Understanding Business Systems and IT Audit Fundamentals
Understanding Business Systems
Systems: A set of interdependent and interacting units that form an organized whole. The outcome is greater than the result that the units could have if they functioned independently.
- Closed Systems: Systems without exchange with their environment. They are tight as any environmental influences nor influences the environment.
- Open Systems: Systems that have trade relations with the environment through inputs and outputs.
Administrative Functions
Planning, Organization, Direction, Coordination, Control.
Tasks of Management
- Economic performance
- Business address
- Address of managers
- Work address and work
Five Tasks of Strategic Management
- Developing a strategic vision
- Setting goals
- Building a strategy
- Implementing the strategy
- Assessing performance, monitoring new developments, and initiating corrective adjustments
Who demystifies these tasks? Executive Director
Pyramid-Building Strategy
In diversified companies, strategies are initiated at four different organizational levels:
- Corporate Strategy
- Business Strategy
- Functional Strategy
- Operational Strategy
- IT Organization
Economic Characteristics Prevailing in the Industry
Market size, the scope of competitive rivalry, rivals’ degree of integration, the pace of technological change.
IT Infrastructure
Hardware, software, information, personnel.
Acquisition of Technology
Asset Purchase, Rent, Lease.
Operational Phases of the Audit
Planning and preliminary study, implementation stage, reporting results, tracking.
Audit Findings
Structured according to certain attributes (condition, criteria, cause, and effect).
Preparation of Final Report
Heading, Title, Date, Source, Signatures, Auditor Name, Unit Audited.
Unit Audit Audit Report
The auditor must describe what they did and tell the results of their work, to call attention to major issues. It must have: Punctuality, Accuracy, Logic, Clarity, Purpose.
Auditing
A critical examination is performed to evaluate the efficiency of an activity or organization.
Activities
- Review
- Prevention
- Opinions of financial statements
- Ensuring compliance with procedures
- Issuing reports recommendations
Types of Audit
Financial, operational, information technology.
Need for IT Audit
Costs for loss of data, crime or abuse, costs for any errors, maintain security and privacy.
Audit Techniques
Verbal, investigation, response, survey, visual.
Internal Control
The system of internal control comprises the plan of the organization and all methods and measures coordinated within a company.
Types of Control
- Preventive
- Corrective
- Detective
Implementation of Computer Control
Network Environment
Network diagram, description of the communications hardware configuration, description of software used for access to telecommunications.
Setting Up Your Computer
Hardware configuration.
Products Applications Environment
Processes