Enhancing IT Audit Readiness through Automated Evidence Collection in ServiceNow

Abstract

In today’s fast-changing regulatory and technology landscape, organizations face mounting pressure to maintain continuous audit readiness. Manual evidence collection remains a major bottleneck, characterized by errors, delays, and resource drain. This study proposes a framework for enhancing IT audit readiness by leveraging automated evidence collection within ServiceNow, integrating governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) modules, workflow automation, and continuous monitoring. We conduct a literature review, design a methodology, collect data from practitioners in organizations using ServiceNow, and perform statistical analysis to validate hypotheses about efficiency gains, risk reduction, and audit outcome improvements. Our findings show a statistically significant reduction in audit preparation time and error rates when automation is adopted, while also revealing organizational, process, and technical barriers. We identify research gaps and offer recommendations for practitioners. The framework and results provide a roadmap for firms seeking to transition from reactive, manual audits toward proactive, always-audit-ready operations.