Global energy company automates Workday Security and SOD Controls with Smart Audit
90%
Major
75%
Simplified
“The time it takes to perform SOD controls has dropped by 90%. I can sleep better at night knowing that we’re catching risks as they happen, not months later.”
About the Company
This global independent energy company operates across multiple countries, focusing on the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. Its operations span numerous regions, including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East, with significant production across major onshore and offshore oil and gas basins.
Challenge: Overcoming manual security and audit inefficiencies in Workday
A global energy company completed a multi-year Workday implementation to modernise payroll, benefits, absence, and time tracking. While the transformation streamlined many HR processes, it exposed a new challenge: managing complex security and control requirements in a dynamic environment. “We had just finished our multi-year Workday implementation,” explains the Director of Global HR Systems and Controls. “I inherited the security and controls piece, and it was clear our manual processes couldn’t keep up.”
Previously, the company relied on a third-party vendor to perform quarterly segregation of duties (SoD) reviews. However, even after paying for these services, significant manual work was still required, and errors continued to be discovered. The process was slow, expensive, and unreliable. “It would take me a good ten hours just to complete a review, and even then, we didn’t fully trust the data,” they recall. “Plus, we only got quarterly updates, so any risks or conflicts that appeared between those cycles went undetected.”
This lack of visibility made audits especially challenging. “Workday was new to us, and even newer to our internal and external auditors,” they explain. “It felt like the blind leading the blind and the process was painful and inefficient.”
Solution: Automating Segregation of Duties with Smart Audit
The company implemented Kainos Smart Audit, to build a proactive, reliable controls environment. “Being able to see changes in near real time has been huge,” the controls lead shares. “If we change a security role, the alert pops up automatically. We’re no longer waiting months to know if there’s an issue.”
Impact: Faster risk detection, cost savings, and audit readiness
The benefits were immediate and measurable. “Managing alerts as they come in has made reviews much faster and far less labour-intensive,” they note. Confidence in the accuracy of controls also skyrocketed. “I can sleep better at night knowing that we’re catching risks as they happen, not months later,” they say. “We’ve also seen significant cost savings and improved operational efficiency by eliminating the old manual process.”
The automation has also simplified security reviews. “We’ve performed multiple internal reviews since going live, and having automated reporting has made those processes much easier,” they explain. “Even as we’re still building familiarity with Workday, we now have clear, reliable evidence at our fingertips whenever we need it.”
Transforming Workday security and controls through automation
By embracing automation with Smart Audit, this global energy company transformed its approach to security and controls. What was once a time-consuming, error-prone, and costly process is now dynamic, efficient, and trustworthy. “Having alerts on a nightly basis means we’re never in the dark,” they reflect. “Smart Audit has completely changed the way we manage risk.”