5 steps to adding Auditors to Workiva
The following are steps on how best to add external auditors to your Workiva account.
Step 1 — Add Auditors to the Organization
In order to have your auditors review files in your Workspace, they first need to be added to your organization. But don’t worry, at this point they will not yet receive any notifications with login information.
Note that only an Organization Admin can give access to new users in the Organization. Organization User Admins can add new users and Organization Security Admins can add them to the Single Sign-On bypass lists or add these users to the Single Sign-On platform used for your organization, if applicable.
Click here for more info on Organization roles and Adding users to your organization.
Step 2 — Determine which Workspace Role your auditors should have
We suggest one of the following roles for your auditors.
- Viewer - allows auditors to view and comment on any file within the Workspace if they have the permissions as granted. If given this role, move to Step 3.
- Limited Starter - allows auditors to view and comment on Reviews they are sent only. They cannot view any files in the Workspace. If you grant this role, you may skip to Step 4.
Click here to learn more about Understanding roles.
Step 3 — Create a Permission Group and Update Permissions
Form within your Workspace Settings, create a new group for your auditors and add them to this group. Note you’d need Workspace Owner rights to perform this task.
Be mindful that all new users, including auditors will be added to the default ‘All Users’ group. However, we ask that you not alter or delete this group. Instead, edit the permissions on the files and/or folders in the Workspace that these auditors should be given access to by adding the newly created group.
Click here to learn more about Understanding permissions.
Step 4 — Invite Auditors to the Workspace
Once you are confident that the permissions have been updated as needed, a Workspace Owner can invite auditors to the Workspace. This is done in the Workspace Settings under Members and selecting your auditors. Lastly, select the checkbox for “Send welcome email to new users” and click Add user.
Your auditors will now receive an automated Workiva “Welcome Email” with their login details and will now be able to access your Workiva account. Note the temporary password in the welcome email expires after 5 hours but it can be resent, or the password can be reset manually by the auditor as well.
More info on Adding a user to a Workspace.
Step 5 — Review in Workiva
Those with a Viewer role will give auditors Viewer permissions to the live file itself, but be mindful that they will see all any current comments on the file. They can also add new comments. They will not see any sections to which they are not permissioned to.
Those with the Limited Starter role will use the Send for Review feature and will only be able to view the review itself and do not need permission to file. What level of comments they can see and perform can be selected when the review is created.
Click here for more info on Comments in documents.
Additional Resources
System Requirements
To ensure optimal Workiva performance, we encourage you to send our System Requirements info to your auditors and advise them to contact their own IT team if they need to upgrade.
Trainings
We recommend that Auditors complete the appropriate trainings available in The Learning Hub. You may also request a session with your Customer Success Manager.
Community
Have additional Q&A, feedback, or tips to share? You can do so here in the Workiva Community!
Support
The Workiva Support Team is available 24/7 and there are multiple ways in which you can contact them, including in-app Chat, by phone, or in our portal. More info on Support offerings can be found here.
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Commento ufficiale
A quick mention is that for companies that are private and not publicly traded, some companies are ok with being transparent and will add auditors to their workspace and just use the comments' function. If there are comments they do not want to share with auditors, they will use the Comment Permissions, so some comments are set as "Private".
Also, the Binders feature has the same functions as "Send for Review", but it is a much more automated functionality. It has a manual revision button and an automated revision button, so the reports being audited in the Binder are automatically updated with the most current version. Plus, in Binders you can include almost any file type, so if the auditors want to make a comparison from an excel file to a spreadsheet or a Word Doc to a Document in Workiva, they can do so in the Binder. Plus, so much more.
Thanks Yan!
Happy to help answer this for you.
I can confirm that when you create a review to be sent to your Limited Starters, they can comment on the review you have sent. However, you can set what level of comments that exist already are viewable, and if any of their comments (or newly added comments in the live file) will flow back and forth. Here's the breakdown:
I should add too that coming out later this quarter is permissioned comments, which can further aid in keeping comments in your live file out of the prying eyes of auditors. :)
Holler if you have any questions for me or need anything else. Cheers!
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Nice article. For the Limited Starter roles, can they put comments in the files send to their review? I believe they can and their comments should appear in Workiva for us to see once they publish them. Please confirm. Thanks!
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