Digital Audit in Financial Services

Financial services organizations in the middle of large-scale modernization efforts can seize many different opportunities to apply a digital lens against operations. In fact, the digital audit can help organizations understand how efficiently the business is running and spot potential trouble spots. The key to tapping that potential lies not in applying one-size-fits-all, top-down tech solutions, but rather in tailored tools that can be woven in at different layers of the tech stack.

Working with innovative teams to consolidate digital data and create an insight pipeline can reveal invaluable information and perspectives that management can act on quickly. Enhancing the audit with meaningful digital and AI tools applied against very specific questions or needs is a powerful way of creating greater agility, even as the organization continues transformation at scale.

What’s more, it’s possible to access the benefits of the digital audit without abandoning the legacy systems and infrastructure that already serve as the engine for the business. This allows you to mitigate risks while getting a clearer look at financial information than has ever been available to decision-makers in the past. All the while, these tools and solutions help cut down back-and-forth between internal and external auditors, ramping up clarity while freeing up time within the team and strengthening trust.

So, how can financial services organizations move in this direction? We recommend financial services organizations start by looking inward and asking five key questions now:

1. Where do we currently stand on our digital transformation journey and where would we like to be in 6 to 12 months?
   
   You cannot set a clear destination without knowing where you’re starting from. Carrying out a current-state assessment of your environment helps you level set. With that foundational understanding in place, you can set clear objectives and design a roadmap to move forward.
   
   
2. Do we have access to the appropriate platforms or technology suite to deploy digital or AI solutions?
   
   Using the best possible tool for the right strategic purpose is essential. What technologies do you have in your wheelhouse today? What’s missing in order for you to layer on emerging or advanced capabilities like AI? What’s your strategy for acquiring, investing in or deploying resources needed to make progress? The answers to these questions should inform your strategy and next steps. Remember: your tech stack isn’t a hammer looking for a nail. Rather, it’s a hammer — or a variety of hammers — looking for the right nail at the right time. That’s what makes an impact.
   
   
3. Do we have access to resources that can implement digital or AI solutions in the areas or organization levels where I have business needs?
   
   Tech tools in and of themselves don’t transform your audit or your business. You must empower people and teams to make the most of these technologies if the advances are going to have a positive and lasting impact. Understanding the talent landscape is just as important as exploring your tech stack. Do we have people with the skills and expertise to adopt digital or AI solutions? What kind of training, upskilling or hiring must we do to deploy advanced technologies in the digital audit? Look for opportunities and gaps and address them, so your team is ready for what’s next.
   
   
4. How does the current technology stack align to our business needs?
   
   Financial services and other organizations often worry that legacy systems will hold them back from adopting digital or AI assets. That’s not necessarily the case. Usually, it’s the rigidity of these systems that becomes a barrier. Siloed systems and platforms can create hurdles, too. For example, do you deploy technology from the top down, or is there flexibility to build digital and AI assts at the business-user consumption level? Can you use AI to break through the limitations of existing systems and extract the data needed to transform? Think about how well your tech stack aligns to business needs, and whether it’s flexible enough to allow for greater digitization. In some cases, this could very well feel like a moonshot. But it’s worthwhile.
   
   
5. Do legacy infrastructure and organizational constraints limit data availability?
   
   The better your data, the more successful your digital transformation will be. This thinking applies in the digital audit context, too. Take the time to assess constraints in data availability. Look at where the problems lie, and what’s holding you back from accessing, gathering, collecting or analyzing the data sets needed to support digitization at scale and fuel a more digital audit going forward.