Learn how to use DataSnipper to validate the key attributes of a capital expenditure transaction.
Video walkthrough
What the video covers
The walkthrough demonstrates testing a single capital expenditure transaction across three control attributes: extracting proposal details, confirming authorization signatures, and reconciling the expenditure amount across the ledger, purchase order, and invoice.
Load supporting documentation
Import all necessary supporting documentation into Excel using the Document Organizer. This includes the proposal document, financial ledger entries, approval documents, invoices, and purchase orders.
Ensure OCR (Optical Character Recognition) runs successfully on the documents.
Testing attributes
Testing focuses on three key attributes that align with capital expenditure controls, for a sample of one.
Attribute 1: Supporting proposal details
Use the Document Viewer to open the Expenditure Request Form, and extract key details with the Text Snip tool.
Open the Proposal Document in the Document Viewer.
Use the Validation Snip to highlight key sections of the proposal, such as the cost-benefit analysis, ROI projections, and vendor quotations.
Confirm the extracted details meet the requirements: a detailed cost-benefit analysis, clear ROI projections, and valid vendor quotations.
Attribute 2: Authorization by required personnel
Use the Document Viewer to open the approval documents.
Use Text Snip to highlight and extract the authorization signatures from the department head and the Director of Procurement or CFO.
Verify that all required authorizations are present and correctly signed.
Attribute 3: Supporting documents and ledger entries
Use the Document Viewer to open the financial ledger entry and supporting documents such as invoices and purchase orders.
Use Search and Snip to reconcile the expenditure amount across the ledger, purchase order, and invoice, extracting and comparing the amounts to confirm they match.
As an alternative, use the Validation Snip with the Ctrl key to link multiple amounts (ledger, invoice, and PO) into one cell for quick review.
Verify that the ledger entry accurately reflects the approved expenditure and matches the details in the supporting documents.
Following these steps lets you perform capital expenditure authorization testing in DataSnipper while keeping your documentation accurate and your conclusions traceable to source.