If you use an automated audit workpaper software, how do your examiners access your audit workpapers for review? Do you give them access to the system (read only)?

Most such software allows you to dump a specific audit on disk for viewing. I doubt that many banks allow un-vetted access to an audit work paper system as you usually only want the regulators to have access to only the specific information that they request. Although, they maintain the authority to get unlimited access to bank records.

Exactly! We had concerns about allowing unlimited access. Currently in process of researching different software solutions. I will make sure I ask if it allows dumping a specific audit to disk. Thanks for the info.

From time to time some IT policies do not allow for this. Ensure that your policy will enable you to copy to removable storage and update if necessary. At a prior we needed to change our policy so we could give CD's to our regulator.

As Randy said, they know they can access it all, and we know they can access it all, but......

I start by sending them the pdf copies of reports, workpapers, etc. When they questioned our WP storage etc, I sent them a screenshot of the system with procedures and logged papers. That gave them a sense of what we do and how we get it done. We have a standing username for them (and external auditors and audit committee members and other read-only types) and I will allow that username access to specific audits as needed. The one time this came up, they accessed my audit system on a network PC for guest use. All driven by our IT guy of course.

Thanks for all the valuable information.