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IT auditors steadily discover themselves educating the enterprise group on how their work provides worth to a company. Inner audit departments generally have an IT audit part which is deployed with a transparent perspective on its position in a company. Nevertheless, in our expertise as IT auditors, the broader enterprise group wants to know the IT audit operate as a way to notice the utmost profit. On this context, we’re publishing this transient overview of the precise advantages and added worth supplied by an IT audit.
To be particular, IT audits might cowl a variety of IT processing and communication infrastructure similar to client-server techniques and networks, working techniques, safety techniques, software program purposes, net providers, databases, telecom infrastructure, change administration procedures and catastrophe restoration planning.
The sequence of a typical audit begins with figuring out dangers, then assessing the design of controls and at last testing the effectiveness of the controls. Skillful auditors can add worth in every section of the audit.
Firms usually preserve an IT audit operate to offer assurance on know-how controls and to make sure regulatory compliance with federal or trade particular necessities. As investments in know-how develop, IT auditing can present assurance that dangers are managed and that massive losses will not be seemingly. A company might also decide {that a} excessive danger of outage, safety menace or vulnerability exists. There might also be necessities for regulatory compliance such because the Sarbanes Oxley Act or necessities which can be particular to an trade.
Beneath we focus on 5 key areas during which IT auditors can add worth to a company. After all, the standard and depth of a technical audit is a prerequisite to including worth. The deliberate scope of an audit can be crucial to the worth added. And not using a clear mandate on what enterprise processes and dangers can be audited, it’s laborious to make sure success or added worth.
So listed below are our prime 5 ways in which an IT audit provides worth:
1. Cut back danger. The planning and execution of an IT audit consists of the identification and evaluation of IT dangers in a company.
IT audits normally cowl dangers associated to confidentiality, integrity and availability of knowledge know-how infrastructure and processes. Extra dangers embody effectiveness, effectivity and reliability of IT.
As soon as dangers are assessed, there might be clear imaginative and prescient on what course to take – to cut back or mitigate the dangers via controls, to switch the danger via insurance coverage or to easily settle for the danger as a part of the working setting.
A crucial idea right here is that IT danger is enterprise danger. Any menace to or vulnerability of crucial IT operations can have a direct impact on a complete group. Briefly, the group must know the place the dangers are after which proceed to do one thing about them.
Finest practices in IT danger utilized by auditors are ISACA COBIT and RiskIT frameworks and the ISO/IEC 27002 commonplace ‘Code of follow for info safety administration’.
2. Strengthen controls (and enhance safety). After assessing dangers as described above, controls can then be recognized and assessed. Poorly designed or ineffective controls might be redesigned and/or strengthened.
The COBIT framework of IT controls is particularly helpful right here. It consists of 4 excessive degree domains that cowl 32 management processes helpful in decreasing danger. The COBIT framework covers all features of knowledge safety together with management targets, key efficiency indicators, key aim indicators and important success components.
An auditor can use COBIT to evaluate the controls in a company and make suggestions that add actual worth to the IT setting and to the group as a complete.
One other management framework is the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Fee (COSO) mannequin of inner controls. IT auditors can use this framework to get assurance on (1) the effectiveness and effectivity of operations, (2) the reliability of monetary reporting and (3) the compliance with relevant legal guidelines and rules. The framework accommodates two parts out of 5 that instantly relate to controls – management setting and management actions.
3. Adjust to rules. Vast ranging rules on the federal and state ranges embody particular necessities for info safety. The IT auditor serves a crucial operate in guaranteeing that particular necessities are met, dangers are assessed and controls carried out.
Sarbanes Oxley Act (Company and Prison Fraud Accountability Act) contains necessities for all public corporations to make sure that inner controls are ample as outlined within the framework of the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Fee’s (COSO) mentioned above. It’s the IT auditor who supplies the reassurance that such necessities are met.
health Insurance coverage Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has three areas of IT necessities – administrative, technical and bodily. It’s the IT auditor who performs a key position in guaranteeing compliance with these necessities.
Numerous industries have extra necessities such because the Cost Card Business (PCI) Information Safety Normal within the bank card trade e.g. Visa and Mastercard.
In all of those compliance and regulatory areas, the IT auditor performs a central position. A company wants assurance that each one necessities are met.
4. Facilitate communication between enterprise and know-how administration. An audit can have the optimistic impact of opening channels of communication between a company’s enterprise and know-how administration. Auditors interview, observe and take a look at what is going on in actuality and in follow. The ultimate deliverables from an audit are invaluable info in written studies and oral displays. Senior administration can get direct suggestions on how their group is functioning.
Know-how professionals in a company additionally have to know the expectations and targets of senior administration. Auditors assist this communication from the highest down via participation in conferences with know-how administration and thru evaluation of the present implementations of insurance policies, requirements and tips.
You will need to perceive that IT auditing is a key component in administration’s oversight of know-how. A company’s know-how exists to assist enterprise technique, features and operations. Alignment of enterprise and supporting know-how is crucial. IT auditing maintains this alignment.
5. Enhance IT Governance. The IT Governance Institute (ITGI) has printed the next definition:
‘IT Governance is the accountability of executives and board of administrators, and consists of the management, organizational constructions and processes that be certain that the enterprise’s IT sustains and extends the group’s methods and targets.’
The management, organizational constructions and processes referred to within the definition all level to IT auditors as key gamers. Central to IT auditing and to total IT administration is a powerful understanding of the worth, dangers and controls round a company’s know-how setting. Extra particularly, IT auditors evaluation the worth, dangers and controls in every of the important thing elements of know-how – purposes, info, infrastructure and other people.
One other perspective on IT governance consists of a framework of 4 key targets that are additionally mentioned within the IT Governance Institute’s documentation:
*IT is aligned with the enterprise *IT allows the enterprise and maximizes advantages *IT assets are used responsibly *IT dangers are managed appropriately
IT auditors present assurance that every of those targets is met. Every goal is crucial to a company and is due to this fact crucial within the IT audit operate.
To sum up, IT auditing provides worth by decreasing dangers, bettering safety, complying with rules and facilitating communication between know-how and enterprise administration. Lastly, IT auditing improves and strengthens total IT governance.
References:
ISACA. Management Aims for Info and associated Know-how (COBIT).
ISO/IEC 27002 Code of follow for info safety administration.
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Fee (COSO) Framework.
