If you’ve clicked on this article, welcome, fellow gamer, fellow nerd. This is a safe space.
In this article, you'll find:
- Introduction to Gamifying Concept
- Why Gamifying Audits Works
- Key Features of a Gamifying Audits Platform
Introduction to Gamifying Concept
For many of us, video games are a safe haven, an escape from the daily grind. They take us to unimaginable places, make us the hero of the story, test and sharpen our skills—all while making us feel pretty damn cool in the process. Whether you're role-playing as a vertically challenged plumber or mastering the art of stacking colored geometric blocks, you're the protagonist. You’re in control.
Auditing, like gaming, demands a high level of skill and attention to detail. But not every task taps into your full potential. In both worlds, there's a learning curve, an "earn your stripes" period. The key difference? In auditing, you're often stuck battling those level 1 grunts well into your career. That’s not okay. Auditing needs an upgrade—a patch, if you will.
Many low-level tasks are unnecessarily lengthy and repetitive, stopping you from advancing to the next stage: critical, strategic work. This grind contributes to high attrition rates, burnout, and those relentless 10-hour days. Enter innovation. Leading firms are addressing these challenges by adopting technology—but not just any technology, the right technology.
The right technology for auditors doesn’t just take over manual, routine tasks—auditors won’t allow that. Every calculation needs to be traceable, every piece of data accounted for. Technology that lacks transparency or undermines professional judgment simply won't cut it.
Instead, the right technology (okay, I swear that's the last time I'll use this phrase) turns those manual, repetitive tasks into engaging, efficient, and traceable processes—keeping auditors firmly in the driver’s seat. And that’s where gamification comes into play.
Why Gamifying Audits Works
Why do video games keep players hooked for hours? It’s the engagement, the challenge, the bright visuals, and the satisfaction of progress–video games are ALL about the user experience. That’s the key takeaway. When adopting or creating a new solution, ask yourself how the users will feel about this process; about this experience.
Audit firms are now looking at user experience to tackle the growing attrition rates and burnout issues.
Excel is impressive. It’s foundational. However, it can also be necessarily (but frustratingly) rigid when looking at specific use cases. In auditing, several mind-numbing repetitive tasks cannot be improved further with Excel alone.
This has brought a new breed of audit software platforms that use gamifying elements offering interactive features that turn auditing into a stimulating experience rather than copious amounts of manual tick-and-tie, tie-and-tick, and tick… you get the picture.
This begs the question; what are the key UX features that make these gamifying platforms so effective?
Key Features of a Gamifying Audit Platform
Visual Engagement
Since the dawn of gaming, buttons have been crucial. They’re often rounded and smooth in touch and motion. However, we’re going to focus on color. Bright, bold, and tactile. Each button and, thus, each color represents a clear action. Players (or users) quickly associate certain colors with a specific move, action, or type of action.
Color-coded features in an audit platform guide users through tasks intuitively.
For example, Datasnipper. Text Snip is blue. Exception Snip is red. Table Snip, purple. So when users need to extract tables from supporting documents, they can easily locate “the purple button” and know exactly what to do. Plus, when a peer reviews this same document, they can also easily identify and understand each data point by color alone.
Look how pretty and enticing it all looks!
Low Entry, High Potential
Not all gamers game the same. Some game casually. While others game to uncover every secret, master every move and character, reach a “oneness”–they game to become the game.
The ideal audit platform caters to both ends of the spectrum—a low entry point with high potential. One on hand, easy to learn for beginners, a pick-up-and-play solution. On the other hand, deep functionality for advanced users, allowing them to dive into complex workflows and fine-tune processes. Stepping outside the moves list and making the platform work in ways many didn’t know were possible were also important.
The benefits are clear: rapid onboarding for new users and plenty of room for growth for those who want to truly “master” the system.
Multiplayer Mode(s)
Every game is better with a friend… except maybe Overcooked, ironically.
Making live changes in the same workbook with your teammate is a multiplayer mode every auditor can get behind. An audit is exceptionally collaborative. From tackling complex use cases to navigating a large client during the busy season, many tasks can’t be done alone.
Collaborating in real-time is like doubling up with your best friend to defeat that final boss.
Platforms that consider and implement collaboration features foster teamwork and enhance efficiency while making the entire process that much more enjoyable.
Shared Learning and Guides
One of the few times I’d actually look forward to going to school was when I was stuck on a tricky part of a game, knowing a friend who had already beaten it could show me the way forward. I wasn’t alone in this either—during lunch, we’d all gather around, swapping tips and tricks, helping each other improve and level up our skills. This is shared learning.
Auditors operate in much the same way. When they get their hands on a new audit platform, they’re quick to exchange tips and strategies, helping each other reach the next level. So how can the platform provider support this collaborative effort?
Leading audit platforms offer guides and walkthroughs, often housed within an academy, alongside tailored training programs to ensure every user can maximize the tool’s potential.
This shared learning often leads to internal champions or ambassadors who become the go-to experts on specific use cases, processes, or features. These champions help their colleagues get the most out of the platform, driving efficiency and mastery across the team.
Speedruns
Speedrun was an ugly word in gaming—at least among game developers. For most speedruns, a game must be 'broken' to be able to complete it as quickly as possible. But thanks to the rapidly growing speedrunning community, some developers are starting to embrace it. They allow flexibility in their game mechanics and even encourage speedruns.
In auditing, this translates into finding creative ways to streamline processes in ways the platform developers didn’t anticipate–this requires a flexible framework. Users want to skip steps, add steps, customize workflows, and find their own use cases.
Beating the High Score
A little dose of healthy competition is great for any workplace. Just like gamers trying to beat their high scores, auditors have that same competitive spirit.
Auditors often compare how quickly they can complete tasks—whether against manual methods, their past performance, or even each other. This can spark some lighthearted banter between teammates, which is fantastic for bonding.
Friendly competition keeps the workplace lively and serves as an excellent way for management to inspire their teams.
Ready to Power Up?
By integrating elements from video games—such as visual engagement, collaboration, mastery, competition, and innovation—audit firms can turn a typically monotonous process into an exciting and rewarding experience. Engaged employees not only perform better but also stick around longer and find new ways to innovate.
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