Remote Auditing Becomes the New Normal

These are strange times. Highways are empty, city centers are deserted, and the songs of birds are audible again because air traffic has nearly disappeared. While the physical world takes a break, the digital world is busier than ever.

Onsite auditing has been the default since the dawn of credit unions, and it worked well until the digital age came into its own. Then, the time and cost considerations of on-site auditing were often dismissed because of tradition and the fear of change. But little by little, more credit unions took advantage of the technologies in document management and automated auditing. That slow row to digitalization has changed.

Now, remote meetings, remote collaboration tools, and remote business continuity requirements are consequences of our new "temporary" normal and the Rubicon to the new era of productivity once the pandemic has gone the way of the cassette tape. The speed of digital transformation has been accelerated, and ground-to-virtual conditions have permanently elevated the need for digitalized auditing, reporting, and recordkeeping.

True, while remote work can be more efficient, it can pose unique challenges. For example, workers must juggle childcare, inefficient access to the full range of company resources, and unstructured work time. But with almost every credit union employee now working remotely, the benefits of remote auditing are obvious:

• Reduced cost of audits
• Reduced travel expenses and risks
• Reduced time onsite
• Increased efficiency
• Increased access to records
• Increased peace of mind

But that’s only the beginning. Implementing remote auditing enables a flexible solution for the new virtual credit union worker. Auditors can be reached easily through teleconferences and other team-work technologies. If you know your audit is coming up, you have the flexibility to gather the information we request and upload it to our secure portal at your convenience, perhaps over 4-6 weeks in advance of the scheduled date.

"Credit Union Resources' remote auditing platform allows credit unions to audit from any location—even multiple locations simultaneously," said Credit Union Resources Vice President Chad Stanislav. "This flexibility benefits credit unions from the start of the audit through expeditious completion and cost savings, such as fewer credit union personnel hours, fewer travel costs, and less usage of space."

Yes, the highways will be bumper-to-bumper again, city centers will fill with life, and airplanes will crowd the sky. But there’s no reason to believe auditing will completely return to the old ways. Remote auditing complements the new era of virtual productivity. One day we'll look back on this transformation and wonder why it took so long.