Friday, May 13, 2016

The Vital Things Worth Noting Concerning IT Auditing

By Daniel Roberts


Audit is defined as the thorough examination of financial records or books of accounts. The work can be carried out by internal auditor or a person or entity can hire external auditor. The ultimate goal of any audit work is to express an opinion thereof. The auditor should exercise their professional skills to make these audit reports. IT auditing is necessary especially in the current business world since many organizations and entities have automated most of their work.

The audit may actually be conducted in connection with some financial regularity selective audits. Since the operations of almost all organizations are computerized, there is need to review as well as evaluate information technology controls within the course of audit. Due to technological advancement and the need to simplify the accounting work, many organizations chose to use computerized packages.

First and foremost, an auditor is required to gather enough information and carry out some planning. The second step is gaining a good understanding of all existing internal control structures. Many organizations today are embracing risk based audit concept or approach. This approach is used to simply assess risk and also help an information technology auditor make informed decision.

The decisions to be made are with regards to either an auditor should carry out compliance testing or whether substantive testing is the best. When applying risk-based approach, information technology auditors usually rely on operational controls and internal controls. This auditor will also need to be knowledgeable or have vast knowledge of the business or company.

IT audit is simply an examination that comprises of evaluation and review of IT systems put in place in an organization. The audit will also review all non automated processes and even review the interfaces among them. Before conducting any form of audit, auditors are advised to plan adequately for the process. Before undertaking any audit procedure or activity, the following tips should be considered.

Due to the massive subscription to IT systems by organizations, there has been an increasing demand of information technology audits. Many organizations are basically spending a lot in terms of money on IT because of the benefit associated with such a system. As much as the system is beneficial, an organization should always ensure that their systems are secure, reliable and cannot be vulnerable to any kind of computer attacks.

IT audits are very important since they provide assurance to companies that information systems are properly protected. The audit will also provide reasonable assurance to the users of IT systems that the information they get from the system is reliable. The system should also be managed properly to achieve the organizational intended benefits.

Risk based audit concept is being embraced today by many companies. The risk approach is used by these auditors to ensure that IT auditors only make informed decisions. The role of IT or information technology and audit today has become completely critical with respect to ensuring the truthfulness of IS in organizations.

The following items should be identified, control environment, detecting risk assessment, control procedures among others. The following are also worth noting that is control risk assessment and equate total risk. Once IT auditor has necessary information which is sufficient enough, they can commence the planning process. Areas to be audited need to be selected by the auditor.




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