Microsoft Dynamics 365 · Finance & Operations · Business Central

A rule is followed exactly as far as its execution is measured.

The accounting system shows the result of an operation but never answers whether the rule was followed. The continuous compliance-control agent from Master Development closes that gap in Microsoft Dynamics 365: it checks every operation against your internal norms, finds violations before they turn into losses, and makes compliance a fact confirmed by data rather than a matter of trust in whoever executed it.

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agent · shelf-life-control · d365 F&O

09:02:14SO-4471shelf-life82% left · customer min 70%
09:02:15SO-4472emailcustomer approval found · KAM thread #A19
09:02:17SO-4480shelf-life88% left · customer min 60%
09:02:17summaryshelf-life5 orders · 3 ok · 2 findings

Select a flagged line to see the finding. Switch scenarios above.

Why sampling and standard checks are not enough

Sampling misses what repeats

A person checks what there is time for: large amounts, familiar problem items, totals. A deviation within tolerance gets waved through — correctly, each time. The same deviation repeating week after week is a process defect that costs money continuously, and a sample cannot see repetition: it has no memory of yesterday. The agent checks every operation and keeps the history, so a systemic violation becomes visible while it is still systemic, not when it has become a year-end write-off.

The system cannot see what was never entered

Every standard check asks whether a record is correct. None asks whether the record exists at all. An order lost in a failed integration raises no error. A document nobody entered breaks no rule. An obligation never invoiced appears in no receivables report. Such losses surface from the counterparty or at the annual reconciliation — when they can no longer be fixed. Only a reconciliation against an external, independent source finds a missing record. The agent does it daily.

The party that deviated is usually the source of data about it

Data on a contractor's work comes from the contractor. Data on entry accuracy comes from the person who entered it. The reason for a deviation is chosen by whoever it may be attributed to. Control built on self-reporting does not reveal systematic distortion — it reproduces it. For every check the agent uses at least two independent sources and separates a confirmed fact from one party's claim. The management conversation changes: not about anyone's good faith, but about a specific line with specific figures.

What the company gets

Compliance you can measure

Every rule becomes a measurable quantity. For any operation it is known whether the norm was followed and, if not, by whom and at which step. The regulation stops being a document everyone signed and nobody checks.

Systematic violations, separated from noise

A single deviation is an operational question; a repeating one is a process defect. The agent separates the two statistically and shows patterns invisible in any single day: a persistent skew in deviation causes, regular failures at one point, deadlines slowly drifting past the norm. Fixing a systemic defect stops future losses; reviewing a single case only recovers its cost.

Errors that have already cost money

Much of the control works retrospectively, on data already accumulated. Results appear before anything changes in how people work: lost documents, uninvoiced deliveries, stuck stock, overdue obligations. The project's case is proven with facts, not a forecast.

Lower regulatory and contractual risk

Deadlines set by law or contract are tracked by countdown: the agent shows not how much time has passed but how much remains before consequences. A breach is prevented, not recorded after the fact.

Evidence for working with contractors

Accumulated statistics on execution quality — accuracy, timeliness, share of deviations — turn the conversation with a counterparty from an exchange of impressions into a review of measured figures for the period. Grounds for revising contract terms and for substantiated claims.

How it works

Independent measurement

Each check relies on at least two sources, one of which the checked party does not control. A deviation confirmed by one source only is marked as a claim, not a fact.

Control along the chain, not by document

Operations are checked as transitions of one quantity between stages; the sum of all states must equal the origin. A broken identity means the quantity vanished between steps — and this check needs no trust in any participant.

Blocking only where the error is irreversible

Full control must not stop work. An operation is blocked in one case only: when the error could not be corrected later — an expiring legal deadline, an irreversible shipment, loss of fitness. Everything else is detected after the fact with targeted escalation.

No signal without an addressee

For each deviation the agent answers four questions: what happened, why, who is responsible, what to do. Without the fourth, the notification is not sent. This protects against the surest way to devalue control — a stream of messages nobody opens.

The decision stays with a person

The agent does not close violations on its own from indirect evidence. It finds the grounds, presents them to a person and records the confirmation. The costs are asymmetric: a missed approval costs minutes; a violation legalised automatically costs money and trust in the whole control system.

Control checks itself

A signal left unhandled is escalated like the original violation. Coverage is verified separately: changes in master data, new employees and new counterparties must not silently drop out of scope.

Where it applies

The agent runs on top of the accounting system and external data sources without replacing them or requiring a process redesign.

Accounting core

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations and Business Central; other ERP systems.

Document exchange

EDI, integrations with providers and contractors.

External confirmations

Warehouse and transport systems, counterparty confirmations, regulatory receipts.

Unstructured sources

Business correspondence, scanned documents, attachments in arbitrary formats.

Typical control areas: customer contract terms, completeness of order intake and processing, actual versus planned execution, contractor performance, regulatory deadlines, daily data reconciliation between systems.

Implementation

Retrospective measurement
On data already accumulated we check whether violations exist and how large they are. Needs no implementation and gives a factual answer before the project decision.
Control points without changes
Checks that work on existing data go live first. First results within a few weeks.
Core loop
Message reconciliation between systems, verification of internal rules, full daily data reconciliation.
Unstructured data
Correspondence, scans, free-form documents. Tuned to the company's language and specifics.
Perimeter expansion
Remaining channels, sites and contractors are connected.

Questions we get on the first call

Do we need to change processes or retrain staff?

No. The agent works with data the system already accumulates and asks nothing extra of people. Where a regulation requires a formal trace that staff do not leave, the agent builds the missing link itself and presents it for confirmation.

Won't control turn into a flood of notifications?

Each deviation is addressed to the person who can act on it and comes with a specific action. Deviations explained by the process are filtered out by rules. Unhandled signals are escalated — control cannot quietly stop working.

Does the agent replace internal audit?

No. It takes the exhaustive checking off audit's hands and leaves it the investigation and conclusions. Audit gets full coverage instead of a sample and evidence instead of a reconstruction of events.

How fast do results appear?

First findings come from the retrospective measurement, before implementation. First working control points — within a few weeks, when they rely on data already in the system.

What if a contractor violated a rule and the contract has no penalties?

The agent accumulates measured statistics on execution quality. It becomes the basis for introducing standards into the contract at the next revision — a precondition for recovery, not the recovery itself.

Send us one regulation you wish was actually followed.

We will tell you on the call whether an agent can enforce it, and a retrospective measurement will show whether it is being broken today.