ACL's Fall 2016 Release Ushers in the "Era of Open Data" for Risk Management, Compliance and Audit

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ACL

Sep 20, 2016, 09:00 ET

Latest Updates Integrate Big Data Ecosystems to Discover Risk, Quantify Uncertainty, Predict Performance and Deliver Assurance

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Sept. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- ACL Connections — ACL , a software provider helping governments and the world's biggest public and private companies stamp out fraud, operational waste and unethical business, today announced its Fall 2016 product release, introducing a revolutionary new "Open Data" architecture. Risk management, compliance, audit and related professionals can now look beyond the traditional scope of financial and IT applications data analysis to broadly integrate the most prolific data acquisition, analysis and reporting platforms. The result is a data-centric capability to understand organizational behavior, allowing these professionals to more effectively identify, quantify and predict areas of risk.

"For many years we've led the world's top brands to unmatched discoveries of fraud, waste and abuse through proprietary data analytic capabilities. Now, by using ACL's platform to independently blend and harmonize those same capabilities with those of tools like R, Python, SQL, Hadoop and Tableau, we've created an 'Open Data' environment that is exceptionally powerful while laser-focused on risk management problems," said Dan Zitting, chief product officer at ACL. "A recent survey found the majority of senior risk management professionals doubt their team's ability to strategically impact and influence their organizations.1 By combining big data with a platform that's built to illuminate risk, we're building organizations' confidence in their ability to successfully navigate turbulent environments."

ACL's risk management, compliance and audit platform is differentiated on its ability to use data analytics to drive assessments and decisions. Fall 2016 enhancements, which mark ACL's biggest release ever, target this data-driven capability and include:

  • New "Open Data" Analytic Architecture:
    • 15 new direct data connectors to common data sources, including traditional databases (Oracle, SQL Server, etc.), big data storage systems (Teradata, Hadoop, Apache Spark, etc.), cloud big data (Amazon Redshift, Google BigQuery, etc.) and cloud applications (Salesforce).
    • R & Python integration to extend ACL data analysis for statistical and predictive use, connecting users to toolsets commonly used by data scientists for data mining, prototyping, statistical modelling, predictive analytics, regression models and more.
  • Improved Communication of Analytic Results:
    • Enhanced visualization and storyboards including heatmaps, crosstabs, KPIs and KRIs to communicate effectively through giving data meaningful context.
    • Open data Reporting Connector for non-ACL BI and visualization tools, to connect any reporting or visualization tool to ACL for unlimited reporting and visualizations. Now also fully certified for Tableau.
  • New Content to Support GRC Use Cases:
    • New analytics inspirations in ACL Inspirations, an interactive library of analytic ideas built from decades of experience. New resources were added to help organizations in any industry in the battle against fraud, waste and abuse.
    • ACL Essentials, a new suite of pre-built, premium analysis apps to jumpstart the previously difficult task of uncovering leaks in critical business processes running on ERP systems, is now available.
  • New, Reimagined Community and Continuous Learning:

The updated, data-driven engine in the ACL platform makes it easier for teams to access more data, boost analysis with the power of statistical and predictive analytics, and communicate results through unlimited options for data visualization and reporting.

"While many software products allow you to simply crunch data, ACL's analytics and its integrated product suite are uniquely positioned to enable superior analysis of transactional and control activities as an automated program.  Whether it be for a comprehensive Continuous Controls Monitoring (CCM) program or for conducting detailed audit program tests as part of the audit plan, the capabilities of ACL with its advanced analysis of patterns to evaluate risk, and its native flexibility is an essential tool for any audit or risk professional.  Expanding the data systems we can directly interact with in ACL opens up vast new possibilities in strategic risk management and control evaluation," said Jason A. Gross, vice president of controls management at Siemens Financial Services, Inc. "We're also excited about ACL's new reporting tool integration and Tableau certification, so we can feed our results analyses into any data visualization tool to better understand and communicate risk, controls and performance."

To learn more about ACL's data-driven GRC platform and best practices resources, visit www.acl.com/products.

1 "Chief Audit Executives cite skill gaps and lack of impact and influence as key concerns according to new Deloitte research report." Deloitte. 18 July 2016. https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/cae-survey-press-release.html

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About ACL
ACL delivers software solutions that are transforming audit, compliance, and risk management to give organizations unprecedented control over their business. www.acl.com

© 2016 ACL Services Ltd. ACL and the ACL logo are registered trademarks of ACL Services Ltd. All other company and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

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