Risk Management: AuditBoard and Deloitte Partner to Modernize Internal Controls at Companies in Germany

This partnership builds on a collaboration between the two experts that has been well underway since 2021. AuditBoard, with a presence in more than 30 countries around the world, has established itself as a leading player inthe intelligent automation of audit processes. Deloitte, for its part, has more than 450,000 employees in 150 countries. The firm, founded in 1845, is contributing its specialized expertise to the rollout of AuditBoard in Germany.

The partnership has reached a new milestone with the launch of a Deloitte Center of Excellence in Germany, designed to support the rollout of AuditBoard throughout the country. This center will bring together a certified team trained to provide clients with training, resources, and strategic advice tailored to the specific challenges of the German market.

The German Market: An Economic Giant That Remains Very Traditional

Germany has the largest audit and consulting market in Europe, worth several billion euros and showing steady annual growth. Yet the country faces a paradox: while its manufacturing industries are at the cutting edge of technology, internal risk management there often remains rudimentary.

When comparing Germany to the rest of Europe, the room for growth in digital adoption is striking:

• In Germany: According to a recent survey of 232 internal audit managers, 66% of companies still manage their planning manually, and two-thirds produce reports without full automation.
• In the United Kingdom and the Nordic countries: More than 60% of large organizations have already moved away from traditional spreadsheets in favor of connected software to continuously monitor their risks.

These manual processes cost German teams valuable time and energy. They hinder organizations’ ability to respond agilely to emerging risks (such as cyberattacks or supply chain disruptions) and limit the accuracy of the analyses provided to management.

Strict local laws that require a customized solution

The reason local adaptation is so important is that Germany has unique and particularly stringent legal requirements regarding corporate governance.

The introduction of recent laws on financial market integrity (notably the FISG Act) now requires the executive boards of companies of a certain size to implement an indisputable risk monitoring system. In Germany, executives can be held personally liable in the event of a failure of control systems. Deloitte’s Center of Excellence therefore enables the AuditBoard software to be configured to fully comply with the specific requirements of German regulations.

Artificial Intelligence Supporting Field Teams

By leveraging the synergy between Deloitte’s industry expertise and AuditBoard’s technological capabilities, the two companies aim to accelerate the digital transformation of the country’s audit and compliance functions using AuditBoard AI technology.

This artificial intelligence frees teams from time-consuming manual tasks so they can focus on higher-value issues. A technological breakthrough hailed by major industrial groups:

“Thanks to this platform, we’ve been able to modernize our entire control environment. Automation gives us a clear and immediate view of our processes, which was impossible with our old manual tools.” — Andrew van Lelyveld, Senior IT Manager at ArcelorMittal.

Other executives from Mittelstand companies (the powerful network of large German SMEs) point out that adopting AuditBoard has cut the time needed to prepare compliance reports for the supervisory board in half, while ensuring that the data is reliable and up-to-date.

Outlook: Focus on the DACH Region (Austria and Switzerland)

The success of this model in Germany paves the way for rapid expansion into other countries in the "DACH" region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). Switzerland, with its highly demanding financial sector, and Austria, whose industrial landscape closely resembles that of its German neighbor, share the same needs for transparency and modernization. AuditBoard and Deloitte plan to extend the capabilities of their Center of Excellence to these two neighboring countries in the coming months.