When junior staff are spending most of their time wrestling with messy data, and partners are wondering why their AI investments aren’t paying off – something’s broken.
In our recent 20-minute live session, Commercial Director, Mike Bowman, and Business Development Director, James Foster, show you how easy it is to get data to power a modern audit, live in the product. And why leading firms – from the Big 4 to forward-thinking regional players – are starting with one thing: getting the data right.
Watch the full webinar recording:
Here are the main takeaways from the session:
1. Talent, client value, and future readiness all start with solving the data problem
Firms don’t invest in AI, automation, or new methodologies to keep junior auditors manually formatting spreadsheets. But that’s still the norm.
Validis addresses the three main blockers firms face:
- Audit teams are burnt out – “Fewer auditors are coming into the profession, and many juniors are leaving because they spend more time on manual tasks than applying their expertise.”
- Clients expect better – “Digital-native clients using cloud solutions everywhere else in their life are being asked to email PDFs. It doesn’t make sense.”
- Future tech is stalled by bad data – “If firms want to take advantage of AI, they need consistent, quality data. Garbage in, garbage out.”
Bottom line: Without a clean, standardized data foundation, your firm is building on sand.
2. Validis delivers audit-ready data in minutes – not days
“This is all we do at Validis. We are very much about easing that pressure upfront.”
James Foster’s live demo was a glimpse into how audit teams can immediately reclaim hours of high-value time.
What you can do with Validis:
- View the full business, instantly – Transaction-level GL, trial balance, AP/AR subledgers, income statement and balance sheet. All drillable. All exportable.
- Spot risks earlier – Receivables views highlight credit notes, overdue balances, and top 20 movements with just a few clicks.
- Create audit packs in seconds – Auto-generated Excel workpapers include aged receivables, ledger control, and supporting schedules. Ready the moment the client uploads data.
- Push data directly into your tools – Full API access to feed Caseware, DataSnipper and more. Or download clean Excel files for manual workflows.
Everything comes fully standardized. No formatting. No delays. Just usable data.
The value?
- Eliminate manual formatting and rework
- Reduce time to insight from days to minutes
- Empower staff to start analyzing, not chasing
3. Client onboarding takes 90 seconds (and it’s white-labeled)
“Removing friction from that [client] journey is probably the single biggest opportunity for adoption.”
With Validis, clients receive a fully branded, firm-native link. They:
- Choose their accounting package
- Either connect directly or drag/drop GL + TB files
- Complete the process in ~90 seconds
From their perspective, it’s your firm’s tool. Not a third-party vendor.
Validis changes the conversation from document chasing to advisory value.
4. Implementation is fast. Like 2-4 weeks fast.
“Firms are getting started and seeing a return within the first three or four weeks.”
No major change management. No drawn-out onboarding. Validis fits into your existing tech stack, supports Excel exports, and integrates via API with platforms like Caseware.
Plus, you get:
- 8+ hours saved per audit
- 400% ROI from efficiency gains alone
- Zero disruption to your audit methodology
From the audience: What your peers asked
Q: How do you protect client data?
All data is stored on Microsoft Azure with regional data centers to ensure sovereignty. We use encryption at rest and in transit, hold SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 certifications, and undergo annual penetration testing. We’ve passed rigorous checks from the Big Four and government audit bodies.
Q: How difficult is it to implement Validis?
It’s a low-touch, fast-start process. Most firms are live and seeing data within 2–4 weeks. We’ve designed onboarding to be as light as possible with minimal change management, so firms get value fast without disrupting their teams. instead of analyzing it, you’re not just wasting time – you’re limiting your ability to deliver value, attract talent, and adopt modern audit tools.
Next steps
If your team is still cleaning and chasing data instead of analyzing it, you’re not just wasting time – you’re limiting your ability to deliver value, attract talent, and adopt modern audit tools.
“Getting your data strategy right is the foundation that allows firms to take advantage of future tech.”
Want to see how it could work at your firm? Mike and James are happy to walk you through it one-on-one.
