ROI calculator
Economics of Agentic SOX testing
Calculate savings for your team by adjusting the values. Target positive payback in 4-6 months.
1. Control population
Typical SOX program: 2 cycles (ToE1 interim + ToE2 rollforward). Add 1 if ToD is in scope.
Share of PBCs that need to be re-requested. Good UX cuts this in half via control-owner self-check.
Hours the 1st LOD spends gathering evidence per hour of testing. Default 1:1.
Testing hours (annual)
3,180 hrs
PBC collection hours (annual)
3,578 hrs
Evidence gathering3,180 hrs
Repeat-PBC rework398 hrs
Total baseline hours (annual)
6,758 hrs
2. Team & cost per hour
People who will actually use the tool day-to-day.
Loaded cost for internal SOX staff.
Big 4 / boutique audit co-source.
Loaded cost for control owners (1st LOD).
Cost of testing (annual)
$699,600
In-house$286,200
Co-sourced$413,400
Cost of PBC collection (annual)
$357,750
Evidence gathering$318,000
Repeat-PBC rework$39,750
Total SOX testing cost (annual)
$1,057,350
3. Testing savings
Share of controls supported by the tool.
Quality of AI-generated test results and evidence analysis.
How much reviewer editing the AI-generated work papers need.
Without integration, testers spend time on manual evidence and work paper transfers.
Gross testing savings
$313,421
Cost of testing$699,600
× RACM coverage80%
× AI quality70%
× WP quality80%
Integration support cost
$0
Controls in scope160
× hrs/control0 hrs
× cycles2
× blended rate$220/hr
Net testing savings (annual)
$313,421
4. PBC collection savings
Control owners upload evidence and get immediate feedback, reducing repeat PBC requests.
PBC collection savings (annual)
$22,260
Repeat PBC rework cost$39,750
× RACM coverage80%
× pre-validation reduction70%
5. Cost of implementation
Tool admin, prompt tuning, access management.
Drives ramp-up time and PBC rework reduction.
Internal cost (first year)
$14,080
Personnel ramp-up$8,800
Ongoing admin$5,280
Vendor cost (first year)
$100,000
Subscription$100,000
One-time services$0
Total first-year cost
$114,080
6. Result
Total annual savings
$335,681
Testing savings$313,421
PBC savings$22,260
Total first-year cost
$114,080
Net first-year impact
$221,601
Simple payback
4.1 months
Payback clears the 4–6 month target. Worth building the proper business case.
The model at its defaults
The calculator estimates what testing with AI agents saves a SOX program in its first year. It prices a baseline from your control mix, testing hours and blended rates, applies automation and quality factors to testing and evidence-gathering work, then nets the cost of the software and implementation. These are its default assumptions, and every one is adjustable above.
Default control mix
| Control type | Controls | Hours per control |
|---|---|---|
| ITGCs (Access, change mgmt, ops) | 35 | 6 |
| Manual business-process (Journal review, approvals) | 80 | 10 |
| Automated app controls (System-enforced) | 25 | 2 |
| Key reports & IPE (Reports relied upon) | 30 | 8 |
| Management review (MRCs, judgment-heavy) | 20 | 12 |
| Entity-level (Tone, oversight) | 10 | 5 |
Other defaults
The defaults assume two testing cycles a year, an in-house rate of $150/h, and a co-sourcing rate of $325/h covering 40% of testing. Evidence gathering runs at 1× testing hours, priced at $100/h, with 25% of requests reworked. Vendor subscription $100,000 a year with no one-time implementation fee. The subscription default is a placeholder for the quote you are evaluating, not Bead's price.
What the defaults produce
| Result | At the defaults |
|---|---|
| Baseline testing and evidence effort | 6,758 hours a year |
| Baseline annual cost | $1,057,350 |
| Annual savings from automation | $335,681 |
| First-year software and implementation cost | $114,080 |
| Net first-year impact | $221,601 |
| Simple payback | 4.1 months |