“2021 is a year of opportunity to innovate and learn how to use data and technology to support efforts to fight financial crime.”
– The State of Financial Crime, Comply Advantage
Pandemic relief efforts by the U.S. government have unfortunately created a rare opportunity for fraudsters to meddle with the system and make money. The Department of Justice has publicly charged 474 defendants with cases involving attempts to obtain over $569 million with fraud schemes connected to the Covid-19 pandemic. The cases have been brought in 56 federal districts around the country. As fraud investigators, we owe it to our country that funds reach the countrymen genuinely in need and not the fraudsters.
Thankfully, financial investigation software can now automatically capture, cleanse, and model data for analysis with the evolution of technology. Such software also provides intuitive data visualizations to help to detect/prevent fraud and money laundering effectively. In addition, the state and federal government departments across the United States have also begun using advanced tools for investigations. As you also plan to invest in one such software, here are some features you must look for:
- Accuracy of Financial Data
During any financial investigation, the accuracy of the financial data is of the utmost importance. Accurate analysis of data by software can reduce the risk of false positives.
- Automated Data Visualization for Effective Analysis
Data visualization makes it easier to identify patterns, trends, and outliers in large data sets.
- Speed of Processing Information from Financial Documents into Readable Data
An excellent financial investigation software will speed up the process of data input, analysis, and output, saving hours spent going through the data manually.
- Audit Trail
Every financial investigation requires verification of financial and transactional data. Good software should be able to trace the transactions back to their source efficiently and accurately.
- Integration
Another critical feature to look at in financial investigation software is its integration with other financial software, particularly those used in your organization.
- Financial Institution Support
Good software can interface with the majority of financial institutions to capture data.
- Language Support
Multiple languages support is another feature to consider while selecting a financial investigation software as per your needs.
To make things easier, we have shortlisted eight new-age financial investigation software to look at in 2021:
- ScanWriter
- Chorus Financial
- Comprehensive Financial Investigative Solution (CFIS)
- Valid8
- Financial Investigation Toolkit by Excelerate
- i-Sight
- Weaver Financial Investigation Platform by Cobwebs Technologies
- Verafin
Here is a detailed look at each of these:
#1. ScanWriter
ScanWriter by Personable is patented financial investigation software that offers data entry automation with 100% accuracy. You can convert any paper document and digital file into a structured Excel format. It is the perfect tool for financial fraud investigation with financial intelligence tools. ScanWriter makes your job of data gathering and evaluation much more effortless. ScanWriter also provides an immediate data analytic summary within minutes. Its sophisticated analytical tools and modeling techniques make it easy to follow the money trail.
Key Benefits
- Processes any document – You can capture data from any document including bank statements, credit card statements, check images, timesheets, payroll, phone records, accounting system ledger, insurance forms, contracts, etc.
- Captures data from checks – You don’t need to worry about the conversion of hand-written checks or check scanning in bulk. ScanWriter just needs 0.5 seconds to process each check with ultra-high accuracy.
- Provides reconciled data – Cleaning up the data and reconciling it to prepare for analysis in itself is a time-consuming task. ScanWriter takes care of reconciliation to provide you clean data for investigation.
- Provides built-in models for data visualization – You no more need to create complex models like “flow of funds” or “follow the money” yourself. ScanWriter automatically populates such models with captured data. Thus you get more time to focus on the investigation.
- Tracks audit trail – You can verify the source of any transaction in just one click as ScanWriter links Excel cells to data sources and highlights the data origin location.
- Provides Precision – Minimizes your time and effort as the built-in sophisticated data processing features achieve 100% accuracy.
- Uses a dedicated support manager approach – Provides you with continuous support to ensure smooth functioning of the software.
- Requires fewer resources – As opposed to manual input of data, ScanWriter doesn’t require many people to work on the data, eliminating human error as well as saving time and money.
- Maintains data privacy – You can use ScanWriter as desktop software without having to worry about data theft.
- Offers collaboration – You can collaborate with your team members on the same data set as bigger investigations may require multiple team members to analyze different sections of data.
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