The Pentana Audit Work System (PAWS) application is built on Microsoft technology and is delivered in two forms:

Desktop/Laptop Application

• Contains complete set of functionality including Administrator configuration screens
• Supports Windows XP and Vista
• SQL Server Express can be optionally installed on staff laptops to facilitate offsite working without any requirement for network/internet connectivity
• PAWS  application can be installed within a Citrix / Terminal Services Environment
• PAWS  can send out notification/reminder emails to alert staff of outstanding actions via a SMTP email server
• User accounts can be created by referencing a corporate Active Directory or LDAP server
  
  

Web Browser Based Application

• Can be used for most of the day to day tasks
• Built using Microsoft .NET technology
• Hosted on Microsoft IIS platform (Windows Server 2003 / 2008)
• Requires no additional software or browser plug-ins to be installed on user PCs
• Supports Internet Explorer and other browsers supported on a best efforts basis

Connectivity

Both the PAWS application and Web modules connect directly to a shared Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008 database using either Windows or SQL Server Authentication.

Virtualisation

The PAWS web modules and PAWS desktop/laptop application have been tested within Microsoft Virtual Server.

Collaborative Working

PAWS presents various opportunities for collaborative and team working including Web modules, synchronizing local audits and the ability to share a database offsite using a hub within a Peer to Peer network.

External Work Paper Files

Work papers  files (typically Microsoft  Word & Excel) are stored externally to the database under a managed directory structure within a shared folder. Each work paper file is stored within a sub-folder named using the parent entity/audit reference and can be secured using the standard network access control list.

Authentication

PAWS has a comprehensive set of approaches to authenticating users within the application including...

• Conventional username/password authentication
• Authentication via LDAP lookup
• Authentication based on user's Windows account credentials
• Digital Certificate based authentication (PKI)
  
  

Reporting

• Reports created in native PAWS Report Designer can be exported in .csv, .xls, .html, .pdf, .rtf, .txt and .tiff formats
• Custom Microsoft Office templates can be developed to produce stunning graphic reports
• Reporting views available within the database to ease report creation in third party applications such as Crystal Reports or Microsoft Reporting Services