Control Gap Assessment

• Evaluate existing processes and controls to determine where risks are not adequately addressed or where the control does not operate as intended.
  

Root-Cause Analysis

• Determine whether an issue originates from control design, execution, system configuration, data, evidence, ownership, training, or the underlying business process.
  

Control Design & Redesign

• Develop or improve controls so responsibilities, procedures, review criteria, evidence, and exception handling are clearly defined.
  

System & Process Remediation

• Address underlying system configurations, workflows, access, reports, data, or business processes when changing the control alone would not resolve the problem.

Remediation Planning & Execution

• Develop practical corrective-action plans, establish responsibilities and milestones, and support implementation through completion.
  

Remediation Validation & Audit Support

• Help organizations prepare evidence, demonstrate the redesigned process, respond to follow-up testing, and support closure of remediated issues.

An audit finding describes what went wrong. It does not always explain why it went wrong.

Simply adding another review, another spreadsheet, or another approval may close an immediate gap while creating additional manual work without addressing the underlying risk.

Schmid CPA helps organizations determine whether the better solution is to redesign the control, change the process, modify a system configuration, improve the underlying data, clarify ownership, or automate part of the activity.



The objective is not simply to pass the next audit test. It is to create a solution that addresses the risk and can operate consistently after the finding is closed.

Organizations may need remediation support when:



★ Internal or external audit identifies a control deficiency
★ A control repeatedly fails testing
★ Evidence does not demonstrate what the control owner actually reviewed
★ A control depends heavily on spreadsheets or manual processes
★ System access or configuration creates an underlying control issue
★ Control populations are incomplete, inaccurate, or difficult to validate
★ Responsibilities between IT, finance, and control owners are unclear
★ A control no longer reflects the actual business or system process
★ A new system changes how an existing control should operate
★ Multiple controls address the same risk unnecessarily
★ Compensating controls have become permanent workarounds
★ Management wants to reduce recurring control effort
★ A remediation plan has stalled or is not addressing the root cause
★ An issue needs to be prepared for auditor retesting

Sometimes the control is not the real problem.

For example, excessive system access may be better addressed by redesigning roles rather than repeatedly reviewing the same conflicts. A recurring interface issue may require stronger system monitoring rather than another manual reconciliation. An unreliable report may require changes to the underlying configuration or data flow rather than additional review steps.

Schmid CPA helps organizations consider the relationship between the control, process, system, data, and underlying risk when determining the appropriate remediation approach.



This can help prevent organizations from adding layers of manual controls around problems that could be addressed closer to their source.

Remediation can also create an opportunity to improve efficiency.

When a recurring control depends on repetitive data collection, evidence requests, manual testing, or predictable review procedures, parts of the process may be candidates for automation.



Schmid CPA can help identify these opportunities and determine where automated workflows, recurring evidence requests, data analytics, or automated testing can reduce manual effort while maintaining appropriate control oversight.

Remediation often involves multiple stakeholders and several stages of work.

Schmid CPA can assist with understanding the finding, performing root-cause analysis, developing the remediation plan, redesigning the control or underlying process, coordinating implementation, preparing documentation and evidence, and supporting management through auditor retesting.

Support can focus on a single difficult deficiency or a broader remediation program involving multiple controls, systems, or business processes.

Have a control deficiency or remediation project that needs to be solved?

Schedule a consultation to discuss the finding, underlying process, and practical path to remediation.