Using Audit Reporting Options

Objective

After completing this lesson, you will be able to describe options to create an audit report, workflow steps for an audit report, audit closing and analytics dashboards.

Overview of Audit Report Workflow

Audit reports can be generated from the SAP Audit Management system using predefined standard templates. A user can also upload a report manually as a file from local storage or copy an existing report. An audit report is approved in a two-step process:

  1. An audit lead submits a draft audit report to an audit manager for approval, and the audit manager approves or rejects the draft audit report.
  2. After approval of the draft audit report, the audit lead submits a final audit report to the audit manager, and the audit manager approves or rejects the final audit report.

When the final report is approved, the audit manager issues the final audit report to relevant stakeholders. They will receive an email with the final audit report as an attachment.

This figure shows the process for submitting, approving, and issuing a final audit report, starting from a draft version.

Generating an Audit Report Using Predefined Standard Templates

Content of the Generated Report

The generated audit report includes the following information about an audit, findings, and action plans:

  • Audit title, audit ID, audit group, status, audit team, and audit scope
  • Report rating, report category, and executive summary for the report
  • Finding ID, finding title, finding type, criteria, condition, cause, consequence, and recommendation fields of findings
  • Action plan title, action plan ID, details, responsible persons, and deadline fields of action plans

The figure below shows one of the findings and its action plans from the audit report generated using the standard SAP Audit Management template.

This figure shows an audit finding requiring management approval for accounting policy changes, with action plans assigned to Bobby Ramos.

Interactive Audit Report

SAP Audit Management provides you with two types of standard templates for interactive audit report. The functionality of interactive audit reports allows you to generate reports that you can modify and then apply changes to system objects.

The types of standard templates for interactive audit reports are as follows:

  • Interactive Audit Report (Word 2013)

    The following data in a report generated using the Interactive Audit Report (Word 2013) template can be changed:

    • Executive summary of a report
    • Title, criteria, condition, cause, consequence, and recommendation fields of findings
    • Action name, details and deadline fields of action plans

    It is not possible to create new findings, action plans in this type of audit report template.

  • Interactive Rep for Finding and Action

    In addition to the functionality of the Interactive Audit Report (Word 2013) template, using Interactive Rep for Finding and Action template, you can enter new findings and action plans and delete draft findings and action plans. Furthermore, this type of an audit report template allows you to edit more attributes of the included draft findings and action plans.

There is an easy way to apply the changes from interactive audit reports to corresponding system objects by synchronizing the data of an interactive audit report. To do so, generate a report using an interactive template. Then change it by downloading and uploading as a new version of the report, or edit the report online in the My Ongoing Audits app. Choose Sync on the page of the report. As a result, changes that were done for fields in the document will appear in the system - for example, if you entered a new text for the criteria field of a finding in the document and performed synchronization, then when you open the finding in the system, the criteria field of the finding will have a new text.

This figure shows a user viewing and managing the Audit Report Interactive.docx working paper within SAP, with synchronization enabled.

Uploading an Audit Report

An audit report can be uploaded manually as a file by drag and drop or by selecting + in the Report section of an audit.

This figure shows an SAP audit report screen, where the user is preparing to add a new report document.

A generated or uploaded audit report can be processed as a usual working paper. Refer to the unit, Executing an Audit, and lesson, Managing Working Papers, to find information on working papers management.

Copying an Audit Report

Another option to add an audit report is to copy a previously created audit report. Select Copy, choose a report to copy and give a name to a new report. The copied report will be automatically added to the audit.

This figure shows the user copying an audit report in SAP by selecting and naming a duplicate file. Action performed: Copy report.

Draft Audit Report Submission

An audit lead creates and submits a draft audit report to an audit manager in the My Ongoing Audits app. Optional notes can be provided.

This figure shows the process of submitting a draft financial reporting review audit report in an SAP system, including required details.

Draft Audit Report Approval

The audit manager opens the audit, reviews the draft audit report, and approves or rejects it in the Approve Audit Reports app. Optional notes can be provided. If the audit manager rejects the report, the audit will be sent to the My Ongoing Audits app, where the audit lead reworks the report and submits it again.

This figure shows the approval process for an audit report in SAP, highlighting options to approve or reject the report.

After approval of the draft audit report, the audit is available in the My Ongoing Audits app, and it is still possible to do activities of audit execution, for example, work on procedures, and create findings and action plans. Refer to the unit, Executing an Audit, to find information on audit execution activities.

Final Audit Report Submission

Creating a Final Report and Submitting

When the draft audit is approved, the audit lead can create a final audit report and submit it for approval to the audit manager in the My Ongoing Audits app.

This figure displays the SAP audit module where a user is reviewing and preparing to submit a final audit report.

Adding Optional Notes

Optional notes can be provided while submitting the final audit report.

This figure shows a user submitting a final audit report for review in an SAP audit management system interface.

Final Audit Report Approval

The audit manager opens the audit, reviews the final audit report, and approves or rejects it in the Approve Audit Reports app. Optional notes can be provided. If the audit manager rejects the report, the audit will be sent to the My Ongoing Audits app, where the audit lead reworks the report and submits it again. The final audit report cannot be approved if any finding of the audit is in the following status: Submitted. All submitted findings should be approved or rejected first to allow final audit report approval process.

When the final audit report is approved, all draft findings, draft action plans will automatically obtain the status, Open, and can be processed on the follow-up audit phase by auditees and the audit team.

This figure displays the SAP interface for approving or rejecting audit reports in a Financial Reporting Review Audit workflow.

Audit Report Issuance

After the final report is approved, the audit manager can issue the final audit report. To issue the final audit report, open the Approve Audit Reports app, select an audit with the status, Final Report Approved, and select Issue Audit Report. Optional notes can be provided. As a result, the document approved as the final report will be sent to the recipients through an email. The list of recipients can include internal audit team members, responsible persons for findings, and any other interested persons according to configuration of the system. After the final audit report is issued, the status of the audit becomes Final Report Issued, and the audit can be closed.

This figure shows the approval and status details for a Financial Reporting Review Audit report being issued in SAP.

Most of the data in an audit cannot be edited after the audit obtains the following statuses: Final Report Approved or Final Report Issued. Some changes are possible for the audit in these statuses to complete the audit, for example, editing title, actual cost, actual effort, actual time period, tags, setting review notes for working papers as cleared, and so on. Additionally, you can enable a functionality to allow working papers to be edited and uploaded after a final report is approved until the audit is closed.

Closing an Audit

After audit work has been finished and a final audit report has been issued, an audit manager can close an audit in the Track Open Audits app by selecting Close. Optional notes can be provided. All closed audits are available in the Display Historical Audits app. A closed audit cannot be changed unless it is reopened.

This figure displays the completion and final report issuance step of a Financial Reporting Review Audit within SAP’s audit management interface.

Reopening an Audit

If changes are necessary for a closed audit, an audit manager reopens an audit in the Display Historical Audits app by selecting Reopen. The status of the audit will be changed from Closed to In Execution and the audit team can resume audit execution.

This figure shows a closed Financial Reporting Review Audit in an SAP system, providing options to review or reopen the audit.

Audit Analytics

Audit Management Overview App

SAP Audit Management provides dashboards that allow you to get a visualized view of various key metrics of the internal audit activities. The Audit Management Overview app is a central dynamic dashboard that contains interactive cards with analytics on audits, findings and action plans. In the dashboard, you can set various filters, hide unnecessary cards and change dimensions of cards to specialize your analysis.

This figure shows an SAP Audit Management dashboard where users are filtering, tracking, and visualizing audits and action plan statuses.

Analyze Audit Engagements, Analyze Findings, and Analyze Action Plans Apps

From the Audit Management Overview app, you can navigate to the following three additional dashboards:

  1. Analyze Audit Engagements
  2. Analyze Findings
  3. Analyze Action Plans

These dashboard provide you with an in-depth analysis of the selected data type. Additional dashboards are available as separate dashboards too if you decide to start analysis from the corresponding object types (audits, findings or action plans).

You can use a wide range of filter criteria to narrow down your focus, display data in the form of table, chart or both and navigate to a particular data object directly from a dashboard.

This figure shows SAP audit findings being analyzed and visualized by audit group, status, type, and ranking using dashboards.

You can find more information about SAP Audit Management dashboards using the following link: https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_ASSURANCE_AND_COMPLIANCE_SOFTWARE_-_SAP_AUDIT_MANAGEMENT and navigate to: Use [section]→SAP Audit Management→Audit Analytics

Use Audit Reporting Options

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