Achieving efficiency with Alteryx

Our audit team was looking for a solution in a situation where general ledger volumes were growing, determining the audit scope required increasingly extensive analysis, and manual work in Excel had become unstable and time-consuming. Implementing Alteryx was not about innovation for its own sake, but about addressing very specific needs: increasing efficiency, reducing manual work, and making recurring procedures more transparent and less prone to errors.

Where we use Alteryx the most

1. General ledger entry testing

This is our primary area of use. Alteryx enables us to analyse large general ledger extracts, identify unusual entries (such as round-sum entries, night-time postings and large manual entries), compare periods and structure data for further audit procedures. When working with large datasets, this provides a clear efficiency advantage – Excel is simply not able to operate as smoothly.

2. Scoping

When preparing audit scoping, we combine different data files, filter accounts and processes, and quickly create overviews of the general ledger structure and changes in volumes. Alteryx’s visual workflow helps to standardise the process and significantly improves efficiency, as every step is saved and traceable.

We also use Alteryx elsewhere

Although general ledger analysis and scoping are the most common use cases, our use of Alteryx goes beyond these areas.

Our team also uses Alteryx for:

• analysis of sales and purchasing processes (duplicate invoices, anomalies, payment schedules),
• payroll analysis (duplicate payments, exceptions),
• analysis of expenses and expense reimbursements,
• creating samples – both random and risk-based,
• cleaning and standardising data files prior to further testing.

These processes recur from project to project, and Alteryx has helped make them significantly more efficient.

What has really changed?

• Time – once a workflow has been created and can be reused, it delivers a noticeable efficiency gain in recurring procedures.
• Transparency – every step is visually traceable, which simplifies reviews and improves overall quality.
• Stability – large data volumes no longer cause issues.
• Fewer errors – standardised workflows reduce the risk of mistakes arising from manual data entry.

Alteryx is not a miracle tool for us, but in specific analyses – particularly those involving large datasets and recurring audit procedures – it has significantly improved our efficiency and allowed us to focus on what truly creates value in an audit.