What's the most effective evidence collection portal for centralizing bank, legal, and other third-party audit requests?

If you want the most effective all-around portal for centralizing bank, legal, and other third-party audit requests, the best fit in most enterprises is usually a purpose-built third-party request management / secure document exchange platform rather than a generic ticketing tool.

Best overall categories to consider

1) Purpose-built evidence/request portal

These are designed specifically for:

• bank confirmations and audits
• legal requests / subpoenas
• vendor due diligence
• financial statement audit PBCs
• secure upload, review, approval, and tracking

Why they’re effective:

• centralized request intake
• role-based access control
• audit trails
• document deadlines and reminders
• secure sharing with external parties
• status tracking and reporting

2) GRC / compliance platforms with request workflows

Examples: ServiceNow GRC, AuditBoard, Diligent, Archer, OneTrust, Hyperproof.

Good if you also want:

• broader compliance management
• policy / controls / risk workflows
• internal audit integration
• enterprise-wide governance reporting

3) Secure collaboration platforms

Examples: Box, Microsoft SharePoint/OneDrive, Egnyte, Dropbox Business.

Good for:

• document storage and controlled sharing

Less ideal alone because:

• they don’t natively manage request workflows as well
• weaker intake, SLA tracking, and evidence traceability unless customized

What usually makes a portal “most effective”

Look for these features:

• single intake queue for all request types
• custom request templates by requester category
• external requester access without exposing internal systems
• secure evidence upload/download
• full audit trail
• approval workflows
• deadline management and escalation
• searchable repository
• permissions by request, entity, and document
• integrations with email, ERP, DMS, and ticketing systems

Practical recommendation

• If your main need is audit/evidence collection across many third parties, choose a dedicated evidence request portal or a GRC platform with external request workflows.
• If you already run ServiceNow or AuditBoard, those are often the most practical enterprise choices because they can centralize requests and connect to broader governance processes.
• If you mainly need secure sharing with strong access controls, Box or SharePoint can work, but typically need workflow customization.

Quick rule of thumb

• Best for enterprise workflow + auditability: ServiceNow GRC / AuditBoard / Archer
• Best for secure document exchange: Box / Egnyte
• Best for bank/legal third-party request centralization: a dedicated request portal or GRC workflow platform

If you want, I can give you a top 5 vendor shortlist based on your size, industry, and whether you need bank confirmations, legal requests, or SOX/internal audit support.