ACUA Poll: Remote Work, Data Analytics and AuditCon

Publication Date: May 24, 2023

Last month the ACUA Journal launched a poll on ACUA Connect to get input from members on a variety of topics so that trends could be shared with the membership. This article summarizes remote work, data analytics, and AuditCon interest. Information on hot audit topics is shared in a separate article in this issue. There were 64 responses from small, medium, and large shops.

Chart of survey respondents' audit shop size

Remote Work

Since the pandemic, only 27% of respondents are working in the office every day. The number of hybrid workers make up the majority at 51%, while 22% primarily work from home full time.

Pie chart showing primary working arrangements of survey respondents.

For those on a hybrid schedule, 60% come to the office on a set pattern each week. The remainder can be flexible on which days they come in the office, with 22% stating they need to come in for a set number of days.

Pie chart showing hybrid schedules of survey respondents.

Data Analytics Software

Auditors are encouraged to incorporate data analytics into their engagements to identify patterns, detect outliers, test entire populations, identify duplicates, and understand the data better. There were 27 respondents who said they used data analytics software outside of Excel, some using multiple products. The most popular software was nearly evenly distributed between ACL, IDEA, PowerBI, Tableau, and IBM Cognos. Some schools were using TeamMate Analytics, and others used Alteryx and ActiveData plugins.

Pie chart showing data analytics software used by survey respondents.

AuditCon Attendance

This year’s AuditCon will be held in sunny Miami from September 24-28. The ACUA Journal asked the 64 respondents whether they plan to attend. While most were unsure at this time, 15 said yes to in person and 3 plan to attend virtually. We hope to see you there.

Chart showing responses about attending AuditCon in Fall 2023.

About the Author

Kara Hefner

Kara L. Hefner, CPA, CIA, CFE is an Audit Manager at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she has worked for the past five years. She has 19 additional years of internal auditing experience in university health care, Fortune 500 public utilities, and student loan guarantors after beginning her career in public accounting. She is the current Editor of ACUA’s College and University Auditor Journal, a member of the ACUA Auditing & Accounting Principles (AAP) sub-committee, and is a frequent presenter at ACUA conferences.