Methodology

A fieldwork sequence built for payment and compliance evidence

This page is our custom service-model guide: how an audit engagement moves from inventory to closing letter inside a fintech operating environment.

Hands annotating a printed control matrix during audit fieldwork

Sequence

Four stages every engagement respects

We adapt sample sizes and on-site days to the product, but we do not skip stages to meet an artificial countdown.

Scoping inventory

Policies, process maps, corridor lists, and a proposed sample period. The engagement letter is written only after this inventory exists.

Walkthrough week

Control owners narrate live flows. We mark breakpoints between procedure and practice, including after-hours and holiday patterns.

Substantive sampling

Timed samples across peak days, exception queues, CDD files, or board packs — depending on the commissioned engagement.

Closing pack

Ranked findings, evidence references, owner suggestions, and a briefing for compliance and operations leads.

Workpaper standards

Every finding cites a sample identifier, a date, and a control owner function. Severity ratings reflect examiner impact and customer-fund exposure — not internal politics. Draft findings are discussed with the liaison before the closing letter is finalized so factual corrections can land without diluting independence.

What clients prepare

  • A single engagement liaison with authority to pull evidence
  • Read-only access to settlement, alert, or filing exhibits in scope
  • A frozen sample period agreed in the kickoff note
  • Meeting rooms or remote walkthrough slots for control owners
Team reviewing annotated findings on paper during a closing briefing
Closing briefings stay short; the register carries the detail.

Natural next step

Choose the engagement that matches your deadline

If settlement integrity is the bank’s focus, start with the Payments Controls Audit. If alert quality is the pain point, commission the AML Program Assessment. Licensing and assurance packs sit alongside when filings or questionnaires drive the calendar.