Grant Thornton releases controls testing app

Grant Thornton has released a proprietary app for automated controls testing, targeted at auditors.

Cta.x is designed to help audit firms develop and deploy automated internal controls tests to comply with regulations, including from the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The app from the Top 100 firm is built to help companies glean insights from their internal compliance efforts and get better return on investment from their controls testing.

Grant Thornton will also be using the app internally. The firm’s risk advisory practice will administer and use the cta.x app as part of its client-service delivery, while the firm’s clients will also be able to directly access and use cta.x.

Cta.x was built using proprietary cloud-based software, which an auditing firm or internal auditors at their clients can configure to perform test procedures on controls data. The app is also designed to identify discrepancies before they threaten data quality or business reputation. It accepts controls data that Grant Thornton has mapped to a standard model and allows users to tailor and test procedures for specific control attributes.

“Controls testing is traditionally conducted by a human being assessing evidence and manually analyzing data in a spreadsheet or system for governance, risk and compliance,” said Ethan Rojhani, a partner in the risk advisory practice at Grant Thornton, in a statement. “The cta.x app automates and integrates controls testing by taking existing assurance processes and applying them to the full population of procedures and policies governing controls. It then pipes the data through Grant Thornton’s proprietary logic engine and produces testing results in sophisticated, customizable dashboards.”

“Our app adds intelligent automation at the front end of the controls-testing process," explained Greg Haberer, a senior manager in the Risk Advisory practice at Grant Thornton, also in a statement. "This increases efficiency and shifts the compliance focus from manual tasks, such as data gathering and manipulation, to higher-value activities like anomaly detection and root-cause analysis.”

Firms can deploy cta.x in a client-specific environment within Grant Thornton’s software-as-a-service model, or in the client’s own environment.

The role of alyx

Grant Thornton developed cta.x with the help of alyx, a digital platform recently launched by the firm that uses a “concierge-enabled” system that shares business problems with teams of subject-matter specialists and technologists. It’s through this platform that the firm was able to identify specific pain points in controls testing and develop the idea for cta.x.

Other solutions Gran Thornton has created with the help of alyx include:

• te.x — An implementation platform for sophisticated tax engines;
• ptvault.x — A platform that helps companies manage personal-property taxes;
• SOC.x — A platform to more efficiently produce reports covering System and Organization Controls (SOC reports).

Grant Thornton expects to launch several commercial offerings in the coming months through its alyx platform.

“Our alyx platform is integral to Grant Thornton’s efforts to digitize our clients’ business-critical functions, from risk management to operational efficiency,” said Joseph Brown, Grant Thornton’s national managing partner of market innovation and release management, in a statement. “This is all about identifying the real-world challenges our clients face, and then solving them with cutting-edge solutions that we can scale across disciplines and industries.”

For more information about cta.x, visit www.grantthornton.com/ctax.