Who is this article for?

  Anyone using or administering the application.

Summary

The Pentana Robot is a Windows service that runs scheduled jobs for the Internal Audit application, handling automated tasks and system maintenance.

What Robot Jobs Do

Several jobs run automatically (typically nightly or more frequently) to maintain your data:

Standard housekeeping tasks:

• Updating due date variances and milestones
• Recalculating fields like Audit.OrgUnitxNames
• Propagating updates to process names and segmentation values

Optional jobs (most commonly used for action tracking):

• Automatically creating Action Updates
• Sending initial emails, reminders, and rejection notifications

Similar optional jobs are available for Risk Management, SOX certifications, and document requests.

In the past, the Robot handled data synchronisation with Retain, and custom robot jobs were available as a service (no longer offered).

How It Works

The Robot runs on the server, recalculating some values in near real time while running other jobs at specified times.

Managing the Robot

The Robot is managed via a server-based tool called App Manager.  Therefore, if you want to explore enabling/disabling or hanging scheduling of jobs, please speak to our Support team.

System User Changes (Historical Context)

Old approach: Early versions required an actual Staff user called "Pentana Robot," which caused problems:

• Consumed a user license (leading to admin issues around tracking the number of purchases licences)
• Needed maximum permissions, but administrators sometimes accidentally changed its role, breaking functionality

Current approach: The Robot now logs in as a SYSTEM user—a special system identity that's invisible to end users and doesn't consume a license.

Conclusion

The Pentana Robot Service is an essential component that keeps your Internal Audit application running smoothly by automating routine maintenance tasks and workflows. By handling scheduled jobs in the background—from system housekeeping to action tracking notifications—it reduces manual work and ensures your data stays current and accurate. For most users, the Robot operates invisibly, requiring minimal intervention once properly configured.