Interactive Data Extraction and Analysis (IDEA)
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IDEA (Interactive Data Extraction and Analysisis) is a Generalized Audit Software. It is able to import a wide range of different types of data files. During the import an IDEA file and its field statistics are created. An IDEA file contains the information of the original data file put in various types of fields.
User can drill down the file statistics, and see the field values underlying them. He can browse through the file, search for desired records, sort and index the records, extract records fulfilling certain criteria, search for duplicates and gaps, summarize and stratify records and export files (e.g. to MS Excel). These measures are supported by functions, that help in applying the measures to desired records. The functions resemble those in MS Excel. Functions can be used also in making various virtual fields, the contents of which are typically determined from other fields, through a formulae. In addition user can make pivot tables, age analyses and Benford analyses, plan and draw samples and statistically evaluate audit findings in sampled transaction. When several IDEA files exist a user can join, append and compare them, and create action fields, i.e fields having relationship to a field of another IDEA file. Information about the processing measures is automatically recorded in the history of the IDEA file.
IDEA provides user with several tools in organizing work, too: e.g. to-do-list, tools to create folders and move and copy files between them, and a tool to make shortcuts to prorgrams and macros.
IDEA's speciality is IDEAScript. It is an object-oriented scripting tool, compatible with MS Visual Basic. User creates macros with it, and he can compile them. As an example source code of a macro for creating a log file and some easy-to-read entries in it is shown below. Comments of the macro are on the right side of the lines (start with ').
When running the scripts Log1.txt will be created with the following contents:
