Merlin Properties Transforms & Automates Internal Auditing with Alteryx

The main purpose of the project is the Digital Transformation and Automation of the Internal Audit Department. It also seeks to incorporate innovation with clear, easy-to-understand results.

To address this project, Merlin Properties started out with 3 key objectives. First, to have greater control over the data to identify internal errors and issues. Second, to reduce costs by accessing all data at a cheaper cost. And third, to prevent fraud.

The management of this ambitious project was made possible thanks to Alteryx’s collaboration with PwC Spain. They took charge of consulting and implementation of the tech side of the solution.

With this type of project, the traditional approach is based on very shallow business knowledge, which can be very expensive – it’s all analysis. There’s a third pillar, too, and that’s the broadest, most basic and hardest to crack – the one that deals with data management. By tackling this project, Alteryx switched up the focus, giving greater relevance to the Business. Alteryx looked for a tool that could be used by the business side of the Company, a platform that any business user could take advantage of. With this approach in mind, the goal was to democratize data analysis and management.

Based on the key objective, which consists of the transformation of the Internal Audit Directorate, Merlin Properties set out other objectives. These included the digitization and automation of key processes within their Internal Audit, the definition of dynamic scorecards on key processes and creating scorecards to track the status of Internal Audit work. All this had to be done semi-automatically, a process that would run without the need for external intervention. To do this, beyond incorporating the most appropriate technology, Alteryx put a lot of work into training the Merlin Properties team, making them all individual participants and leaders of the transformation.

Other global objectives were included in the project. These were to democratize data analytics techniques, to reduce costs and maximize all available resources, to automate recurring tasks and focus instead on higher value ones, integrating internal and external data sources to achieve better value in terms of its analysis, and others including the generation of adaptable and modulable reviews according to the client in question and generating impact for the Company’s Stakeholders.

The Merlin Properties transformation process includes the following key processes: Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Accounting, HR, CAPEX, OPEX, Invoicing, SCIIF Scoping Matrix, Risk and Credit Risk Mapping.

Based on the transactional information available in SAP, which was the system being employed, Alteryx identified the data tables and designed a database of its own, as well as managing data flows. The project team then conducted a Data Quality Audit, correcting the errors identified to ensure reliable use of the information. Once the database and flows were established and the quality of the information had been analyzed, the design of the information visualization was tested. This optimized the relational models and the first scorecards were published. The next step was to train the company’s Internal Audit Staff to learn how to use the tools.

Through the Transformation Process, Merlin Properties has automated processes and reports, significantly reducing the use of resources. At the same time, it removed errors produced by human interaction and manual processes, boosting efficiency. Consolidating data and reports across the company eradicates duplication and inefficiency across the board, freeing up Internal Audit resources for other tasks. Now that the Merlin Properties Team has incorporated and onboarded leading data analytics and BI tools (Alteryx and Power BI), they have greater confidence in decision making based on the usual criteria, data and methodologies.

Another benefit of the transformation carried out by Merlin Properties is that it allows the monitoring and control of the company in near real-time. This grants users the ability to analyze different concepts, ranging from the performance of an entire Division to the correct execution of a bookkeeping entry. This is vital, because there’s no need to wait for Quarterly Reports – you can get valuable reports at any time.