New TeamMate+ System Streamlines Internal Audits

Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting has launched TeamMate+, an intuitive, easy-to-use audit power tool that delivers a modern and streamlined approach to effective and efficient internal audits. Reimagined from the ground up, it is a fully configurable, web-based audit, risk, and compliance platform that builds on more than 20 years of market-leading experience and encompasses best practices learned over that period.

“In an operating environment where the spotlight is squarely on compliance, risk management and strategic alignment, supporting people in an organization’s audit group with the right tools is imperative,” said Mike Gowell, General Manager and Senior Vice President at TeamMate. “Because TeamMate’s audit and assurance solutions are imagined, created and field-tested by auditors for auditors, professionals can count on them to support them and their organization in every facet of their expanding mission.”

TeamMate+ technology and features are based on feedback from a user base of more than 100,000 auditors worldwide and are designed to meet the challenges auditors face today and in the future. Rich in functionality, TeamMate+ seamlessly consolidates and reports issues and risks for management action. Its collaboration framework, probing analytics and trending capabilities accelerate an organization’s success in identifying and managing potential exposure, and its state-of-the-art design makes it easier to implement and simpler to learn.

“Because TeamMate+ is browser based with touch integration, everything works the same. Once you learn how to work in one particular window or feature, you’re allowed to carry that across all other features. So it’s very easy to pick up and there’s very little training involved,” said TeamMate+ customer Kimberly Jacobs, Kimberly Jacobs, CIO, Office of the Auditor General, State of Michigan.

As the number one request in audit software, the ability to configure workflow is a vital capability in the new platform and is representative of how TeamMate continually enhances products with customer feedback in mind. Taxonomy, view, workflows and use roles can now mirror a department’s audit methodology, providing a completely customized experience.

“What excites me about TeamMate+ is the ability to fully configure everything within the application. You can change every field to be whatever your team calls that activity,” said TeamMate+ user Rebecca Short, Internal Audit Manager, ORIX USA Corporation. “Plus, I can turn things off and on as I wish.”

New functionality of TeamMate+ is based on three core principles – simplicity, usability and configurability – and includes:

Compatibility Across Browsers & Devices

TeamMate+ is designed to work with any screen size by implementing a responsive layout that understands what device a user is on and how best to display data.

Web-based & Cloud Optimized

The web-based architecture of TeamMate+ means that a single installation or upgrade is possible making deployment quick and easy. Cloud optimization means that auditors can access their data anytime and anywhere.

Optimized for Touchscreens

TeamMate+ is optimized for touchscreens, so auditors can work from where they want however they typically work. Though touchscreens have become commonplace in personal technology, auditors can now take advantage of the accessibility and intuitive nature of touch-technology in their audit workflow.

Flexible & Personalized Working Views

The Dynamic Working View lets auditors change their perspective to any of the standard views provided or to one of their own custom views.

Complete Audit Trail

Traceability concepts help auditors determine who is responsible for what and when work is due, as well as what tasks and tests have been completed and the edit history of that work. A complete audit trail that includes user actions, document edits, hyperlinks, due dates, and more ensures that audit files fully support users’ findings and withstand the scrutiny of outside review.

Fully Configurable Fields & Workflows

TeamMate+, with its extensive configurability, allows each audit department to establish and control their own terms, project milestones, workflow, individual views, and more. Issues Dashboards provide concise visualization of audit data, allowing users to understand issue trends over time and by area within their organization that will enable them to provide meaningful insights to management.

Simple & Elegant User Interface

Users can quickly and easily add content such as risks, controls, and audit procedures from their knowledge base, and easily add work papers using “drag and drop” functionality. The deep Office integration for which TeamMate is known is available in Word and Excel® to allow point-to-point hyperlinks, creation of issues and coaching notes directly on these files.

“Given how rapidly the technology environment is changing, it’s important that solutions anticipate and adapt,” continued Gowell. “TeamMate+ supports the standard browsers used in most organizations, and provides a host of other benefits that allow auditors to customize their audit workflow experience. As a core component in the TeamMate ecosystem of internal audit software, controls management and analytics, TeamMate+ allows auditors to audit with confidence, simplicity and ease.”

TeamMate, part of Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, is the world’s most widely-used internal audit management system, with more than 100,000 auditors at over 2,500 organizations using the solution globally. State-of-the-profession tools help auditors manage all aspects of electronic working paper creation and management, risk identification and assessment, control framework management and data analysis. TeamMate automates core processes to free up teams to address a new world of business risks and opportunities.