Flow Analysis (Beta)

Overview

Flow Analysis is an analytics feature that visualises how transactions flow between accounts in your General Ledger. Using an interactive Sankey diagram, you can quickly identify transaction patterns, spot anomalies, and drill down into specific account relationships.

What is Flow Analysis?

Flow Analysis transforms your General Ledger transaction data into a visual flow chart showing:

• How transactions moves between different accounts
• The relative volume of transactions between account pairs
• Which account relationships have the most activity

This helps auditors and accountants:

• Spot unusual transaction flows that may require investigation
• Understand the overall transaction structure of an engagement
• Quickly identify where to focus detailed testing

Prerequisites

Before using Flow Analysis, you need:

1. General Ledger data imported into your engagement file
2. Transaction IDs in your GL data (required for grouping related journal entries)

Currently, Flow Analysis works with:

• GL data imported via the Xero API integration

Note: CSV imports are not yet supported but will be added in a future release.

Accessing Flow Analysis

1. Open your engagement file
2. Navigate to the General Ledger page
3. Locate the Flow Analysis (beta) toggle switch to the right of the filter buttons
4. Click the toggle to turn it on

Note: The toggle will be disabled (greyed out) if:

• No GL data has been imported
• The required flow dataset is not available
• The file uses Dual Codes (not currently supported)

Understanding the Flow Chart

Once enabled, a Sankey diagram appears between the filter area and your transaction table.

Reading the chart:

• Nodes (vertical bars) represent account codes
• Flows (curved lines) connect accounts that have transactions between them
• Flow thickness indicates the relative volume of transactions—thicker lines mean more transaction activity
• Flow direction shows the relationship between account pairs

Hover over any flow to see:

• Source account code and name
• Target account code and name
• Total transaction value
• Number of transactions

Investigating Transaction Flows

When you spot an interesting or unusual flow:

1. Click on the flow in the chart
2. The transaction table below automatically: 
   • Activates Group by Transaction mode
   • Filters to show only transactions involving both accounts
   • Reorders columns to show Transaction ID first
   • Groups related journal entries together

This allows you to see the complete picture of transactions between those two accounts, including any other accounts involved in multi-leg transactions.

Using Group by Transaction Mode

When you click a flow (or manually enable the Group by Transaction checkbox):

• Transactions are sorted by Transaction ID
• Related journal entries are visually grouped together
• Duplicate information (date, description, type, reference) is hidden on secondary rows
• Column order changes to emphasise the transaction grouping

This view helps you understand:

• The full context of each transaction
• All accounts affected by a single business transaction
• Whether transaction patterns make sense for the business

What to Look For

Flow Analysis is particularly useful for identifying:

Unusual account relationships

• Flows between accounts that shouldn't typically interact
• Unexpected connections (e.g., revenue flowing directly to expense accounts)

Anomalous patterns

• Small flows that seem out of place
• Transactions that bypass expected control accounts

Investigation priorities

• High-volume flows that warrant detailed testing
• Complex transaction chains requiring documentation

Example: If you see a flow from Bank Account directly to Directors Loan Account, you might want to investigate whether this flow could indicate personal drawings bypassing proper approval, or funds being extracted without board authorisation

Current Limitations

As a beta feature, Flow Analysis has some limitations:

• Xero imports only: Currently only supports GL data imported via Xero API (CSV support coming soon)
• Dual Codes not supported: Files using Dual Codes cannot use Flow Analysis at this time
• Circular references: If your GL data contains circular transaction flows, the chart cannot be displayed—you'll see an error message
• Null Transaction IDs: Transactions without IDs cannot be grouped and will appear as single-entry items

Tips for Using Flow Analysis

• Start with the big picture: Look at the overall flow structure before drilling into specific relationships
• Investigate the unusual: Focus on thin lines or unexpected connections—these often reveal the most interesting findings
• Use filters together: Combine Flow Analysis with date and amount filters to focus on specific periods or transaction sizes
• Document your findings: Take screenshots of unusual flows for your working papers