Version 3.0 of SOXA Accelerator offers updated user interface, increased flexibility
Vienna, VA March 3, 2005 HandySoft Global this week released the latest version of its solution for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, with an updated user interface and increased flexibility in its assessment software tool for internal controls.
Version 3.0 of HandySoft's Sarbanes-Oxley Accelerator (SOXA) was designed to help companies lower costs and standardize their approach to sustained SOX compliance for financial controls as well as for broader assessment of controls over operations and IT, HandySoft said.
The provider said that it has built SOXA Accelerator 3.0 on a business process management (BPM) framework, with compliance embedded inside business processes to ensure controls are performed consistently, helping to lower the ongoing costs of both testing and remediation activities.
New features in version 3.0 focus on improved flexibility. The solution provides user assistance features aimed at eliminating the need for extensive training of the growing number of people becoming involved in corporate compliance efforts. For example, a "Smart Help" feature recognizes who a user is and what his or her role is in the company's compliance efforts. Based on the user's role, the solution provides direction on what next steps to take and how to take those steps.
Color-coded information and status bars provide for visual prioritization and help track compliance projects and activities, while "mouse-over-tool tips" provide added user support for those not familiar with product features.
In addition, the solution offers flexible administration through on/off toggle switches, allowing for configurable customization of compliance workflow, enabling various fields and functional options to be toggled on and off with the click of the mouse, eliminating reprogramming from the customization process.
The solution also includes the latest regulatory updates from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the private-sector, nonprofit corporation created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to oversee the auditors of public companies in order to protect the interests of investors. The updates ensure that SOXA Accelerator users can structure their compliance efforts using any of the accepted methodologies (COSO, COBIT, Auditor Specific), HandySoft said.
Finally, the solution offers linked controls to financial statement line items and account balance histories, offering easier, immediate access to key information within hundreds of financial accounts and enabling companies to prioritize the establishment of key financial controls and determine the significance of any deficiencies identified.
"Most of the high risk associated with Sarbanes-Oxley relates to the challenges stemming from the management of the human touch points of the compliance process," said Stuart Claggett, chief operating officer of HandySoft. "By offering our customers a tool developed on an enterprise class BPM platform, in the longer term our SOXA Accelerator clients can benefit from active control remediation ensuring consistent performance of controls while lowering ongoing costs and improving business process efficiencies."
Additional Articles of Interest
For more information on Sarbanes-Oxley, read Parts 1 and 2 of the recent SDCExec.com series on Contract Management: Five Myths of Contract Management, and Contract Management: Improving Corporate Governance.
Other recent SDCExec.com articles on Sarbanes-Oxley:
Vienna, VA March 3, 2005 HandySoft Global this week released the latest version of its solution for Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, with an updated user interface and increased flexibility in its assessment software tool for internal controls.
Version 3.0 of HandySoft's Sarbanes-Oxley Accelerator (SOXA) was designed to help companies lower costs and standardize their approach to sustained SOX compliance for financial controls as well as for broader assessment of controls over operations and IT, HandySoft said.
The provider said that it has built SOXA Accelerator 3.0 on a business process management (BPM) framework, with compliance embedded inside business processes to ensure controls are performed consistently, helping to lower the ongoing costs of both testing and remediation activities.
New features in version 3.0 focus on improved flexibility. The solution provides user assistance features aimed at eliminating the need for extensive training of the growing number of people becoming involved in corporate compliance efforts. For example, a "Smart Help" feature recognizes who a user is and what his or her role is in the company's compliance efforts. Based on the user's role, the solution provides direction on what next steps to take and how to take those steps.
Color-coded information and status bars provide for visual prioritization and help track compliance projects and activities, while "mouse-over-tool tips" provide added user support for those not familiar with product features.
In addition, the solution offers flexible administration through on/off toggle switches, allowing for configurable customization of compliance workflow, enabling various fields and functional options to be toggled on and off with the click of the mouse, eliminating reprogramming from the customization process.
The solution also includes the latest regulatory updates from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the private-sector, nonprofit corporation created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to oversee the auditors of public companies in order to protect the interests of investors. The updates ensure that SOXA Accelerator users can structure their compliance efforts using any of the accepted methodologies (COSO, COBIT, Auditor Specific), HandySoft said.
Finally, the solution offers linked controls to financial statement line items and account balance histories, offering easier, immediate access to key information within hundreds of financial accounts and enabling companies to prioritize the establishment of key financial controls and determine the significance of any deficiencies identified.
"Most of the high risk associated with Sarbanes-Oxley relates to the challenges stemming from the management of the human touch points of the compliance process," said Stuart Claggett, chief operating officer of HandySoft. "By offering our customers a tool developed on an enterprise class BPM platform, in the longer term our SOXA Accelerator clients can benefit from active control remediation ensuring consistent performance of controls while lowering ongoing costs and improving business process efficiencies."
Additional Articles of Interest
For more information on Sarbanes-Oxley, read Parts 1 and 2 of the recent SDCExec.com series on Contract Management: Five Myths of Contract Management, and Contract Management: Improving Corporate Governance.
Other recent SDCExec.com articles on Sarbanes-Oxley:
- Synchronize to Survive
- Sarbanes-Oxley: The Next Y2K?
- Survey Reveals New Findings on Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance
- Most Companies Working on Sarbanes-Oxley
- Survey: Most Companies Have Not Budgeted for Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance
