Control Objectives Control : Policies, procedures,

Transcript:Control Objectives Control : Policies, procedures,:
Control Objectives Control : Policies, procedures, practices and enterprise structure that are designed to provide reasonable assurance that business objectives will be achieved and undesired events are prevented or detected and corrected IS Controls IS auditing includes reviewing the implemented system or providing consultation and evaluating the reliability of operational effectiveness controls Personnel : whether or not staffs are trustworthy, if they know what they are doing and if they have the appropriate skills and training to carry out their jobs to a competent standard Segregation of duties : a key control in an information system. Segregation basically means that the stages in the processing of a transaction are split between different people, such that one person cannot process a transaction through from start to finish. The various stages in the transaction cycle are spread between two or more individuals. However, in a computerized system, the auditor should also be concerned with the segregation of duties within the IT department. Within an IT environment, the staff in the computer department of an enterprise will have a detailed knowledge of the interrelationship between the source of data, how it is processed and distribution and use of output. IT staff may also be in position to alter transaction data or even the financial applications which process the transactions. This give them the knowledge and means to alter data, all they would then require is a motive Effect of Computer Internal Controls Authorization procedures : to ensure that transaction system written evidence of individual data entry authorization Record keeping : the controls over the protection and storage of documents, transaction details and audit trails Access to assets and records : a client’s financial data and computer programs are vulnerable to unauthorized amendment at the computer or from remote locations. The use of wide area network, including the internet, has increased the risk of unauthorized access. The nature and types of control available have changed to address these new risk Management supervision and review : management’s supervision and review helps to deter and detect both errors and fraud Concentration of programs and data : transaction and master file data may be stored in a computer readable form on one computer installation or on a number of distributed installations. Computer programs such as file editors are likely to be stored in the same location as the data. Therefore, in the absence of appropriate controls over