The introduction of Verji has resulted in significant streamlining and savings. “What used to be delivered personally or via mail now goes electronically,” says CEO Janne Eraker, who has been using Verji for three years.
Vestlandsrevisjon comprises the two companies Vestlandsrevisjon AS and Vestlandsrevisjon IKS. Vestlandsrevisjon AS works with the private market, offering both auditing and accounting services, focusing on business customers.
Vestlandsrevisjon IKS deals with municipal auditing for 8 owner municipalities located in Vestland county. The companies have offices in Knarvik and Voss, covering a relatively large geographic area.
Municipal auditing sometimes involves sensitive information that used to be delivered physically to the auditor’s office by municipal employees. Since Verji is a high-security solution with end-to-end encryption of all communication, everything can now be done electronically, ensuring security, GDPR, and personal data laws are maintained optimally. The introduction of Verji has led to significant streamlining and savings, as everything that used to be personally delivered now goes electronically. “There’s a lot of travel time saved in delivering sensitive documentation,” says CEO Janne Eraker.
So far, Verji is used by about 20% of the inter-municipal audit companies in Norway, with Vestlandsrevisjon using Verji for its third year.
Regarding the difference in auditing joint-stock companies and municipalities, Janne says that auditing is largely the same, but there are different regulations to consider. A significant difference is that municipalities have administrative audits.
Administrative audit is a unique type of audit of public operations, defined as systematic assessments of finance, productivity, compliance, goal achievement, and effects based on municipal council decisions. This type of audit aims to provide relevant information to political bodies on the implementation and effects of public measures. In administrative audits, there’s often a demand for many documents, which can include sensitive information, especially in health and upbringing. “This information must either be delivered personally or they can use a secure encrypted solution, like Verji,” says Janne.
Whistleblower cases are also areas where it’s appropriate to have encrypted communication.
The reason Vestlandsrevisjon introduced Verji was due to GDPR and the personal data act and the requirements for encryption and security in communication. They concluded that email did not cover their needs for secure communication and that they needed another solution. The decision was to have a solution as simple and user-friendly as possible, ensuring that employees and customers don’t overlook these crucial legal requirements in a busy day.
When asked about the feedback from clients regarding using Verji, Janne says it varies. Most find it incredibly efficient, and some are pleasantly surprised that it’s simpler than they imagined. The experience is that customers are delighted to send electronically what they used to travel two hours to deliver in person. There are a few clients that are a bit hesitant to use new tools, but with a little help, they too realize the efficiency and convenience of Verji.
Vestlandsrevisjon has transitioned all communication to Verji for some clients, while others still use email or other alternatives. As Verji launches its upcoming hierarchy of rooms, Janne looks forward to even better organization of communication rooms and further increasing the amount of communication happening in Verji.
When asked about Vestlandsrevisjon’s experience with Verji’s support, Janne mentions that they rarely needed support since Verji is very straightforward. On the few occasions they did, they received immediate phone assistance.
Vestlandsrevisjon is always on the lookout for efficiency measures and plans to use Verji’s mobile app in the future. They also plan to test Verji’s new feature for document signing with Bank-ID in encrypted rooms.
