السبت، 14 مايو 2016

The Vital Things Worth Noting Concerning IT Auditing

By Daniel Roberts


Audit is a thorough examination of books of account by either internal or external auditor with a goal of expressing an opinion thereof. Internal auditors are auditors employed by the firm or company and receive salary from the company. Internal auditors are not completely independent. They report to the management and the manager can influence their findings. IT auditing can be carried out by an independent auditor and sometimes by internal auditor.

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.

There are two types of auditors, internal auditor and external auditor. Internal auditors are hired by the management of a company. Their main purpose is to conduct internal audits with the aim of strengthening internal control systems. They are put on salary just like any other employee. Their reports are not presented to the shareholders but rather the management.

There are several objectives pertaining to information technology audit. The objectives include the following. Evaluating data reliability from IT systems which could be having some impact on financial statements of organizations is one of the objectives. The other objective is ascertaining the level and extent of compliance with existing applicable laws, standards and policies with regards to information technology.

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.

Request from the management or outgoing auditor to give you previous years audit report or result. Identify and evaluate the impact of any recent financial information on the company. Evaluate any existing regulatory statutes that affect the company and lastly identify any presence of inherent risk and assess it. City Sydney has several auditing firms that can offer IT audits.

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.

Thumb drivers can also be stolen or in some cases misappropriated making the system to produce wrong data or information. Inherent risks are known to exist independently of such audits. The risks can occur simply because of the business nature. The auditor should identify the following items to make it easy for him to understand internal control structure that exist already.

To avoid and also prevent any future financial fiascos like the Enron and WorldCom it is necessary to conduct IT audits every financial year. There are quite a number of benefits associated with IT audits. But the most important one is the detection of errors.




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