Introducing InstantAudit: Real-time compliance control

We’re thrilled to announce the release of our latest product enhancement, InstantAudit.

InstantAudit conducts real-time compliance reviews for every submitted expense that moves through the Certify system. It’s an in-app configuration that automatically flags suspicious behavior based on 15 compliance definitions customized to your organization. It helps auditors focus on instances of non-compliant or potentially fraudulent spend—without disrupting the speed of business.

This helps your auditors by arming them with a powerful tool, while educating and protecting employees from uncalculated negative behavior. According to a report by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (AFCE), fraud accounts for five percent of revenue lost each year from the typical company. And it is by no means limited to those with criminal histories—88% of fraud is committed by “first-time offenders”.

Here are five ways InstantAudit helps the entire organization:

1. Teach the wider organization
   
   If 88% of fraud is done by first-time offenders, you can imagine just how often it occurs as a result of lack of knowledge, an unclear understanding of what constitutes fraud, or the sheer temptation posed by unsecure processes. Education is therefore key to compliance.
   
   InstantAudit creates a feedback loop that educates both users and approvers, reiterating the boundaries in place and showing why an expense is non-compliant. It appeals to the better instincts in your employees—while opening up communication to reinforce compliance.
   
   

2. Scale up compliance
   
   With InstantAudit, your administrator can currently configure 15 audit definitions. These can be everything from excessive tips and unnecessary travel upgrades, to duplicate receipt images or exorbitant alcohol spend.
   
   The definition parameters are editable, allowing you to fine-tune what is considered non-compliant or possible fraud at your organization. For each Audit Definition you can also create exceptions by Employee, User Role, Department, Expense Category, Expense Type, or Invoice Vendor.

3. Direct your team’s focus to non-compliant spend
   
   Every time an expense report is submitted, the audit engine automatically flags non-compliant expenses and notifies auditors, approvers, and submitters (if desired) of potential violations.
   
   All auditors have a dedicated Audit Alerts page that aggregates every potential violation. This gives them visibility into all the expenses that require attention, ignoring the spend that is perfectly compliant.

4. Preserve uninterrupted workflows
   Before building InstantAudit, we conducted in-depth interviews with customers to identify exactly what they wanted from an audit tool. One request kept coming up: we want to keep our workflows moving while the auditing process takes place.
   
   InstantAudit does just this. If an expense is flagged, an optional inquiry can be automatically sent to the submitter, requesting more information. The submitter can then provide additional context in real time—helping approvers make fair evaluations. The entire process allows you to keep the pace of business swiftly moving, while additional information is gathered and analyzed.

1. Keep data secure
   Because InstantAudit runs automatically in the background, all your data stays inside our secure server. You don’t need to wait for file transfers or external jobs to run while the machine-driven auditing function is at work.
   
   The right technology coupled with a spend culture of responsibility and respect helps to scale up compliance and it empowers employees to make wise decisions that benefit the company.

Interested in learning how you can seamlessly enforce policy compliance? Set up a demo today.