Simplify Your Audits With Asset Audit Software

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Benefits of Auditing with Asset Audit Software

Every year, asset management becomes more complicated for all types of businesses, for all types of reasons. Compliance needs and regulatory requirements increase, the number of assets companies manage grows exponentially, and businesses with their reach extended into various markets find themselves managing a diverse range of unique assets.

So, what does that mean when it comes to preparing for internal auditing?

When it comes to auditing your company’s assets either for compliance purposes or to help prepare internal financial statements, a powerful asset audit software can be an indispensable resource. Asset Panda, for example, not only serves as a go-to asset management software solution but can also help serve as your trusted asset audit software when required, acting as an essential resource that helps the process go as smoothly and as accurately as possible.

What is an Asset Audit?

Asset auditing is the process of physically verifying your company’s physical and/or digital assets and aligning the findings with your company’s list of assets— usually stored in your asset management system of choice. The most basic, high-level purpose of an asset audit is to verify that assets listed on your business’ documents do in fact exist, and that those documents aren’t missing any assets that should be listed.

Obviously asset audits offer important value when it comes to financial statements and regulatory compliance. Companies are required to keep detailed records of their assets and their value, particularly when it comes to tax time.

But auditing assets also comes with other important benefits, particularly when it comes to using a robust asset audit software such as Asset Panda.

Benefits of Auditing with Asset Audit Software

Auditing with asset management software that’s capable of providing specific auditing-related benefits can be a huge resource for companies of all sizes. Not only does it make the auditing process more straightforward and— most importantly— accurate, it can also give businesses a more complete picture of their asset ‘health’— including performance, cost efficiency, utilization, life cycle, potential for fraud, asset growth, and much more.

Here are some details about the most significant benefits of auditing with asset audit software such as Asset Panda.

Reduce Need for In-Person Verification

One of the most powerful benefits of asset audit software that’s cloud-enabled and available on mobile devices is that it means you can distribute physical audits to multiple people in order to verify assets without increasing the need for travel. This is especially helpful for companies with assets stored in multiple locations. With cloud-based asset management software, assets can be verified using mobile devices and synced over the cloud. This automated process also means fewer chances for incorrect inputs, inaccurate records, or disorganized or incomplete information on asset location and other info.

Overall, reducing the need to have specific people physically travel to assets to verify them in-person can save countless hours and wasted employee effort during an audit and in the day-to-day operations of an organization.

Generate Custom Reports

Asset management software that’s empowered with audit capabilities allows for fast and custom generation of reports about your assets. In fact, once the employee or team dedicated to your asset audit verifies your asset listings with their actual existence at your organization, Asset Panda can automatically generate an audit report that’s accurate and clear, able to be exported in whatever format you need.

This is just another way that auditing with asset management software helps make your audit easier, faster, and more accurate every step of the way.

Evaluate Your Performance

One of the best ways to determine how your company is performing when it comes to the usage and existence of assets is by comparing new reports with previous reports after audits. However, that comparison is only helpful if the reports you’re comparing are accurate and clear.

Asset management platforms such as Asset Panda help make comparing asset performance from one period to another easy, providing visibility into the history of your inventory and helping you determine whether your assets are being used more efficiently or whether waste has begun creeping into your organization. In this case, you may decide to make changes to your operational policies when it comes to the use and management of your assets.

Increase Cost Efficiency

Every asset is an investment, and asset audit software helps you determine whether you’re using your investments to actually earn your company profits— rather than acting as a drain on your bottom line.

Asset audits can help associate specific costs with specific assets, which in turn empowers decision-makers to identify which assets are under-performing based on the cost to maintain, operate, and store them. If certain assets are generating more costs than improvements to your company’s efficiency and ability to generate profit, it may be time to retire or sell those assets. These kinds of decisions are made simpler with the help of asset management software during an audit.

Manage the Life Cycle and Utilization of Assets

Asset audits powered by asset management software also provide transparency when it comes to where assets stand in terms of their life cycle and overall utilization. On a basic spreadsheet, an asset may simply exist as a name of some item of equipment and its estimated value. But an asset management solution and audit can provide info such as how much usage it’s getting, how long it’s been in operation, how often it's been maintained, and an estimate about how much life it has left before it will need to be retired. Information like this helps your business make proactive decisions and projections about the future of your assets, rather than being blindsided by unexpected costs when an aged asset suddenly stops working without warning and must be replaced, leading to unexpected costs and potential downtime.

Avoid Fraud Risk

One of the most important aspects of any audit is the ability to catch and prevent fraud. When every asset is properly accounted for, it reduces the risk of fraud passing under the radar. Fraudulent activity thrives in disorganization and lack of accountability, and a software management system provides clarity, visibility, and accountability when it comes to the usage and storage of your assets— as well as their physical existence in your company’s facilities. The better you can ‘see’ your assets, the more difficult it is to hide fraudulent activity.

Stay Compliant

More generally, asset audit software helps your company stay compliant. Fines and fees associated with compliance failures can be backbreaking for companies, even those that simply made a mistake rather than acted maliciously in an attempt to conceal their assets. Not to mention that non-compliance investigations and claims can derail your ability to focus on growing your business.

The more thorough and organized your internal audits, the better protection you'll have to reduce the risk of compliance failures.

Compare Actual Growth vs. Expected Growth

Audits aren’t just a time for assessing your current status, they’re also an opportunity to see how your performance compares to past projections and make new projections about the next financial period or other goals. When you have an accurate picture of your company assets, you can make more accurate predictions and stay focused on what matters most to your business— growth and progress at a sustainable and financially healthy rate.

Flag Assets Based on Status

Asset audit software allows you to identify specific assets that need to be flagged for future action based on their status. This applies to cases where assets are in-transit from one location to another or are missing altogether.

Asset management software such as Asset Panda allows specific physical assets to be marked based on whether their location is known/confirmed, in transition, or lost. Then these flagged assets can be assigned to relevant parties to either track them down or ensure they arrive at their expected destination.

Assess Insurance Coverage

One relatively unsung benefit of clear asset management is the ability to save on insurance premiums. When you accurately audit your assets, you may be able to avoid overpaying insurance premiums for assets that you don’t actually have at your facility. This is a great way to reduce costs at your company without reducing capability by any measure.

Conversely, you may discover that you have more assets than you’re insured for— which could leave you open to financial liability if you submit a claim and find it doesn’t cover all of your assets.

Provide More Detailed Information About Each Asset

Asset audits allow you to go beyond basic details about your assets and provide critical information that empowers your employees and your business to be more informed about their status. This may include location history, usage history, condition, maintenance record, problems or repair needs for the asset, returns, disposals, general notes left by management or the most recent user of a given asset.

Connect Meta-Data to Assets

Asset management software like Asset Panda allows you to attach additional files and meta-data to asset records that provide context or expound on details listed in the previous section. These include files, photos, communications, purchase orders, and more that can be linked directly to relevant asset records.

Conclusion

Are you ready to get a demo and discover how Asset Panda can become an essential tool for not only audits but the ongoing management of all your company’s assets? Whether you’re a small or large organization, Asset Panda is the most configurable asset management solution that lets you create a workflow that makes sense for your unique needs.

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