Simplify Auditing with an Asset Management Mobile Solution

Trying to conduct an audit on your company’s assets can be a headache. However, implementing an asset management mobile solution can make audits easier for everyone.

Instead of scrambling at the last minute to get things sorted, you’ll gather the information efficiently over time. When audits arise, all you need to do is assemble a report with the information you already have.

Asset Audits Don't Have to Be a Nightmare

No one likes hearing their department is being audited. It creates tons of pressure for everyone involved and tends to induce panic for the whole team. Suddenly, everyone is scrambling to get everything in order. Client projects are put on hold so you can prepare for your company’s audit.

Many times, when you’re preparing for an audit last minute, you miss important asset information. It’s hard to know what you’ll need, so you tend to try to prepare everything. This can result in one of two things. The first is you’ve over prepared and all the time you spent trying to collect every bit of data feels wasted. The second is you seem to have missed something and, despite all of your efforts, your company receives disciplinary action.

Employees also don’t know how much of the audit will reflect on their performance and jobs. Some audits can determine whether your team members will still have a job. Others are simply conducted to get a snapshot of the state of your equipment. This uncertainty can cause a lot of stress and fear that impacts every part of your business until the audit is over.

What is Mobile Asset Management?

Mobile asset management is a digital method of tracking the location and condition of business equipment for improved audit preparation.

A mobile asset management (MAM) system is a software application that allows users to manage and monitor their business assets using handheld devices, such as smartphones or tablets. With MAM, you can quickly identify where your assets are and what condition they’re in. This information is gathered in real-time so you always have the latest data at your fingertips.

Benefits of Mobile Asset Management

There are many benefits to implementing a mobile asset management solution:

Faster Audits

Having all the information you need right at your fingertips makes conducting an audit much faster than trying to track everything down to the last minute. You won’t have to worry about missing any important details during the audit since it will be done with the help of the asset management software. When conducting a mobile audit, you'll already know what equipment you should have and where it should be, making the process much easier to set up and complete.

Timely Maintenance

One of your biggest concerns should be equipment failure, because it can lead to dangerous situations for employees and clients. With a mobile asset management solution, you’ll be made aware of issues with your assets as soon as they happen so that repairs can begin immediately before things get worse. Mobile asset tracking can also provide employees with notifications for scheduled maintenance activities. This can help cut down  on unexpected costs associated with unplanned downtime due to breakdowns or failures of essential business tools like computers, printers, etc.

Improved Safety

You don’t want your team putting themselves at risk when working on company equipment, especially if there are hazardous conditions present. MAM can help your team identify and report hazardous situations and make sure everyone is notified where, what, and when issues are happening. You can also use a MAM solution to track certifications for employees to ensure that equipment is only checked out to those with the appropriate level of training.

Mobile asset management is changing the way companies manage their important assets by making it easier to prepare for audits, ensure timely maintenance and improve safety onsite.

Some mobile asset examples include:

• Computers
• Laptops
• Tablets
• Smartphones
• Printers
• Copiers
• Scanners
• Industrial Equipment

What is Mobile Asset Protection?

Mobile asset protection is a subset of asset management that deals with keeping assets safe and secure. Theft and damage, whether deliberate or accidental, can add up to significant costs for a business— not to mention security risks if IT equipment containing sensitive data is lost.

Mobile asset protection is a means of helping prevent these harmful events from happening, using a variety of methods. Mainly, clear and effective mobile asset management— including accurate records about where assets are, who's using them correctly, and their previous usage records— are the first line of defense against theft and misuse. After all, this added accountability makes it more difficult to 'get away with' bad behavior relating to assets, and will make a significant positive impact on your ability to keep your assets safe and secure.

Building a Mobile Asset Strategy

There are a few key steps to developing an asset management strategy:

1. Inventory your assets

The first step is to inventory all of your assets. This means taking stock of everything you have and documenting it— including make, model, serial number, and other important information. You should also include any software or licenses associated with the assets.

2. Assign a value to each asset

Next, you need to assign a value to each asset. This can be done by estimating the cost of replacement for each item.

3. Set up rules for who can use which assets

After that, you need to set up rules for who can use which assets and when. This will help keep track of who is using what and when, as well as help enforce accountability.

Make sure to keep your inventory up-to-date by regularly scanning barcodes and updating asset information with mobile asset management software. Having this information at your fingertips will give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing your assets are always safe and accounted for.

Benefits of Auditing with a Mobile Asset Management System

Some of the benefits of using a mobile asset management system for auditing include:

Real-time tracking of assets

Real-time asset tracking enables verification of compliance with company policies, reduces the chances of lost or stolen assets, helps prevent unaccounted for asset damage, and facilitates better communication and collaboration between team members who might all need assets at various times.

Reduced paperwork and administrative burden

Mobile asset management systems can help automate many of the tasks involved in auditing, including creating and managing inventories, assigning values to assets, tracking usage, and more. This can save your team a significant amount of time and effort over traditional methods like paper-based systems or spreadsheets.

Increased safety and security

An increase in accountability is a major benefit of mobile asset management. When people know they're being tracked, it helps ensure that they'll behave more responsibly when handling company assets. This can have a significant impact on the overall safety and security at your workplace— from preventing accidents to discouraging theft or misuse.

Easy access to information

With mobile asset management software, you can access all of your audit information from anywhere— saving time and reducing the chance for mistakes. Because it's automated, there is less room for human error than manually compiled spreadsheets or files that must be shared with team members who aren't always available to work on them immediately.

Faster audits and more accurate results

When you can access all of your audit information from anywhere, it becomes much easier to quickly and accurately schedule audits. It also makes the results more reliable because there is less room for human error or misunderstanding when compiling records.

Types of Auditing with Mobile Asset Management

Mobile asset management supports many types of audits including:

Physical Inventory Counts

With real-time tracking capabilities, you can verify compliance with physical inventory counts by comparing what's currently present against your records (e.g., count sheets). You may even be able to automate some aspects of this process if you've tagged all items with RFID tags or GPS trackers

Fixed Asset Verification

A physical inspection of all fixed assets can be conducted by using RFID readers to scan asset tags or GPS trackers to track movement. This helps ensure that all items are accounted for and that there have been no unauthorized changes or movements.

License Compliance Audits

By tracking software licenses, you can verify that only authorized users are accessing the programs they need and that all licenses are being used appropriately.

Usage audits

Usage audits help identify who is using which assets and how often they're being used. This information can then be used to generate reports on asset allocation across the organization.

Asset Dispositioning

When it's time to dispose of an asset, mobile asset management can help make sure everything is handled properly and in accordance with company policy. This can include tracking the item from its point of origin to final disposal.

Conclusion

The bottom line is that mobile asset management systems offer a number of benefits for auditing, including real-time tracking, reduced paperwork and administrative burden, increased safety and security, easy access to information, and faster audits with more accurate results. If you're looking for a way to simplify your auditing process, then a mobile asset management system might be just what you need.

For more information on how Asset Panda's mobile asset management software can help your team achieve better auditing results, please request a demo with one of our experts. We'd be happy to answer any you have!