In our Spotlight on Success series, Liz Evans (Chief Audit Executive, Gulf Coast Bank and Trust), Adam Pajakowski (Partner, Principal, Crowe) and Ryan Crooks (Senior Risk Consultant, Crowe) share how Gulf Coast leveraged AuditBoard’s connected risk platform to focus their audits on high-risk areas that matter. Gulf Coast Bank and Trust, headquartered in New Orleans, is a $3 billion bank with a national presence in the commercial lending field.
Hear how this team transitioned their people, processes, and technology to a single platform by switching to AuditBoard, including:
- Leveraging AuditBoard’s connected risk platform to maximize efficiency before hiring more employees to take their team to the next level
- Developed specific changes around reporting to gain insights into risk
- Focused their audits on high-risk areas that matter
What prompted Gulf Coast to look at technology solutions?
Liz Evans (Chief Audit Executive, Gulf Coast Bank and Trust): “As of today, we have an audit team composed of four people. I’ve been with Gulf Coast for 18 years, so it became clear to me that our internal audit team needed to grow at the same speed that the bank was growing. The first step for me was getting the right software in place to maximize efficiency before adding more employees to bring this to the next level. So, I contacted our client rep at Crowe and asked what their recommendations were for software. We looked at four or five different options. AuditBoard checked all the boxes we were looking for and helped us develop a few specific changes for reporting purposes to gain insights into risks. That way, we can focus our audits on the high-risk areas that matter.”
How has Crowe used AuditBoard for their clients?
Adam Pajakowski (Partner, Principal, Crowe): “We use AuditBoard to bring our people, processes, and technology into one platform and service offering. This brings our Crowe people, our internal audit process, and now a technology partner built in. From implementation to executing an organization’s internal audit plan, we do this seamlessly with one core team aligned and customized to our clients. This allows us to bring consistent value to our internal audit relationships/clients as opposed to just two weeks there, six weeks here for testing and reporting periods.”
Liz Evans (Chief Audit Executive, Gulf Coast Bank and Trust): “I wanted an out-of-the-box solution since we’ve never had software before. I didn’t want to use something I would have to go in and manipulate a lot.”
How does AuditBoard set up end users for success?
Ryan Crooks (Senior Risk Consultant, Crowe): “For reporting purposes and gaining insights around risk, it’s so easy to go into the AuditBoard platform and get those insights from the dashboards. It’s great to hand that platform off to the client, knowing they’ve gained the tools and knowledge during implementation. They’re set up for success in the future, which is a great feeling.”
