Customer Case Study – Traditional GRC to SimpAudit Migration

How a Global Financial Services Organization Achieved 70% Cost Reduction with Faster Time-to-Findings

Executive Summary GRC to SimpAudit Migration

A global financial services organization managing $8.3 billion in assets was operating Traditional GRC for 7 years. While the solution provided adequate control monitoring, escalating costs, lengthy audit cycles, and underutilized capabilities prompted leadership to evaluate alternatives.

The organization’s migration to SimpAudit by BSC Global resulted in comprehensive improvements: 70% cost reduction, 50% faster audit cycles, dramatically improved user adoption, and enhanced risk detection capabilities. This case study documents the migration journey, challenges, outcomes, and lessons learned.

Organization Profile

Company: Midwest-based financial services organization (anonymized)

Characteristics:

• Multi-holding company structure with 12 operating subsidiaries
• $8.3 billion in assets under administration
• 1,200+ employees across finance, operations, and compliance
• Heavy SAP ERP footprint (7 SAP instances, core financial and HR modules)
• Regulated by Federal Reserve, OCC, and FDIC (SOX scoping applies)

Audit and Compliance Requirements:

• Internal audit team: 14 audit professionals
• Annual audit plan: 30-40 audit engagements
• Regulatory compliance: SOX Section 404, COSO Framework, industry-specific requirements
• Board reporting: Quarterly risk and control effectiveness updates
• Continuous monitoring: 24/7 operations monitoring, 365-day-a-year transaction processing

The Traditional GRC Operating Model: Context for Change

Implementation History

The organization implemented Traditional GRC in 2018 following a 12-month implementation project:

• Total Year 1 investment: $950,000 (consistent with industry benchmarks)
• Consulting costs: $650,000
• Infrastructure and software licensing: $150,000
• Training and change management: $150,000

Operating Performance: 7 Years of Optimization

By 2025, the organization had optimized Traditional GRC significantly:

• Mature risk library with 1,200+ SoD rules
• 8 active audit modules configured for SOX, FDIC, and internal compliance requirements
• Sophisticated integration with 7 SAP instances
• Well-trained audit team with strong Traditional GRC expertise

Despite optimization, several challenges emerged:

1. Escalating Costs Without Proportional Capability Gains

Annual operating costs stabilized at:

• Software licensing: $87,300
• Maintenance (20% of licensing base): $32,000
• Annual consulting for customization: $120,000
• Infrastructure management: $60,000
• Annual total: $299,300
• 7-year cumulative cost: $2.09 million

As the organization added new audit requirements, costs increased without corresponding capability improvements. The licensing model penalized growth.

2. Audit Cycle Time Remained Lengthy

Despite full Traditional GRC implementation:

• Average audit fieldwork duration: 6-8 weeks per engagement
• Testing involved sampling (statistical samples, not comprehensive testing)
• Manual evidence collection remained substantial (estimated 30-40% of fieldwork)
• Remediation tracking was manual and error-prone
• Time to audit completion: 10-12 weeks
• Board reporting lag: Audit findings weren’t available until 8-10 weeks post-fieldwork start, delaying board-level risk insights.

3. Underutilized Capabilities

The audit team wasn’t leveraging Traditional GRC’s full potential:

• Continuous monitoring features: Rarely used (too complex to configure and maintain)
• Advanced analytics: Minimal utilization
• Predictive control testing: Not implemented
• Mobile audit capabilities: Not deployed
• Compliance automation: Partial implementation

Root cause: Learning curve complexity meant the team remained comfortable with familiar functions rather than exploring advanced capabilities.

4. User Adoption Challenges

Audit team adoption was competent but not enthusiastic:

• 75% of audit team actively used core features
• 25% relied on senior team members for complex functions
• Training for new team members required 4-6 weeks
• Resistance to process changes (legacy processes felt easier)

Impact: Efficiency gains were lower than expected.

Decision to Evaluate Alternatives

In late 2024, the CFO initiated a strategic review of audit technology given escalating costs and pressure to accelerate audit cycle times.

Trigger Events:

• Budget pressure: Annual audit technology budget exceeded $300K, without corresponding capability improvement
• Regulatory expectation: Regulators expected audit findings to be available within 4-6 weeks, not 10-12 weeks
• Competitive pressure: Peer organizations were deploying modern audit platforms with impressive efficiency gains
• Team feedback: Audit leadership expressed frustration with complexity and underutilized features

Evaluation Criteria:

• Implementation speed: Must be operational within 4 weeks (vs. 6-12 months for new Traditional GRC implementation)
• Total cost of ownership: Must demonstrate 30%+ annual cost reduction
• Ease of use: Must achieve 90%+ adoption with minimal training
• Audit cycle acceleration: Must reduce fieldwork time by 40%+
• Regulatory compliance: Must maintain full SOX and regulatory audit capability

The SimpAudit Evaluation and Selection

Evaluation Process

The organization evaluated three solutions:

• Traditional GRC upgrade – Latest version with new capabilities
• Specialized GRC platform – Multi-system audit and compliance platform
• SimpAudit by BSC Global – Native SAP audit and compliance solution

Selection Process Timeline:

• Initial vendor evaluation: 3 weeks
• Detailed demonstrations: 2 weeks
• Reference customer calls: 2 weeks
• Technical and financial evaluation: 2 weeks
• Total evaluation: 9 weeks

Why SimpAudit Won the Evaluation

Key Differentiators:

Native SAP Architecture

• Direct embedding in SAP environment (no separate login or data export)
• Real-time data access to 7 SAP instances
• Seamless integration with existing infrastructure
• Eliminated data synchronization delays

Rapid Implementation Timeline

• Vendor committed to 2-4 week implementation
• Pre-built audit programs for SOX, FDIC, and compliance requirements
• No extensive customization required
• Minimal internal resource commitment

Pre-Built Content

• 2,000+ pre-configured audit procedures
• SOX compliance mapping already completed
• FDIC audit program templates available
• Industry-specific financial services content included

Cost Advantage

• Year 1 cost: $85,000 (vs. $299K for Traditional GRC)
• 5-year projected savings: $1.07 million
• No infrastructure investment required
• Simplified licensing model

User Experience

• Modern interface with minimal learning curve
• Mobile audit capabilities ready-to-use
• Intuitive workflows familiar to audit teams
• Projected adoption: 90%+ vs. Traditional GRC’s 75%

Executive Approval and Budget Authority

• CFO approval: Required given $1M+ savings opportunity
• Board audit committee notification: Standard governance
• Budget decision: Required board approval due to transaction size
• Implementation timeline: Approved for Q1 2025 deployment
• Selection decision: SimpAudit migration approved in November 2024

Migration Planning and Execution

Detailed Migration Plan

Phase 1: Discovery and Preparation (Weeks 1-2)

Activities:

• Data extraction from Traditional GRC (risk library, audit programs, historical findings)
• Audit team training on SimpAudit capabilities
• System configuration planning
• Data mapping and validation

Timeline: January 6-17, 2025
Resources: 2 BSC Global consultants, 4 internal audit resources

Phase 2: System Configuration and Data Migration (Weeks 3-4)

Activities:

• SimpAudit environment provisioning in BSC Global’s cloud
• SAP instance connectivity testing
• Pre-built audit program activation
• Historical data migration from Traditional GRC
• Integration testing with 7 SAP instances

Timeline: January 20-31, 2025
Resources: 2 BSC Global consultants, 3 internal IT resources, 2 internal audit resources

Phase 3: User Training and Pilot Testing (Week 5)

Activities:

• Audit team hands-on training (2 days)
• Power user training for 4 advanced users
• Pilot audit using SimpAudit
• Quality assurance and feedback incorporation

Timeline: February 3-7, 2025
Resources: BSC Global training team, internal audit team

Phase 4: Go-Live and Stabilization (Weeks 6-8)

Activities:

• Production system go-live
• Transition active audits to SimpAudit
• Post-go-live support
• Performance monitoring and optimization
• Traditional GRC decommissioning

Timeline: February 10-28, 2025
Resources: On-demand BSC Global support

Actual Migration Results

The migration executed almost exactly to plan:

• Phase 1: Completed on schedule (January 17)
• Phase 2: Completed 3 days ahead of schedule (January 28)
• Phase 3: Completed with 95% team satisfaction
• Phase 4: Production go-live February 10 with zero critical issues
• Additional audits started: February 24 (on SimpAudit)
• Migration outcome: Successfully completed in 6 weeks vs. 2-4 weeks projected (extended due to holiday schedules).

Post-Migration Performance: Quantified Outcomes

Financial Impact (Year 1)

Cost Category	Traditional GRC Year 7	SimpAudit Year 1	Savings
Software licensing	$87,300	$65,000	$22,300
Maintenance	$32,000	$0 (included)	$32,000
Annual consulting	$120,000	$15,000	$105,000
Infrastructure	$60,000	$0 (cloud)	$60,000
Annual total	$299,300	$80,000	$219,300 (73% reduction)
Implementation cost	—	$25,000 (one-time)	—
Year 1 total with implementation	$299,300	$105,000	$194,300 (65% savings)

Cumulative 5-year savings projection: $1.07 million

Operational Performance Improvements

Audit Cycle Time Acceleration:

Metric	Traditional GRC	SimpAudit	Improvement
Average audit fieldwork duration	6-8 weeks	3-4 weeks	50% reduction
Manual evidence collection	30-40% of fieldwork	5-10% of fieldwork	75% reduction
Time from fieldwork end to findings	2 weeks	2-3 days	87% faster
Audit plan completion timeline	10-12 weeks	5-6 weeks	50% reduction
Board reporting lag	10-12 weeks	4-5 weeks	55% faster

Operational benefit: The organization could complete 40+ annual audits vs. 30-40 previously—equivalent to adding 3-5 audit professionals without salary expense.

Audit Coverage Expansion

Capabilities Added:

• Continuous monitoring: Implemented across 5 high-risk processes
• Real-time control testing: Operating on 24/7 basis
• Automated evidence generation: Eliminating manual documentation
• Mobile audits: 60% of fieldwork now conducted via mobile
• Predictive testing: Emerging risk identification through pattern analysis

Coverage expansion:

• Additional audit procedures: 200+ new testing procedures added
• Continuous monitoring rules: 150+ real-time monitoring rules activated
• Audit team capacity freed: 400 hours/year for strategic advisory work

User Adoption and Satisfaction

Adoption Metrics:

• Active users: 14 out of 14 audit team members (100%)
• Feature utilization: 85% vs. 40% with Traditional GRC
• Training requirement: 6-8 hours vs. 40-60 hours for Traditional GRC
• Time-to-productivity: 1 week vs. 4-6 weeks with Traditional GRC
• User satisfaction: 8.2/10 vs. 6.5/10 for Traditional GRC

Qualitative feedback from audit team:

• “SimpAudit feels like it was built for auditors, not IT professionals”
• “We’re finally using advanced features we couldn’t configure in Traditional GRC”
• “Continuous monitoring is changing how we think about audit risk”
• “Mobile audits have transformed fieldwork efficiency”

Risk Detection and Compliance Impact

Finding identification speed:

• SoD violations: Identified in days vs. weeks
• Control deviations: Real-time detection vs. periodic review
• Compliance gaps: Identified during audit setup vs. discovered mid-fieldwork
• Board visibility: Monthly dashboard vs. quarterly reports

Regulatory outcomes:

• External audit findings: Reduced from 8 to 2 annually (75% improvement)
• Regulatory feedback: Positive comments on audit timeliness and scope
• Control remediation: Faster issue resolution through automated tracking

Lessons Learned and Recommendations

What Worked Well

Executive Sponsorship: CFO and audit committee engagement accelerated decision-making and resource commitment

Thorough Evaluation: 9-week evaluation process identified the optimal solution—rushing would have compromised outcomes

Experienced Implementation Partner: BSC Global’s financial services expertise enabled smooth migration

Dedicated Internal Resources: Commitment of internal resources full-time during migration ensured success

Clear Success Metrics: Defining measurable outcomes (cost, cycle time, adoption) enabled accountability

Challenges and Mitigations

Challenge 1: Data Migration Complexity

Issue: Historical audit data in Traditional GRC required careful migration to maintain audit trails
Mitigation: BSC Global provided detailed data mapping and validation processes
Lesson: Data migration should be treated as critical-path activity, not an afterthought

Challenge 2: Change Management

Issue: Audit team familiarity with Traditional GRC created initial resistance
Mitigation: Early involvement of audit team leadership in evaluation and champion designation
Lesson: Change management investments (even modest ones) provide substantial ROI

Challenge 3: Integration Testing

Issue: Testing connectivity to 7 SAP instances required sophisticated coordination
Mitigation: Dedicated integration testing phase with SAP basis team involvement
Lesson: Native SAP solutions require technical foundation understanding

Recommendations for Similar Organizations

1. Evaluate modern alternatives to mature legacy solutions

Legacy systems often feel “good enough”—but hidden costs and missed opportunities justify evaluation of modern alternatives

2. Calculate true total cost of ownership

Surface-level software costs mask significant infrastructure, maintenance, and consulting expenses

3. Prioritize implementation speed

Organizations operating with SAP can migrate to native audit solutions in weeks—not months—enabling rapid value realization

4. Assess capability utilization

Organizations often underutilize sophisticated solutions due to complexity. Simpler, modern tools encourage broader capability adoption

5. Plan for change management

Technology changes require organizational adjustment. Even simple implementations benefit from structured change management

Conclusion: From Legacy Optimization to Modern Transformation

This organization’s journey from mature Traditional GRC operation to SimpAudit deployment illustrates a broader market dynamic: legacy solutions that were optimal 5-10 years ago are being displaced by modern alternatives that deliver superior capabilities at lower cost.

Key outcomes from this migration:

• 65-73% cost reduction
• 50% audit cycle acceleration
• 100% user adoption vs. 75% previously
• Expanded audit coverage and continuous monitoring
• Improved board-level risk visibility
• Freed audit resources for strategic advisory work

The financial case is unambiguous: for organizations operating mature SAP implementations, modern cloud-native audit solutions represent compelling alternatives to continued legacy system investment.

The broader lesson: Organizations should regularly evaluate whether mature solutions continue delivering ROI or whether modern alternatives offer superior economics and capabilities. This organization’s 70% cost savings and operational improvements could be replicated across hundreds of mid-market organizations operating similar legacy systems.

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