February 2012

ParenteBeard expands system implementation auditing and assessment services

Many organizations have undergone information system implementations that experienced one or several of the following problems:

• cost overruns
• missed deadlines
• not delivering the functionality envisioned or approved
• lack of proper controls
• inadequate security
• lack of automation

ParenteBeard is pleased to announce the expansion of the services we perform surrounding system implementation audits and assessments to help our clients avoid these pitfalls. We have been adding resources and have grown the depth and strength of the services we can provide clients to help assess the health of their system implementations. 

System implementation assessments have been useful to our clients in a variety of scenarios including new software or significant upgrades of software packages such as:

• general ledger or enterprise resource planning (ERP) software
• customer relationship management systems (CRM)
• business process automation applications
• implementation of industry specific applications (electronic medical records, claims processing, loan and deposit systems, etc.)

Often the best time to perform a system implementation assessment is prior to the system going live. We recommend defining milestones at which various aspects of the assessment should be performed over the implementation and formally reported. Generally, issues that are identified early in an implementation can be more efficiently and effectively corrected. Also, issues can be escalated more quickly to executive management, allowing management to make more informed decisions about the future direction of the project. Decisions can be made before it’s too late and costly to make changes.

There is also value to performing an assessment after a system goes live, especially when there are still concerns about the implementation.  After new systems go live, there is often a need to assess how well controls have been implemented and whether the system is functioning as it was intended. Often we are able to identify areas where additional functionality or changes to controls should be considered.

Some of the areas in which we have the ability to help organizations assess the health of their system implementations include evaluating the adequacy and reasonableness of:

• project timelines and budgets
• communications processes to identify and elevate issues and project status
• requirements definitions
• expected vs. actual benefits (cost savings, speed, quality, etc.)
• extent to which available system functions and features replace manual work
• internal controls
• plans for data conversion, system and user acceptance testing
• the go-live decision making process
• system and application security configurations
• transaction security and the assignment of access rights
• training programs for staff, supervisors and technology professionals

These services can be scaled to provide value to almost any system implementation. If you would like more information about how ParenteBeard can help, please contact one of our following team members:

Jeff Krull
Partner
215.557.2223
Jeff.Krull@ParenteBeard.com

Chad Schieken
Senior Manager
215.972.2326
Chad.Schieken@ParenteBeard.com

Mike McAllister
Senior Manager
610.927.4911 x11160
Michael.McAllister@ParenteBeard.com