The University of South Alabama is a medical college with more than 16,000 students and it is here where we recently spoke with the college’s Executive Director of Internal Audit, Robert Berry, to discuss his journey with data analytics. SLIDESHARE: www.slideshare.net/CaseWare_Analytics WEBSITE: www.casewareanalytics.com BLOG: www.casewareanalytics.com/blog TWITTER: www.twitter.com/CW_Analytic

1. Q: How did you get started with
data analytics?
A: Early in my career I was responsible
for doing financial analysis for about a
hundred retail stores, and I was using
a spreadsheet program. I gathered the
data I needed, and before I analyzed
it I asked myself, “If I was the store
manager, what would I want to see?”
So I analyzed the data manually
and gave them what I thought they
wanted. Next thing I knew they started
requesting that I add more information
to their statements. That’s how it all
started: being curious and trying to find
answers to critical business questions.
I then moved to another organization,
ditched the spreadsheets and migrated
to a product that required a lot of SQL
scripting. I taught myself just enough
to be dangerous—which means I made
a lot of mistakes. It was frustrating
because I didn’t have enough time to
truly learn SQL.
I had an intern that was using IDEA in
one of their classes, so we tried the
educational version. We were in awe.
We could point and click, then run
simple queries right out of the box.
No more complicated SQL. I’ve been
hooked ever since.
Q: During which phase of the audit
do you use your data analytics tool?
A: Data analysis can be done during any
phase of the audit. At each phase you
have to think about what your objective
is and if the data is available. I would
use data analytics during the planning
phase as much as possible because
The University of South
Alabama is a medical college
with more than 16,000
students and it is here
where we recently spoke
with the college’s Executive
Director of Internal Audit,
Robert Berry, to discuss his
journey with data analytics.
This is a snapshot of our
conversation.
AUDITOR
SPOTLIGHTit gives you the opportunity to get to
know the area and formulate better
questions before you get into the audit.
During the fieldwork phase, data
analysis on an entire population leads
to more accurate test results. Reports
summarizing data analysis results
provide greater fact-based audit
findings. I tell people to always get the
data because it tells a compelling story
that no one can deny.
Q: How can auditors get
management buy-in for data
analytics?
A: My approach is to get the company
as a whole to buy into the concept. It
all boils down to three basic questions
that I ask the leadership team:
Are you comfortable with all of the
decisions you’ve made?
Do you believe you had the best
information available to you prior
to making those decisions?
When things go well or wrong, are
you logically able to explain why?
If management can’t answer yes to
these questions, then they need to be
using data to help them make healthier
decisions. Data analytics is the key to
moving us from irrational decision-
making to strategic decision-making
based on the results of logical analysis.
To learn more about how IDEA can
improve your audits, visit us at
www.casewareanalytics.com.
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