice approval policy can leave your organization vulnerable to fraud. Establishing strict internal controls around transaction processing will eliminate the gaps that fraudsters love to exploit. (The Accounts Payable Network - AP Monthly, July 2011) Read the article...
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Alberta Grits question Health Department’s slow response on overbilling doctors
Equipped with a computer program and training provided by a Vancouver-based firm — ACL — the department’s new team has found $1.8 million in questionable billing over the last two years. Peter Millar, ACL’s director of technology application, said the program can quickly identify doctors who see abnormally high numbers of patients or bill for expensive procedures more often than their peers. (Calgary Herald, July 13, 2011) Read the article...
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Pay Serious Attention to Data Quality
The heightened interest in business analytics is quite encouraging. It indicates that organizations recognize they need to make informed decisions based on facts -- not just opinion. So while being reassured there is a resurgent interest in analytics, this in itself can expose an organization to additional risk -- the risk of relying on inconsistent, incorrect or incomplete data. (Business Finance, July 11, 2011) Read the article...
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The emerging enterprise fraud hub gives AP a bird's-eye view over financial crimes
As many accounts payable professionals know, payment fraud is one of the most prevalent types. Taken together, criminal schemes involving billing, expense reimbursements and check tampering account for nearly half of all occupational fraud, based on numbers from the 2010 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud and Abuse. ACL's Director of Technology Application, Peter Millar is interview. (Financial Operations Matters, June 2011) Read the article...
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Making FCPA Compliance Sustainable
Instead of focusing on the risk and the need to comply with the FCPA, organizations need to answer the question of how to make their compliance activities efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable.
One way to address this challenge is for organizations to turn to their internal control assessment experts -- internal audit -- to provide guidance on this business risk. Internal audit is uniquely positioned to help the business understand and navigate the risks of FCPA across the organization. (Business Finance, May 2, 2011) Read the article...
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Fidelity National Financial Solves Audit Frequency Issue
To reduce the business and regulatory risks, Jacksonville, Fla.-based FNF sought a continuous monitoring solution to proactively identify questionable transactions. As the core analytics engine, FNF selected AuditExchange by Vancouver-based ACL Services. "It was a proven platform that was deployed worldwide and had been adopted by the big four accounting firms," Riddell says, explaining the solution's selection. (Insurance & Technology, April 25, 2011) Read the article...
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The Use of Audit Analytics in a Best Practices FCPA Compliance Program
I recently wrote about and provided a list of examples of red flags in the anti-corruption, anti-bribery and anti-money laundering contexts and in the area of international economic sanctions. As we indicated, we do not believe that the mere presence of a Red Flag means that a transaction is violative of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) or even that the transaction must not go through. The presence of a Red Flag does mean that there should be additional follow up, due diligence and investigation to ensure that any party or transaction which raises a Red Flag is valid. (Corporate Compliance Insights, April 5, 2011) Read the article...
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Amp Up Business Performance With Audit Analytics
There has been a distinct surge in the amount of interest and media coverage on the use of data analysis technology in business today. I believe that this increased level of awareness is being driven not so much by new tech capabilities or the marketing efforts of software vendors, but rather by today's business climate and the lessons that are being learned as the economy drags itself out of the recession and realigns itself for growth. (Business Finance, April 4, 2011) Read the article...
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The Use of Audit Analytics in a Best Practices FCPA Compliance Program
As we indicated, we do not believe that the mere presence of a Red Flag means that a transaction is violative of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) or even that the transaction must not go through. The presence of a Red Flag does mean that there should be additional follow up, due diligence and investigation to ensure that any party or transaction which raises a Red Flag is valid. This investigation must be thoroughly documented and in a form which readily creates an audit trail should your company need to provide such data to the Department of Justice (DOJ) or other investigatory body. (FCPA Compliance and Ethics Blog, March 29, 2011) Read the article...
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Internal Auditors Can Ease Compliance Pain
Internal audit departments are uniquely positioned to help business leaders understand and navigate the risks of FCPA across the organization. A technology-enabled strategy using audit analytics is a cornerstone of an effective and efficient FCPA compliance program. (The FCPA Blog, March 28, 2011) Read the article...
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Proactive Fraud Detection: The Truth Is in the Transactions
Occupational fraud seems to be a hot topic these days. Perhaps it's because so much of it seems to be going on, or maybe it's because various regulatory bodies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Department of Justice (DOJ), have chosen to focus their attention on anti-fraud legislation as a means of getting tough on illegal business practices. (Business Finance, March 7, 2011) Read the article...
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Integrating Data Analysis into Audits
Data analysis fills an important role as an enabling technology that assists audit departments in providing assurance around the governance, risk and compliance processes in their organizations. The technology can help audit departments to conduct assessments on the operating effectiveness of internal controls and to seek indicators of emerging risk. It can be highly effective in providing data-driven indicators of issues within their organizations and help provide a more effective risk-based approach to their audit plans. Tips on integrating data analysis into the audit cycle from Peter Millar, director of technology application, ACL Services. (AuditNet Newsletter, March 2011) Read the article...
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Speaking their Language
When Sabino Ramos committed to taking on all Latin American development for the auditing software giant ACL, he did so cognizant of the magnitude of the task at hand. (CNW Magazine, January/February 2011) Read the article...
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FCPA Compliance, Automatically
The eBook I mentioned in my previous post provides a refresher on Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance approaches as well as a look at how analytics can strengthen FCPA compliance capabilities. (Business Finance - Big Fat Finance Blog, Feb. 11, 2011) Read the article...
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Top ways to tighten your cost management belt in the new year
With the bulk of business transactions now being conducted electronically, there’s no substitute for auditing through systems and through data rather than around the edges. If you are auditing through the data, besides the opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your audits, there is great opportunity to uncover cost management gaps that may have been overlooked elsewhere in the organization. By Nigel Matthews, CA, manager of learning & knowledge management, ACL Services. (AuditNet Newsletter, February 2011) Read the article...
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Top Dogs 2010: The Best-of-Breed Unleashed
I was reassured, somewhat, to read in a Deloitte study of global financial institutions back in February that these organizations are stepping up their governance and risk management software investments in a big way. The Big 4 firm projected that spending at the world's 100 biggest financial institutions would hit $200 billion by 2012, fully double what they were spending in 2006, the last full year before the crisis hit. ACL listed in GRC section as best-of-breed software vendor (BusinessFinance, Jan. 7, 2011) Read the article...
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Lessons from The Street: How D&B Strengthened Controls
Implementing solid internal controls has always been a non-negotiable part of conducting business. However, as international regulations intensify, the need to develop reliable, repeatable controls monitoring processes becomes increasingly critical. By ACL customer Hal Laughlin, CISA, Leader of IT Audit, Dun & Bradstreet. (AuditNet Newsletter, December 2010) Read the article...
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New continuous controls monitoring functionality?
Continuous controls monitoring is fast becoming a critical component of any financial controls program, and in some cases is seen as relevant beyond Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Auditors are impressed by it, and directors feel more comfortable with it. (FierceComplianceIT, November 11, 2010) Read the article...
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Fraud - A Focus on Prevention by Data Analysis
Applying data analysis to fraud detection can happen in incremental phases. It doesn't mean doing nothing one day and implementing a full suite of fraud detection tests the next day. Our experience at ACL Services has shown that the successful organizations, who are leveraging data analysis technology to the fullest, are the ones that have established a good solid foundation in people, processes and technology to begin with. By Peter Millar, Director of Technology Application at ACL. (Fraud Examiner Newsletter, November 2010) Read the article...
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A Little Extra on the Road
Corporate accountants have long known that otherwise law-abiding people commit travel expense fraud. And while new software programs help detect fraud, businesses report that travel fraud increased in the last few years as the distressed economy put more financial pressure on both employees and employers. Featuring John Verver, Vice President of Services & Product Strategy at ACL. (The New York Times, November 15, 2010) Read the article...
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Innovative jail contract auditing project recovers $30,000 in monthly overcharges
The City auditor department recently completed a successful data analysis project which has become an invaluable continuous auditing initiative – saving time, promoting fiscal transparency and recovering significant taxpayer dollars during a time of widespread economic crisis. By ACL customer & Impact Award winner Shelley Reimann, MPA, ACDA, Internal Auditor, City of Phoenix. (AuditNet Newsletter, November 2010) Read the article...
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FCPA 101: From Disco to Dilbert
“The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was implemented while disco still ruled the airwaves,” notes ACL Services Steve Biskie in this AuditNet article that serves as a useful FCPA primer (with a perspective on how analytics can aid the compliance effort). (Business Finance - Big Fat Finance Blog, October 25, 2010) Read the article...
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CAAT software powers fraud detection analysis for RLI
From potentially volatile oil terminals in the open ocean to manufacturers in California’s earthquake zone, RLI insures the otherwise uninsurable. But the insurance firm relies on specialized data analytics software to avoid unnecessary risks. (SearchBusinessAnalytics.com, October 18, 2010) Read the article...
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Risk Culture and Business-Aware Auditors
Bloomberg Businessweek’s special report on risk management contains some good reading. This article examines the changing role of the chief audit executive, a topic spelled out in more detail in this white paper.(BusinessFinance - Big Fat Finance Blog, October 13, 2010) Read the article...
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7 Priorities to Kick-Start Your Anti-Fraud Program
Now is the time for Internal Audit teams to step up fraud prevention and detection. Here is a quick list of priorities to kick start your program. ACL director of technology application Peter Millar discusses data analysis techniques and tips for detecting and preventing fraud. (AuditNet Newsletter, September 2010) Read the article...
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Seven Steps to Jump Start Your Anti-Fraud Program
Fraud, whether it occurs in the form of carefully crafted ponzi scams, fudging financial reports or theft from one’s own employer, is reaching alarming proportions and is not without its costs. Businesses and government agencies worldwide suffer hundreds of billions in lost or misused funds, diminished value, and irreversible damage to company reputation and customer trust. ACL director of technology application Peter Millar discusses data analysis techniques and tips for detecting and preventing fraud. (Corporate Compliance Insights, Aug. 16, 2010) Read the article...
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Protect Your Purchasing Cards with Data Analytics
Corporate purchasing cards have been steadily gaining popularity over the past several years – and with good reason. Purchasing cards (p-cards) can automate supplier payments, eliminate unnecessary paperwork and trim costs. But, p-cards also come with inherent risks for organizations large and small. Employees can be tempted to abuse p-card program controls and in extreme cases, commit sophisticated, high-level fraud. Whether you have 50 employees with p-card privileges or 5,000, data analytics offer a powerful way to minimize your organization’s risk exposure and validate internal controls. Practical advice from ACL Director of Services Product Management Steve Biskie, CPA, CITP, CISA. (AuditNet Newsletter, August 2010) Read the article...
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Turning to Data Analysis for Prevention and Detection
More than 40 percent of frauds are initially detected by tips, according to the ACFE’s 2010 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse. Peter Millar, Director of Technology Application for ACL Services Ltd., points out that the human element of this detection method still requires a person to come forward with suspicions – often after a length of time has passed and the damage has been done. (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, July 2010) Read the article...
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Commercial Card Options Can Offer Controlled Growth
Wrangling a commercial card portfolio can be tricky, but it isn’t rocket science – unless some of your cardholders are rocket scientists. That’s the case at defense giant Lockheed Martin, where Rick Swartwood, senior finance manager, and a staff of eight ride herd on more than 2.5 million transactions a year across multiple continents. ACL customer Rick Swartwood, senior finance manager for Lockheed Martin, is quoted. (AP Matters Magazine, July-Aug. 2010) Read the article...
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The Next Great Wave: Effective Deployment of Continuous Assurance
“Do more with less” is a common mantra across healthcare, and one internal auditors are hearing very clearly. But, doing all audits the same old way with limited use of technology puts internal auditors behind the proverbial eight-ball. CAEs need to step up training and hone staff skills in the use of automated tools. Failure to do so limits internal audit’s ability to add full value to their Board and to their organization’s bottom line. ACL Director of Professional Services David Chiang, CA.CIA, CMC, ACDA, discusses continuous assurance for the healthcare industry. (AHIA - New Perspectives, July 2010) Read the article...
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Internal Auditors Target Spreadsheets
Last month the Institute of Internal Auditors plugged a gap in its guidance for members by issuing recommendations for the auditing of "user-developed applications," which generally are spreadsheets and databases developed by end users rather than by IT personnel. User-developed applications, or UDAs, are subject to a high level of data-integrity risk because there may not be adequate controls over validating their output or making changes to them, the IIA points out. ACL customer Mary Ann Tourney, internal audit manager for Talecris Biotherapeutics, is quoted. (CFO.com, July 8 2010) Read the article...
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Easing your CFO’s SOX Pains
Enron and WorldCom may be old news, but organizations continue to struggle with reigning in the ongoing costs of adhering to Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) legislation. As the dust has settled and processes have been implemented, there is still room in many organizations for optimizing current SOX programs. How can audit technology ease the burden and make managing SOX compliance more, well, manageable? ACL Director of Professional Services David Chiang, CA.CIA, CMC, ACDA, discusses how internal audit technology can help manage ongoing SOX compliance. (AuditNet Newsletter, July 2010) Read the article...
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GRC Enters Adolescence
The discipline known as governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) management — which entered infancy only a few short years ago — has smacked headlong into adolescence, the results of which, according to Business Finance’s 2010 GRC Maturity Study (see “Methodology” sidebar), include a lingering identity crisis as well as some awkward issues interspersed with flashes of highly mature (and effective) behavior. (Business Finance, June 14, 2010) Read the article...
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Exception Management Explained: Mastering the ‘Last Mile’ of Compliance and Risk Monitoring Hours, days or weeks? Those are the options that confronted senior internal auditors, compliance executives and their operational colleagues as they evaluated how long it should take for business process owners to respond to potential internal controls violations. ACL's John Verver, CA, CISA, CMC, discusses how a Fortune 100 company's implementation of exception management technology from ACL Services automated the process of sending and following up on exceptions, with the goal of making it easier for everyone to ensure compliance with their internal controls. (Protiviti KnowledgeLeader, June 2010) ... Full Story
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Better communication with IT: How to get the data you need when you need it
Information Technology (IT) and Internal Audit departments sometimes have conflicting needs and can clash when it comes to sharing access to sensitive organizational data. IT must safeguard data from violations and errors associated with fraud, control gaps, inappropriate access, and information privacy. Audit, however, needs quick access to critical business data in order to fulfill its mandate to provide assurance. ACL senior technology consultant Dustin Lewis, CISA, ACDA, discusses four ongoing data issues and some best practices that can help manage them. (AuditNet Newsletter, June 2010) Read the article...
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Role of Technology in the Risk Assessment Process The internal auditor needs to consider issues of risk at a number of levels in the course of fulfilling the internal audit mandate. This article will focus on technology’s critical role in this process. Technology offers the ability to examine entire populations of transactions and business activities – on a timely basis – to look for indicators of risks that are not effectively mitigated or controlled. (Protiviti KnowledgeLeader, April 19, 2010) ... Full Story
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Compliance & Internal Audit: Find your way through the FCPA
The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) was implemented while disco still ruled the airwaves, but the Act – signed in 1977 and amended in 1988 – has steadily gained both media attention and greater scrutiny from global governments in the last several years. ACL director of services product management Steve Biskie, CPA, CITP, CISA, discusses some challenges of FCPA compliance, the role of internal audit, and how data analytics technology can provide an invaluable early warning system. (AuditNet Newsletter, May 2010) Read the article...
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Don't Ignore Expense Report Risks
About a month ago, Peter Millar, the director of technology application at ACL Services wrote a guest opinion for us on the importance of keeping an eye on employee expense reports and other internal reports for fraudulent activity. Tiny discrepancies can add up quickly if they go undetected for any length of time, which they may if they're backed up with phony invoices. (IT Business Edge Blog, April 29, 2010) Read the blog post...
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Credit card fraud, misuse found at 5 Florida universities
A Florida International University professor used a school credit card to buy
at least $5,000 worth of personal items, including an MP3 player, a
wireless reading device and a membership with United Airlines' Red Carpet club.
While university credit or purchasing cards are often quicker and cheaper than other payment methods, they are also prone to abuse, auditors and experts say, especially if employers have lax controls. State auditors this year found more than $150,000 in improper or unverified purchasing card expenses at five universities around the state, and in a few cases, fraud. (Sun Sentinel, April 19, 2010) Read the article...
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How IT Can Help Internal Audit
Information Technology (IT) and Internal Audit departments have the same business mission, but they can face conflicting responsibilities. The solution must enable IT to provide data without losing confidence, while giving Audit enough flexibility to fulfill the “access to all data” mandate in most every audit charter.
This paper by ACL senior technical consultant Dustin Lewis, CISA, describes internal audit's four key data issues, the role of audit analytics in business assurance, and some best practices that can help both IT and Audit manage the key data issues. (EDPACS The EDP Audit, Control, and Security Newsletter, March 2010 - reprinted by KnowledgeLeader) Read the paper...
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Seven Steps to Creating a Data-Analysis Program to Prevent Fraud
If anyone was looking for an example of the benefits that continuous controls can bring to an enterprise, the state of the U.S. economy and the fall of some of the largest, most admired financial institutions in the last couple of years provide more than enough data. And instituting a continuous controls process focusing on risks related to fraud is likely now in the plan for many companies this year.
Check out this seven-step outline, provided by Dustin Lewis, CISA, a senior technical consultant with ACL Services, Ltd. for building an analytics-based program that will allow you to focus on risks that have the greatest chance of reducing shareholder value. (IT Business Edge, April 2010) Watch the slideshow...
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The Numbers Don't Lie: Why You Should Monitor Expense Reports for Fraud
Abuse of corporate policies, funds and controls can happen at any time, in an enormous number of situations. The vast majority of business transactions now occur electronically, and in order to effectively test and monitor internal controls, organizations must analyze all relevant data for those areas deemed to be at risk. ACL director of technology application Peter Millar discusses three top categories of expense account fraud that companies can immediately begin to target with automated data analysis.(IT Business Edge, April 2, 2010) Read the article...
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Financial Leadership – Transforming Internal Audit
As today’s Chief Audit Executive works to evolve Internal Audit to make it more integrated with an organization’s strategic initiatives, the role of the Chief Financial Officer in facilitating this transformation is an important consideration. A visionary CFO, who understands the value of Internal Audit, can be a useful ally and catalyst agent for change.ACL director of professional services David Chiang, CA.CIA, CMC, ACDA, discusses how CAEs can support their CFO as a driver of change. (AuditNet Newsletter, April 2010) Read the article...
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Technology best practices with pre-scripted analytics
Audit and finance professionals consistently report in industry surveys that they understand the benefits of audit analytics. The vast majority of these audit pros realize that employing analytic-enabled audits is a matter of best practice. But despite this widespread awareness, many organizations struggle to implement sophisticated data analysis and continuous auditing and monitoring programs. ACL product management consultant Karen Kronauge, CIA, MBA, discusses how to overcome challenges of implementing audit analytics. (AuditNet Newsletter, February 2010) Read the article...
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Controlling Risk Beyond the Checkbox
There has been a great resurgence in the topic of risk management, and risk-based auditing also seems to be at the top of the agenda in audit committee discussions. What is interesting is the divergence of opinion in how to manage or mitigate risk. ACL director of technology application Peter Millar discusses effective risk management. (AuditNet Newsletter, January 2010) Read the article...
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Palomar Pomerado goes on RAC Attack with continuous monitoring
In the RAC demonstration period between 2005 and 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recouped over $900 million in overpayments and found nearly $38 million in underpayments returned to health care providers. The program will be permanent in all 50 states by January 1, 2010, and is expected to return many more hundreds of million dollars in improper payments back to government coffers. ACL customer Tom Boyle, CIA, CISA, CFE, CCP, MBA, District Audit Officer for Palomar Pomerado Health details their approach to RAC, including continuous auditing and monitoring. (AuditNet Newsletter, December 2009) Read the article...
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X-ray Visions
An American private fleet that has been known to spend up to US$3.1 million every month on fuel saw its diesel and gasoline charges drop by almost $1.4 million over a two-month period in the summer of 2008. And while a small part of that amazing saving came from delivering less product, the people in charge of corporate security at the company know that it’s also a result of a new internal auditing procedure, used to track the 3,000 or so fuel cards used by the fleet’s drivers around the continent. (Today's Trucking, Nov. 30, 2009) Read the article...
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Your Internal Audit's Vital Signs
When Tom Boyle, district audit officer at Palomar Pomerado Healthcare (PPH), updated his board of directors on the progress of his company's fledgling continuous GRC monitoring program in September, he chose an analogy that hit close to home."Continuous controls monitoring is just like monitoring a patient's vital signs," says Boyle, a 30-year veteran of healthcare internal auditing. An in-depth profile of PPH's continuous monitoring program, using ACL AuditExchange 2.0. (Business Finance, Nov. 16, 2009) Read the article...
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Doing the Internal Audit-Management Dance
Internal auditors are used to walking fine lines, but championing a "continuous controls monitoring" program requires extra balancing skill. Dr. Miklos Vasarhelyi, Rutgers University, and ACL customer Mary Ann Tourney, Talecris Biotherapeutics, are interviewed about a recent case study by the Center for Continuous Auditing at Rutgers University Business School. (CFO.com, Nov. 10, 2009) Read the article...
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Reach the Everest of Technical Auditing Designation
Today’s business environment of organizational complexity and economic uncertainty has led most global firms to embrace data analytics. Computer Assisted Audit Techniques (CAATs) has become a best practice for companies of every shape and size. But research shows there’s a wide disparity between the need for technology-enabled audits and the number of audit professionals who are proficient with data analytics. ACL director of professional services David Chiang, CA.CIA, CMC, ACDA, talks about the ACDA designation. (AuditNet Newsletter, November 2009) Read the article...
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Monitoring the Monitors Using ACL, Talecris automated its monitoring of purchasing cards, implemented controls on its vendor list and eliminated many inactive vendors. It also tightened its policies on returned goods, and used ACL tests to track expense usage. (Treasury & Risk Magazine, November 2, 2009) Read the article...
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Effective Data Analytics: The Path to An Integrated Approach for Audit and GRC
For the past several years, international business leaders have been sharply focused on meeting and maintaining regulatory compliance. Sarbanes-Oxley legislation and more stringent reporting requirements from both industry and governments have engaged global companies in complex compliance planning, testing, and assessment activities.
That laser focus, however, is shifting. (Corporate Compliance Insights, October 26, 2009) Read the article...
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Internal Audit: The Continuous Conundrum
A generally accepted definition of "continuous auditing" remains elusive, and expert practitioners remain rare. Here are some tips from the trenches for getting a program going.
Featuring two ACL customers: Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) and American Electric Power. (CFO Magazine, September 18, 2009) Read the article...
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The RAC Reserve Debate
The question is whether hospitals should establish reserve funds as the government's Recovery Audit Contractor program is rolled out nationally.
ACL customer Tom Boyle, internal audit officer at Palomar Pomerado Health and CFO Bob Hemker are interviewed. (Health Leaders magazine, September 2009) Read the article...
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Fraud Detection: What’s Under the Rug?
Identifying fraud has always been an important goal for organizations across the globe. The current economic turmoil, however, is pushing fraud detection higher on everyone’s priority list. Unfortunately, few companies are taking advantage of technology solutions that can actively target key risk areas – instead of relying on sporadic hotline calls or anonymous tips.
ACL customer Penny Borjas, CFE, CIA, dives into three case studies on how she has used technology to catch fraud. (AuditNet Newsletter, September 2009) Read the article...
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‘Continuous auditing’: The next trend in compliance?
While running internal audits has become a fairly common practice, some firms are taking it a step further.
A growing trend: continuous auditing. The Institute of Internal Auditors defines this process as any self-auditing efforts made on a “more continuous or continual basis.” (CFO Daily News, August 20, 2009) Read the article...
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Software Trend Spotting
ACL is cited as the preferred audit software in an audit software solutions survey by The Institute of Internal Auditors discussed in this article (Internal Auditor, August 2009) Read the article...
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The 24/7 Audit
ACL customers at Siemens Financial Services, Inc. and Caesars Entertainment are interviewed in this article on continuous auditing and monitoring. (CFO Magazine, July 15, 2009) Read the article...
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Monitoring Matters
For a company that executes complex commercial financing transactions, one of U.S.-based Siemens Financial Services, Inc.'s primary governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) programs can be described in refreshingly simple terms: Continuous monitoring + continuous auditing = continuous assurance. (Business Finance Magazine, July 14, 2009) Read the article...
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A Primer on Continuous Monitoring
Eric Krell discusses the difference between continuous auditing and continuous monitoring, and his upcoming case study with ACL customer Jason Gross, VP of controls management at Siemens Financial Services, Inc. (Business Finance - Big Fat Finance blog, July 9, 2009) Read the post...
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Fraud Investigations
ACL customer Brenda Buetow, a certified fraud examiner and senior manger of forensic services at Crowe Horwath LLP, describes cases she's investigated and offers tips for detecting fraud and the employees most likely to commit fraud.(SearchFinancialSecurity.com, July 5, 2009) Listen to the podcast...
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Internal Audit: Change Agents in a Tough Economy
As the economic downturn grips organizations around the globe, corporate governance steps into the spotlight. Boards of Directors and their designated audit committee members have a critical responsibility to be hands-on stewards of their organizations. (AuditNet Newsletter, June, 2009) Read the article...
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Former Comptroller Weighs In
If you thought David Walker was sharp, thoughtful, and independent-minded during his tenure as Comptroller General of the United States (I sure did), you ought to hear him now. (Business Finance, May 18, 2009) Read the blog...
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Maturing the use of data analytics
In the internal audit practice the use of data analytics as part of the audit process is usually part of a continuum. It tends to start off in ad hoc use, then move to repetitive use, and, finally, to continuous auditing and continuous monitoring. In this article, John Verver from ACL Services Ltd. examines the typical evolution in using data analytics. (KnowledgeLeader, April 27, 2009) Read the article
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Coping With Recovery Act’s HIPAA Requirements
ACL customer Tom Boyle, chief audit executive at Palomar Pomerado Health, is interviewed in this article. The recently enacted Recovery Act extends stringent privacy standards for personal health information to many more companies, including some far removed from the healthcare business. Inside is a recap of what companies new to healthcare privacy should be doing to get up to speed. (Compliance Week, April 7, 2009) Read the article
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Internal Audit: The Board’s Agent on the Ground
When Siemens, one of the world’s largest companies, was recently shaken by internal fraud and abuse scandal, their corporate board members realized that they needed to enhance their ability to oversee such a large organization. The Siemens case impacted the company’s governance structures all the way up to the board and C-suite level. And board members around the globe have watched the case carefully as a cautionary tale of the inherent challenges in governing large organizations. Being a board member is a serious commitment in this regulatory age. (Corporate Compliance Insights, February 6, 2009) Read the article
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Slots of Risk
Success in gambling has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with knowing the system -- just ask Cheryl Kondra, chief audit executive of Harrah's Entertainment...The system that Harrah's internal audit function uses to maximize its odds for success consists of new technology, best practices gleaned from auditors within the legacy organization and recently acquired companies, and strong relationships with other corporate functions, particularly finance and information technology (IT).(Business Finance, January 21, 2009) Read the article
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Continuous Monitoring and Auditing: What is the difference?
Both continuous auditing and continuous monitoring can be cornerstones in helping internal audit respond effectively to the increased expectations that are placed upon them. They can also help organizations operate more efficiently and more profitably. In part one of this two-part series, John Verver, from ACL Services Ltd., poses the question: Are these two separate concepts or merely variations of a theme? In part two, John closes his discussion by focusing on the benefits of continuous auditing and monitoring, and related best practices. (KnowledgeLeader, December 22, 2008) Read the article...
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Auditors, the New Best Risk Managers?
Internal auditors are shedding their number -crunching shells and taking wing as corporate-wide risk experts, recent trends seem to show. Building on their Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) expertise in perfecting financial controls, auditors should—and many are beginning to—play critical roles in assessing enterprise-wide business and operational threats, according to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers report. With SOX demands decreasing, notes Jim LaTorre, PWC internal audit services leader, “manpower is being freed up to tackle all risk issues that impact shareholder value.” (Treasury & Risk, November 25, 2008) Read the article
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Silver AHA Award Winner in Corporate Governance
Government agencies are not known for innovation, and back in 2000 the Province of British Columbia was no exception. A Hackett benchmarking survey indicated that the staff spent 77% of their time processing invoices—20% more than the most efficient corporations. (Treasury & Risk, November 3, 2008) Read the article
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Who’s to Blame for the Credit Crisis? How About IT! Underneath every bad decision, fraudulent assumption, and greedy gamble, there’s some analysis — and that analysis is built on a model, and that model is dependent on data from IT applications — yes, it’s true — whether that application is a speadsheet, business intelligence application, or ERP system — it all points back to IT. (French Caldwell blog, Oct. 13, 2008) Full Blog Post
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Raising Red Flags ACL is customizing its continuous monitoring technology for
Corruption-plagued German giant Siemens. the massive installation will
analyze data from 1,300 business units in 190 countries. (Treasury & Risk, Sept. 2, 2008) Full Story
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Financial Integrity Threatened By Risks of Change External pressures on businesses in the retailing sector from mergers and acquisitions, organisational change and regulatory compliance are causing 'fault lines' in financial processes that are exposing businesses to potential fraud, mistakes and inefficiencies. (Retailspeak, Spring '08) ... Full Story
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Enhancing Audit Efficiencies: Maximizing the Use of Technology To help internal audit departments assess their options for enhancing audit efficiencies, a panel of experts convened for the September 2007, IIA webcast, "Enhancing Audit Efficiencies: Maximizing the Use of Technology." In follow-up interviews with KnowledgeLeader, several of the participants discussed their own experiences and key areas relating to maximum technology use. (Protiviti KnowledgeLeader, 2008) ... Full Story
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ACL CCM Version 3.5 Launches ACL continuous monitoring technology is continually evolving to support the changing GRC environment and larger, more complex organizations that need to distribute results to a broader community of users. (Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal, February 25, 2008) ... Full Story
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Big Four battle intensifies The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has stepped up its efforts to widen choice in the UK audit market by publishing responses to the April assessment by its Market Participants Group (MPG). While few of those participants, or their respondents, expect a sudden change in rules or players’ behaviour, big companies are being challenged to reflect on whether their predilection for the Big Four results from concern for quality or lack of information and imagination. (Accounting Web, July 20, 2007) ... Full Story
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Continuous Fraud Control ACL President & CEO Harald Will argues that effective compliance systems add much more value to a business over and above merely helping to reduce fraud. (Governance.co.uk, April 2007) ... Full Story
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Compliance - The Impact on Internal Audit Increasingly, the lines between regulatory compliance and internal audit duties have become blurred in recent years and this overlap is becoming a major problem for internal audit departments according to Harald Will, president and CEO, ACL Services Ltd. (Compliance Executive, January 2007) ... Full Story
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Audit Execs Cite Staff Shortages In a new survey of internal auditors conducted by ACL Services, 70 percent said difficulty hiring competent staff was their biggest business challenge. Another 60 percent cited complex IT infrastructures. (CFO.com, June 26, 2006) ... Full Story
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Continuous Auditing Is Here to Stay Now that the need for transactional efficiencies, fraud prevention and real-time financial reporting is acute, mainstream finance is finally jumping on the bandwagon. (Business Finance Magazine, March 2006) ... Full Story
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See Your Enterprise Data from a Single Point of View Ken McGovern, ACL Director of Product Management, discusses how SAP customers can apply ACL Data Analytics technologies to gain visibility into financial and operational performance and satisfy compliance regulations. (SAP Insider, Oct - Nov - Dec 2005) ... Full Story
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SarbOx: The Next Generation By now, most large companies have had to comply with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. However, since the obligation is an annual one, many companies are looking to automation and technology solutions to improve compliance efficiency and add real-time capabilities. (eWeek, August 5, 2005) ... Full Story
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SOX: Not So Bad After All? With most of the work for Sarbanes-Oxley done, finance execs are starting to acknowledge that the corporate-governance law may be beneficial (BusinessWeek Online, August 2, 2005) ... Full Story
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SOX year two: trouble ahead Year one of Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) compliance was a painful and expensive one for many firms both in the US and Australia, but it’s about to get a whole lot worse, according to two major studies. (Risk Management Magazine, July 25, 2005) ... Full Story
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404 Compliance In Year Two Isn't Getting Cheaper A new survey of public companies indicates that a solid majority of them will struggle through Sarbanes-Oxley compliance in 2005 much as they did in 2004: understaffed, overworked, and awash in a sea of manual controls that require expensive testing and remediation. (Compliance Week, July 12, 2005) ... Full Story
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SOX Relief Pushed Further Out On The Horizon As companies pass the year two mark for complying with Sarbanes-Oxley’s internal controls legislation, they are finding that costs are still on the rise according to several recent studies. (DowJones, June 22, 2005) ... Full Story
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SarbOx May Not Benefit Businesses The benefits envisioned by enterprises for complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may never materialize. So says a survey conducted by ACL Services and the Center for Continuous Auditing. (eWEEK, June 20, 2005) ... Full Story
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Sarbox resolve flagging A recent study by the CCA and ACL found that there are serious concerns among audit and financial managers at leading companies about sustaining Sarbanes-Oxley compliance procedures (Accountancy Age, June 23, 2005) ... Full Story
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The impact of SOX Canadian companies feeling the effects of changing U.S. regulatory environment—and ACL is here to help. (ITWorld Canada, June 7, 2005) ... Full Story
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Survey: Compliance spending soars Companies will spend nearly $15.5 billion on compliance programs in 2005, according to a recent study by Boston-based AMR Research. John Verver, ACL Vice President of Professional Services, believes that technology must step up to the plate to help companies rein in costs. (CIO Insight, April 27, 2005) ... Full story
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Policing Payroll With its high number of transactions and the large portion of overall expenditures devoted to it, the payroll process can be a target for fraud and costly errors within an organization. That’s the idea behind ACL Services Ltd.’s latest release, CCM for Payroll. (Treasury & Risk Management, November, 2004) ... Full Story
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Fahrenheit 404 After toiling roughly two decades as an editor, you can imagine I’ve been faced with more than my share of deadlines. So, duty has sort of molded me to adopt a proactive approach to meeting any pending time constraints. (Accounting Today, July 2004) ... Full Story
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BankBoston Argentina Upgrades Reporting Software BankBoston Argentina uses ACL to manage the wealth of information that it has on its customers, saving 1,500 hours per year in report processing time and standardizing thier most frequent control tasks. (Bank Systems & Technology, November 4, 2003) ... Full Story
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How to Catch a T&E Thief ACL and Concur have teamed up to launch a module designed to detect travel and entertainment expense fraud. (Treasury & Risk Management Magazine, October 2003) ... Full Story
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Scouring the Entire Haystack Auditors may not be effusive by nature, but get them started on how ACL has heightened their investigative prowess, and the praise flows. (Baseline, August 2003) ... Full Story
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