protiviti’s automated audit tool guides compass group toward greater efficiency
DESCRIPTION
Compass Group is the world’s leading food service/hospitality provider. Servicing over 50,000 client locations worldwide, Compass Group has a global workforce of over 500,000 employees and serves more than 7 million meals every day – half in the United States. For years, Compass Group relied on Excel to house audit data and report on its results. The company lacked a centralized repository for audit data as well as a systematic way for managers to view audit results. In 2012, Compass Group partnered with Protiviti to seek a solution to the data management problem. As a result of this partnership, Compass Group acquired Compas™ (a lucky coincidence of names) — a Protiviti tool that helps companies gather and organize compliance and operational data, transforms audit results into actionable items and includes reporting features that provide the visibility necessary to ensure effective governance.TRANSCRIPT
Protiviti’s automated audit tool guides Compass Group toward greater efficiencyRisk & Compliance – Compass Group, Food & Hospitality Industry
“THE SUCCESS OF COMPANIES LIKE GOOGLE, FACEBOOK, AMAZON AND NETFLIX, NOT TO MENTION WALL STREET FIRMS AND INDUSTRIES FROM MANUFACTURING TO RETAIL AND HEALTHCARE, IS INCREASINGLY DRIVEN BY BETTER TOOLS FOR EXTRACTING MEANING FROM VERY LARGE QUANTITIES OF DATA. ‘DATA SCIENTIST’ IS NOW THE HOTTEST JOB TITLE IN SILICON VALLEY.”
TIM O’REILLY, FOUNDER OF O’REILLY MEDIA
Compass Group is the world’s leading food service/hospitality provider. Servicing over 50,000 client locations worldwide, Compass Group has a global workforce of over 500,000 employees and serves more than 7 million meals every day – half in the United States. “We provide a quality experience, offering restaurant-quality foods at a variety of locations that you would least expect. From hospitals, to businesses, schools and museums, we are there,” explains Chris McDonald, senior VP of loss prevention at Compass Group North America. “Great food, great service and great people” help make Compass Group a leader in the food service industry.
Client ChallengeFor years, Compass Group relied on Excel to house audit data and report on its results. The company lacked a centralized repository for audit data as well as a systematic way for managers to view audit results. “Reporting consisted of eight people assessing audits in Excel, followed by an additional six to eight hours administering and dissecting the data to generate a report,” McDonald reveals. With his extensive background in loss prevention, McDonald identified this as a common challenge in the industry and sought a solution that would simplify this time-consuming process.
P O W E R F U L I N S I G H T SWhether it is historical production reports to determine a project’s duration or cost, past sales reports to predict future potential revenue or player stats to ensure a solid football pool, it is recognized globally that the appropriate use of historical data enables better decision-making and lowers risk.
The ability to view past trends and data associations can highlight accomplishments and failures with both process and compliance and is a great source of information for determining what steps are required to improve productivity and quality and reduce risk.
P R O V E N D E L I V E R YIn 2012, Compass Group partnered with Protiviti to seek a solution to the data management problem. As a result of this partnership, Compass Group acquired Compas™ (a lucky coincidence of names) — a Protiviti tool that helps companies gather and organize compliance and operational data, transforms audit results into actionable items and includes reporting features that provide the visibility necessary to ensure effective governance. Following a 60-90 minute webinar to demonstrate the uses of the tool, McDonald’s team was off and running. “It was one of the shortest learning curves you could ever have,” says McDonald.
©2014 Protiviti Inc. An Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/D/V. PRO-PKIC-0914-162Protiviti is not licensed or registered as a public accounting firm and does not issue opinions on financial statements or offer attestation services.
ContactsScott Wisniewski+1.312.476.6302 [email protected]
Jon Williams +1.720.264.2928 [email protected]
About ProtivitiProtiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that helps companies solve problems in finance, technology, operations, governance, risk and internal audit, and has served more than 40 percent of FORTUNE 1000® and FORTUNE Global 500® companies. Protiviti and its independently owned Member Firms serve clients through a network of more than 70 locations in over 20 countries. The firm also works with smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public, as well as with government agencies.Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI). Founded in 1948, Robert Half is a member of the S&P 500 index.
For McDonald’s team, the tool implementation meant transforming a laborious and cumbersome process into a quick routine task. “Compas™ does the same work, but does it in seconds,” says McDonald. Now approximately 70 percent of the Compass Group personnel conduct their audits in Compas™, either on their tablets or through their smartphones. Within seconds of audit submission, reports are updated and available on the Compas™ dashboard in a designated reporting section. Following the acquisition of Compas™, the company has performed more than 700 audits, saving an estimated one hour per audit. “The time saved in labor can now be invested in other places,” says McDonald.
The amount of information readily available through the tool allows McDonald to quickly identify real issues, isolate root causes and readily communicate results, allowing earlier reaction. With the visibility Compas™ provides, changes can be implemented faster than before.
As a lateral benefit, various departments within Compass Group have embraced Compas™ for an assortment of purposes, including marketing program utilization, culinary and loss prevention audits and tuition reimbursement tracking. The tool is used by ground-level personnel as well as management, functioning as “a multiple-level tool” within Compass Group, according to McDonald.
Numbers matter. Since the acquisition of Compas™, Compass Group has seen a 100 percent return on its investment and a vastly improved level of governance, a result McDonald attributes directly to the Protiviti-Compass Group partnership.
How We Help Companies SucceedOrganizations today are faced with growing pressure to increase revenue and decrease costs. Protiviti’s Compas™ software solution increases work efficiency, issue visibility and process standardization, allowing for improved utilization of resources. Protiviti’s team of experienced audit professionals works side by side with our clients to assess their audit needs. We can assist with audit/survey construction; tool implementation, customization and branding; and with field training.
“COMPAS™ DOES THE SAME WORK, BUT DOES IT IN SECONDS.”
CHRIS MCDONALD, SENIOR VP, COMPASS GROUP NORTH AMERICA