Prepare and Defend Against a Software Audit
A mishandled audit can result in financial consequences far more severe than a slap on the wrist.
- Audit defense starts long before you get audited. Negotiating your vendors’ audit rights and maintaining a documented consolidated licensing position ensure that you are not blindsided by a sudden audit request.
- Notification of an impending audit can cause panic. Don't panic. While the notification will be full of strong language, your best chance of success is to take control of the situation. Prepare a measured response that buys you enough time to get your house in order before you let the vendor in.
- If a free software asset review sounds too good to be true, then it probably is. If a vendor or one of its partners offers up a free software asset management engagement, they aren’t doing so out of the goodness of their heart — they expect to recoup their costs (and then some) from identified license discrepancies.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
- The amount of business disruption depends on the scope of the audit, and the size and complexity of the organization coupled with the contractual audit clause in the contract.
- These highly visible failures can be prevented through effective software asset management practices.
- As complexity of licensing increases, so do penalties. If the environment is highly complex, prioritize effort by likelihood of audit and spend.
- Ensure electronic records exist for license documentation to provide fast access for audit and information requests
- Verify accuracy of discovered data. Ensure all devices on the network are being audited. Without a complete discovery process, data will always be inaccurate.
Impact and Result
- Being able to respond quickly with accurate data is critical. When deadlines are tight, and internal resources don’t exist, hire a third party as their experience will allow a faster response.
- Negotiate terms of the audit such as deadlines, proof of license entitlement, and who will complete the audit.
- Create a methodology to quickly and efficiently respond to audit requests.
- Conduct annual internal audits.
- Have a designated cross-functional IT audit team.
- Prepare documentation in advance.
- Manage audit logistics to minimize business disruption.
- Dispute unwarranted findings.
Member Testimonials
After each Info-Tech experience, we ask our members to quantify the real-time savings, monetary impact, and project improvements our research helped them achieve. See our top member experiences for this blueprint and what our clients have to say.
10.0/10
Overall Impact
$32,499
Average $ Saved
5
Average Days Saved
Client
Experience
Impact
$ Saved
Days Saved
Chief Industries, Inc.
Guided Implementation
10/10
$32,499
5
This conversation was very beneficial. We learned some things that we expect will save us some stress as well as financially. Excited to have ano... Read More
Kingston Technology Corporation
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
6
The information provided and what the expectation could be. Background information and overall process was most helpful.
Pacific Dental Services
Guided Implementation
10/10
N/A
N/A
Novexco
Guided Implementation
9/10
$9,000
2
Aadil was great to deal with and very knowledgeable on the subject - Excellent experience overall.
Workshop: Prepare and Defend Against a Software Audit
Workshops offer an easy way to accelerate your project. If you are unable to do the project yourself, and a Guided Implementation isn't enough, we offer low-cost delivery of our project workshops. We take you through every phase of your project and ensure that you have a roadmap in place to complete your project successfully.
Module 1: Prevent an Audit
The Purpose
- Kick off the project
- Identify challenges and red flags
- Determine maturity and outline internal audit
- Clarify stakeholder responsibilities
- Build and structure audit team
Key Benefits Achieved
- Leverage value from your audit management program
- Begin your proactive audit management journey
- A documented consolidated licensing position, which ensures that you are not blindsided by a sudden audit request
Activities
Outputs
Perform a maturity assessment of the current environment
- Maturity assessment
Classify licensing contracts/vendors
Conduct a software inventory
Meter application usage
Manual checks
Gather software licensing data
Reconcile licenses
- Effective license position/license reconciliation
Create your audit team and assign accountability
- Audit team RACI chart
Module 2: Prepare for an Audit
The Purpose
- Create a strategy for audit response
- Know the types of requests
- Scope the engagement
- Understand scheduling challenges
- Know roles and responsibilities
- Understand common audit pitfalls
- Define audit goals
Key Benefits Achieved
- Take control of the situation and prepare a measured response
- A dedicated team responsible for all audit-related activities
- A formalized audit plan containing team responsibilities and audit conduct policies
Activities
Outputs
Use Info-Tech’s readiness assessment template
- Readiness assessment
Define the scope of the audit
- Audit scoping email template
Module 3: Conduct the Audit
The Purpose
- Overview of process conducted
- Kick-off and self-assessment
- Identify documentation requirements
- Prepare required documentation
- Data validation process
- Provide resources to enable the auditor
- Tailor audit management to vendor compliance position
- Enforce best-practice audit behaviors
Key Benefits Achieved
- A successful audit with minimal impact on IT resources
- Reduced severity of audit findings
Activities
Outputs
Communicate audit commencement to staff
- Audit launch email template
Module 4: Manage Post-Audit Activities
The Purpose
- Clarify auditor findings and recommendations
- Access severity of audit findings
- Develop a plan for refuting unwarranted findings
- Disclose findings to management
- Analyze opportunities for remediation
- Provide remediation options and present potential solutions
Key Benefits Achieved
- Ensure your audit was productive and beneficial
- Improve your ability to manage audits
- Come to a consensus on which findings truly necessitate organizational change
Activities
Outputs
Don't accept the penalties; negotiate with vendors
Close the audit and assess the financial impact
- A consensus on which findings truly necessitate organizational change
About Info-Tech
Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.
We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.
What Is a Blueprint?
A blueprint is designed to be a roadmap, containing a methodology and the tools and templates you need to solve your IT problems.
Each blueprint can be accompanied by a Guided Implementation that provides you access to our world-class analysts to help you get through the project.
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Guided Implementation 1: Prevent an audit
- Call 1: Red flags leading to increased odds of an audit
- Call 2: Maturity assessment and conducting an internal audit
- Call 3: Structuring and preparing an audit team
Guided Implementation 2: Prepare for an audit
- Call 1: Steps to take upon notification
- Call 2: Examine the various engagement requests from self-audit to formal
- Call 3: Defining the scope and how to respond
Guided Implementation 3: Conduct the audit
- Call 1: Overview of processes conducted
- Call 2: Kick off and discuss the confirmed audit scope
- Call 3: Prioritize business continuity
- Call 4: Working with auditor personality types
Guided Implementation 4: Manage post-audit activities
- Call 1: Discuss the results of the audit
- Call 2: Discuss the validity of the findings
- Call 3: Negotiation terms and close out
Contributors
- Filip Lauwereys, ASIST
- Richard Spithoven, B.Lay
- Max Ablimit, Tarim Consulting, LLC
- Eric Chiu, HW Fisher & Company
- Three anonymous company contributors
Prepare and Defend Against a Software Audit
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