Joinson&Spice is an Amsterdam accountancy boutique specializing in audit and advisory for fast-growing tech companies, start-ups, and scale-ups. Working with these clients means they are at the forefront of technological adoption themselves and are continuously innovating. One of the innovations is how they rebuilt the frontend of its tests of details around RobotX, and how the firm decided the switch was worth making.

“RobotX has been a real partner to us. Our standard test work is powered by Flow, and we’re wiring it into our own audit apps through the API. Flex comes with AI as standard, no separate module to buy on top. With Studio FSX we get regular check-ins and a clear view of where the roadmap is heading.
We ask for something; it shows up, fast. They listen, and it shows.”

Gerke van Garderen, Head of Innovation at Joinson&Spice

Before RobotX

Before RobotX, the team used other software with similar functionality. Joinson&Spice relied on that software for many of its tests of details and documentation work. It did the job well. But the team wanted to take it one step further.

The challenge was where and how the work started. Auditors received the files, opened them, moved the data into Excel by hand, then ran the checks. Nothing happened until someone sat down with the file. So even with software handling part of the job, everything still hung on an auditor to gather the files, upload them, kick off the process on their own machine, and wait for it to finish. That was a bottleneck, and it wasn't a great use of an auditor's time. The firm already ran its own client portal and its own tooling, so the goal was to make the process smarter and start some of the work before anyone even looked at a file. That calls for APIs, and for something that can sit outside Excel but still brings the results back into Excel. That requirement is what led the team to RobotX.

“We wanted to make the process smarter and start some of the work before anyone even looks at the file.”

In essence, Gerke says, it is a lot of the same audit work, but RobotX cuts part of the process and the preparation at the beginning.

What the team does differently now

RobotX Flow

Flow runs the firm’s standardised testwork, the sample-based tests of details that Gerke calls an unfortunate but real part of audit. It prepares the documentation so that the team can review it. Most of that work is in capturing and connecting the documentation: the links between a general ledger transaction, an invoice, a bank statement, and whatever else is relevant.

The setup can run through API connections, which the firm is wiring into its own audit software. After the PBC is communicated to the client, the goal is that there is no auditor's involvement or effort right up to the point where RobotX returns a completed workpaper, ready for review. Joinson&Spice uses its in-house sampling tool, based on their datawarehouse,  to prepare a relevant sample in their client portal, so the full set is ready for Flow after the clients provide documentation.

RobotX Flex

More recently the team started using Flex for testing that doesn’t fit a fixed template, the more variable and content-based work. Gerke’s example is a stack of contracts you need to pull specific facts from, where Flex gives the team more flexibility to work with the material directly. Flex comes with AI as standard, with no separate module to buy on top of it.

RobotX Studio FSX

Gerke’s favorite is the newest tool his team helped test and experiment with, Studio FSX.

“For me, that’s where it starts to feel more like magic.”

Studio FSX manages different versions of financial statements and treats every draft as one connected review object, so the document, its review, and its full history stay linked from first draft to final sign-off. It runs a broad library of automated review procedures, from mathematical accuracy and internal consistency to prior-year comparison and cross-reference validation, that all feed into a single structured review. The mathematical accuracy is valuable, but version comparison is a big thing for the firm.

“When a client sends a new version, FSX flags what changed and carries our completed work forward, so we only review the bigger changes and can track every comment: was it closed, was it followed up? That became useful in ways we hadn't expected when we started using the tool a year and a half ago. It grew out of our feedback, and probably other firms too."

The impact

What Gerke can point to is consistency, which matters to the firm and to its clients.

“The biggest impact today is consistency. Flow standardises the test work and prepares the documentation in the same way each time, which gives the team a clearer starting point for review. We are now wiring that into our own audit software through the API, with the longer-term goal of continuing to reduce the manual preparation before an auditor can review.”

How they decided to switch

Changing tools always brings some friction, and Gerke’s team planned for it. They decided they wanted one tool rather than two similar ones, and they believed in a clear direction: more APIs, more connectivity and a focus on forward-thinking product development.

Then they tested that decision with their own people. Gerke put together a group who was interested in trying RobotX, and invited a few reluctant colleagues in too, so the feedback wasn’t only coming from enthusiasts. The brief was direct.

“The question was essentially: tell us why we should not change.”

During the test phase, the team used RobotX on real work and listed anything they thought would become a problem later. Some bugs, some changes in ways of working. Issues that came up have gradually been resolved. It gave the firm a clear read on whether it would miss its old tool or be all set. It took some adjustments, but for Joinson&Spice it has been worth it.

Advice to other firms considering a switch

Gerke’s advice to firms weighing a switch is to make it a real test. Run it on live work, involve the skeptics early, and openly write down every problem the team can find. Ask how much friction it will actually create for people day to day. If there are no major issues, or the team can work around the ones they find, the firm is probably ready to decide.

“My main takeaway: try it and see. Make it a real test.”

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