Auditors and Their Clients Increase Audit Efficiency with Ostendio

Case Study

Ostendio Increases Audit Efficiency for
Maloney + Novotny and Their Clients

Challenges

Seeking a more efficient audit process for their clients
Painstaking hours of collecting thousands of documents from clients, manually uploading into them software and matching controls for multiple frameworks

Solution

Security software with efficient document management and approval processes that eliminates disparate systems and the need to collect documents manually

Results

Time saved with the ability to easily collaborate in-platform and retrieve real-time evidence at any point
Dedicated platform for auditor and client collaboration, making future opportunities more streamlined

The Challenge

Seeking a more efficient audit process

Maloney + Novotny is an established organization with years of experience completing security audits for its clients. They complete audits including HIPAA, SOC, NIST, PCI, and HITRUST. But according to Dale Dresch, Shareholder at Maloney + Novotny, they were receiving mounds of documents each month from clients, and sorting and reviewing through these documents was inefficient. He was looking for a more standardized and efficient way to run his audits, not only for his staff but for his customers too. He felt that there had to be a technology out there that could help leapfrog audit firms into the modern age.

“We were receiving thousands of documents from our clients and manually putting them into our software to match the controls for each framework. It is a very time-consuming process to organize every piece of evidence and every policy to match a control in a framework. There was no room for collaboration or interaction with our clients. It also meant that audits took a long time.”

- Dale Dresch, Shareholder, Maloney + Novoty

Determined to solve this challenge, Dresch researched the tools available and was recommended the Ostendio platform. His company realized the benefits that Ostendio could bring to their organization and the benefits of a more efficient audit for their customers. Maloney + Novotny is an Ostendio Auditor Connect partner.

“Automation of the process is the way forward for our industry,” said Dresch. “Customers and auditors can both benefit from using the technology available to do the heavy lift of a complex audit.”

He found that using Ostendio has helped educate his clients about the audit they are undertaking as well as making the process more efficient for his business.

“Ostendio is the only product I found that has the client and the auditor in mind,” said Dresch. “It has a clear dashboard for clients so they can see their audit progress and understand why we are requesting certain documents. For auditors, it helps arrange policies and evidence to match each framework.”

Not only has using the Ostendio helped educate his clients about audits but it has also helped speed up the process of an audit for both the customer and the audit firm. “What used to take weeks to prepare in the old software now takes half a day to prepare using Ostendio,” he said. “I can complete audits in half the time that it took me before using Ostendio.” This time saving has benefited the clients who can spend less time focusing on their audit and more time focusing on their business. It also benefits the auditor as they can complete more audits during a year.

The Solution

Benefits for client and auditor

Dresch added that his customers have benefited immensely from using the Ostendio platform for their audits. “Being more organized has been the main benefit for my clients. They can see a percentage of completion and gauge how far they’ve come in the audit process. They are not just dumping documents in a drop box, the old-fashioned way of sharing documents with an auditor, they can see on their dashboard where they stand in the overall audit process and why the documents they provide are necessary.”

The platform has also been easy for Maloney + Novotny's clients to implement. It’s a fast process, easy to sign up and start the audit process,” he said. “Overall, it makes complete sense for my customers to use a tool like Ostendio to complete an audit.”

Completing multiple frameworks with ease

Dresch says the CrossWalk feature has helped him expand his business and benefits his clients with access to multiple frameworks. “The CrossWalk feature is a bonus for my company and for my clients,” he said. “At the same time as gathering information for one audit, I can compare that to requirements for other frameworks and save time and effort in completing a second framework for my client.”

By using the CrossWalk feature, Dresch believes he has won business by offering a competitive advantage over other audit firms. As the demand for compliance frameworks grows, Maloney+Novotny can work with more clients to complete these complex audits in an organized and efficient manner. “We use Ostendio CrossWalk to compare control criteria from SOC 2, for example, to HIPAA and we can do it in minutes. What used to be a manual, time-consuming process is now something that we can offer our clients as an added feature to our audit service. Being able to offer more services to our customers helps us win business. I see it as a huge benefit of using Ostendio,” he added.

Dedicated platform access for auditor and client

By using Ostendio, both the client and Maloney + Novotny conduct all activities within their own individual and separate Ostendio accounts. Information is shared when both accounts "connect" via the Ostendio Trust Network and they choose to share select information through a shared “Ostendio Assessment”. This gives both parties complete control over when and what to share and, makes it simple to see what has been shared. Auditors and clients can then comment and discuss these shared documents in the Ostendio Assessment.

More future opportunities lead to a win-win for auditor and clients

Dresch sees many opportunities to grow his audit practice by using Ostendio to work with his clients. “I think it offers me a modern approach that I didn’t have before. It will help me go for more business opportunities and allow me to expand our business with more clients,” he said. “It’s not only a significant win for our audit practice but our clients love it too because it makes it easier for them to complete their side of the audit process,” he added.

In the near future, Maloney + Novotny plans to use the Ostendio platform to help prepare customers for HITRUST audits. “There are so many controls that I think it will help my clients organize the documentation to be ready for their HITRUST audit.” Overall, Dresch says using Ostendio “has changed my audit landscape.”

“Ostendio is the only product I found that has the client and the auditor in mind. It has a clear dashboard for clients so they can see their audit progress and understand why we are requesting certain documents. For auditors, it helps arrange policies and evidence to match each framework.”

Dale Dresch, Shareholder, Maloney + Novotny

About Maloney + Novotny

Maloney + Novotny is a large, full-service accounting firm that has been serving regional customers for over 90 years. They provide attest, tax, and advisory services through a long-term relationship built on trust and service. The Auditor firm is a member of a worldwide network of independent accountants, business advisors, and consultants.

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