Auditing procedures need to be accurate and efficient more than ever in the modern, fast-paced business world. This is particularly true in the life sciences sector, where it is crucial to adhere to laws like the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS) and the U.S. Sunshine Act.
In order to address this demand, systems for expense management and auditing have developed, with automated solutions like Concur Intelligent Audit emerging as game changers. We’ll compare Concur Intelligent Audit vs. Traditional Audit Methods: A Comparative Analysis in this blog post, with an emphasis on the consequences for life sciences organizations in the United States. We will also discuss the function of qordata, a specialized tool for auditing compliance in the life sciences.
Conventional Auditing Techniques: Obstacles and Restrictions
For many years, conventional auditing techniques have been the norm. These audits usually entail manual checks and evaluations of financial data, including trip reimbursements, expense reports, and payments to healthcare professionals (HCPs), based on samples.
The following are some of the main drawbacks of conventional audits:
- Coverage Gaps: Potential compliance violations, mistakes, or fraudulent activity in non-sampled transactions may go unnoticed since only a small portion of transactions are examined. This narrow scope can lead to significant compliance issues in sectors like the life sciences, where businesses must monitor and report all financial interactions with HCPs in order to comply with Sunshine Act requirements.
- Ignoring Deviations: Sample-based auditing makes it more likely that isolated cases of fraud or legal violations will go unnoticed. For example, if an HCP who wasn’t included in the audit sample received one incorrect payment, it could lead to significant repercussions.
- Auditing Based on Samples: Restricted RangeConventional audits frequently only look at a portion of the entire transactional data. Using statistical or random sampling techniques, auditors choose a selection of documents to review, calculating the sample size. This approach lowers the workload, but there are serious risks involved as well.
- Unable to See Patterns: Conventional audits frequently concentrate on specific transactions rather than more general trends. This implies that persistent problems—like consistently overstated expenditure reports or recurrent minor infractions—may be unreported. Fraud often involves subtle behavioral patterns that are difficult for typical auditing techniques to spot.Reactive vs.
- Proactive: Conventional auditing is a reactive approach that deals with problems after they arise. Companies might not be able to prevent fraudulent activity or compliance problems before they get out of hand if they don’t have real-time oversight.
Concur Intelligent Audit: Revolutionizing the Field of Auditing
Concur Intelligent Audit is a solution that automates the review process to simplify the auditing of expenditure reports. Reports that have been submitted are analyzed, and possible policy violations, fraud, or non-compliance are flagged. This helps companies maintain compliance with both international and internal rules and lessens the need for laborious manual reviews. By regularly analyzing past data, the system gets better at spotting red flags like overstated claims, duplicate receipts, and other issues.
A comprehensive perspective of corporate expenditure and easy data flow are provided by the auditing tool’s integration with the larger SAP Concur expense management platform, in addition to its automation features. Additionally, it offers customized warnings and criteria, enabling businesses to customize audits to meet their own compliance requirements. The tool is supported by human auditors who examine high-risk instances for further assurance. The technology helps firms lower the risk of expense report fraud, manage compliance, and control expenses by increasing audit efficiency and accuracy, representing a significant shift from traditional audit methods.
qordata: Customizing Life Sciences Compliance Audits
Although Concur Intelligent Audit provides strong auditing solutions for a variety of industries, the life sciences sector has particular regulatory needs. This is where the EMA (Expense Monitoring and Auditing) solution from qordata, which is tailored especially for life sciences organizations, comes into play.
EMA is a useful tool for life sciences compliance because of a few qualities that include:
- 100% Audit Coverage for HCP Interactions: Compliance teams may guarantee that every HCP-related transaction is audited while upholding total openness. Ensuring compliance with the Sunshine Act is imperative, as it requires the full disclosure of financial dealings with health care providers.
- Automated Compliance Monitoring: All HCP-related expense reports are continuously monitored and audited thanks to SAP Concur’s deep connection. This reduces the risks associated with non-compliance by assisting businesses in adhering to stringent federal and state requirements.
- Fraud Detection Particular to HCP Engagements: Qordata has specific fraud detection tools designed to identify and stop fraudulent behaviors associated with HCP engagements, like unapproved gifts and exaggerated travel costs. By concentrating on life sciences compliance, businesses might avoid paying hefty fines.
- Tailored Audits for Regulatory Compliance: Businesses in the life sciences have to negotiate a challenging regulatory environment. Companies may remain ahead of regulatory developments by utilizing EMA’s configurable auditing tools, which include assessing Fair Market Value (FMV) payments and guaranteeing adherence to the FCPA and AKS.
Important Things to Take Into Account While Setting Up an Expense Monitoring and Auditing System
Enhancing financial transparency, regulatory compliance, and operational efficiency requires putting in place a spending monitoring and auditing system. But during the implementation phase, a number of things need to be carefully taken into account to make sure the solution lives up to its promise. Here are some things to remember:
- Compliance with Industry Standards
- Tailoring to Meet Business Requirements
- Combining with Current Systems
- Coverage of Audits
- AI and Automation Features
- Mitigation of Risk
- Usability, Training, and Scalability
- Considerations for Cost and ROI
- Updates and Support for Vendors
Comparative Study of Concur Intelligent Audit and Conventional Audits
How qordata and Concur Intelligent Audit Cooperate
Concur Intelligent Audit guarantees thorough, in-the-moment auditing of spending reports, and qordata offers the domain knowledge in the life sciences required to stay in compliance with HCP engagement rules. Companies are able to fulfill their compliance requirements with accuracy and efficiency because of this combination.
Conclusion: A Change in Compliance Auditing Paradigm
When it comes to compliance auditing, the stakes are very high for American life sciences organizations. Regulations like the Sunshine Act and AKS can have severe penalties and reputational harm associated with violations. Businesses may guarantee complete compliance with industry-specific standards, minimize the risk of fraud, and streamline their audit processes by utilizing Concur Intelligent Audit vs. Traditional Audit Methods: A Comparative Analysis alongside qordata.
Using these automated solutions improves audit efficiency and accuracy while also supporting the development of an accountable and transparent organizational culture. Investing in these intelligent audit solutions will be essential for preserving compliance and safeguarding a business’s bottom line as the regulatory environment changes.
