Auditing
Content
1. What’s the purpose of Information Technology Audit?
An information technology audit, is an examination of the management
controls within an Information technology infrastructure. The evaluation of obtained
evidence determines if the information systems are safeguarding assets,
maintaining data integrity, and operating effectively to achieve the organization's
goals or objectives. Business organizations undergo different types of audits for
different purposes. The most common of these are external (financial) audits,
internal audits, and fraud audits.
2. Distinguish financial statement audit from information technology audit.
An IT audit is different from a financial statement audit. While a financial
audit's purpose is to evaluate whether an organization is adhering to standard
accounting practices, the purposes of an IT audit are to evaluate the system's
internal control design and effectiveness.
3. Legal and ethical issues in information technology audit.
a. Privacy. People desire to be in full control of what and how much information
about themselves is available to others, and to whom it is available. This is the
issue of privacy.
b. Security (Accuracy and Confidentiality). Computer security is an attempt to
avoid such undesirable events as a loss of confidentiality or data integrity.
c. Ownership of Property. Laws designed to preserve real property rights have been
extended to cover what is referred to as intellectual property, that is, software.
d. Equity in Access. Some barriers to access are intrinsic to the technology of
information systems, but some are avoidable through careful system design.
e. Environmental Issues. Computers with high-speed printers allow for the
production of printed documents faster than ever before.
f. Artificial Intelligence. A new set of social and ethical issues has arisen out of the
popularity of expert systems. Because of the way these systems have been
marketed, that is, as decision makers or replacements for experts, some people
rely on them significantly.
g. Unemployment and Displacement. Many jobs have been and are being changed
as a result of the availability of computer technology. People unable or
unprepared to change are displaced.
h. Misuse of Computers. Computers can be misused in many ways. Copying
proprietary software, using a company’s computer for personal benefit, and
snooping through other people’s files are just a few obvious examples.
4. Function and uses of database management system.
Database management systems are specially designed software applications
that interact with the user, other applications, and the database itself to capture
and analyze data. A general-purpose DBMS is a software system designed to allow
the definition, creation, querying, update, and administration of databases. There
are several functions that a DBMS performs to ensure data integrity and
consistency of data in the database. The ten functions are: data dictionary
management, data storage management, data transformation and presentation,
security management, multiuser access control, backup and recovery
management, data integrity management, database access languages and
application programming interfaces, database communication interfaces, and
transaction management.
5. Compare and contrast database management system used in manual and
computerized.
Advantages of a computerized database management system
Speed .It can find a specific record or information from among thousands
or even a million entries within a second.
Compact .Since the database records stored in filing cabinets can be
stored in a single floppy disk
Flexible. It has the ability to examine information from a number of ways,
so you could search for people living in the same city or with persons with
the same last names. (It allows you to create ad hoc (impromptu) queries).
Views. It allows you to present the same data in multiple views for easy in
understanding.
Standardization. It reduces the probability of inconsistent data
Disadvantages of a computerized database management system
•Database systems are complex, difficult, and time-consuming to design
•Substantial hardware and software start-up costs
•Damage to database affects virtually all applications programs
•Extensive conversion costs in moving form a file-based system to a database
system
•Initial training required for all programmers and users
References:
Rainer, R. Kelly, and Casey G. Cegielski. Introduction to information systems. 3rd ed.
Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley ;, 2011. Print.
http://databasemanagement.wikia.com/wiki/DBMS_Functions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database#cite_ref-Ullman_1-0
James Hall. Information and Technology Auditing. 2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology_audit
https://wikis.engrade.com/databasemanagementtheory/db4
An information technology audit, is an examination of the management
controls within an Information technology infrastructure. The evaluation of obtained
evidence determines if the information systems are safeguarding assets,
maintaining data integrity, and operating effectively to achieve the organization's
goals or objectives. Business organizations undergo different types of audits for
different purposes. The most common of these are external (financial) audits,
internal audits, and fraud audits.
2. Distinguish financial statement audit from information technology audit.
An IT audit is different from a financial statement audit. While a financial
audit's purpose is to evaluate whether an organization is adhering to standard
accounting practices, the purposes of an IT audit are to evaluate the system's
internal control design and effectiveness.
3. Legal and ethical issues in information technology audit.
a. Privacy. People desire to be in full control of what and how much information
about themselves is available to others, and to whom it is available. This is the
issue of privacy.
b. Security (Accuracy and Confidentiality). Computer security is an attempt to
avoid such undesirable events as a loss of confidentiality or data integrity.
c. Ownership of Property. Laws designed to preserve real property rights have been
extended to cover what is referred to as intellectual property, that is, software.
d. Equity in Access. Some barriers to access are intrinsic to the technology of
information systems, but some are avoidable through careful system design.
e. Environmental Issues. Computers with high-speed printers allow for the
production of printed documents faster than ever before.
f. Artificial Intelligence. A new set of social and ethical issues has arisen out of the
popularity of expert systems. Because of the way these systems have been
marketed, that is, as decision makers or replacements for experts, some people
rely on them significantly.
g. Unemployment and Displacement. Many jobs have been and are being changed
as a result of the availability of computer technology. People unable or
unprepared to change are displaced.
h. Misuse of Computers. Computers can be misused in many ways. Copying
proprietary software, using a company’s computer for personal benefit, and
snooping through other people’s files are just a few obvious examples.
4. Function and uses of database management system.
Database management systems are specially designed software applications
that interact with the user, other applications, and the database itself to capture
and analyze data. A general-purpose DBMS is a software system designed to allow
the definition, creation, querying, update, and administration of databases. There
are several functions that a DBMS performs to ensure data integrity and
consistency of data in the database. The ten functions are: data dictionary
management, data storage management, data transformation and presentation,
security management, multiuser access control, backup and recovery
management, data integrity management, database access languages and
application programming interfaces, database communication interfaces, and
transaction management.
5. Compare and contrast database management system used in manual and
computerized.
Advantages of a computerized database management system
Speed .It can find a specific record or information from among thousands
or even a million entries within a second.
Compact .Since the database records stored in filing cabinets can be
stored in a single floppy disk
Flexible. It has the ability to examine information from a number of ways,
so you could search for people living in the same city or with persons with
the same last names. (It allows you to create ad hoc (impromptu) queries).
Views. It allows you to present the same data in multiple views for easy in
understanding.
Standardization. It reduces the probability of inconsistent data
Disadvantages of a computerized database management system
•Database systems are complex, difficult, and time-consuming to design
•Substantial hardware and software start-up costs
•Damage to database affects virtually all applications programs
•Extensive conversion costs in moving form a file-based system to a database
system
•Initial training required for all programmers and users
References:
Rainer, R. Kelly, and Casey G. Cegielski. Introduction to information systems. 3rd ed.
Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley ;, 2011. Print.
http://databasemanagement.wikia.com/wiki/DBMS_Functions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database#cite_ref-Ullman_1-0
James Hall. Information and Technology Auditing. 2011
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_technology_audit
https://wikis.engrade.com/databasemanagementtheory/db4
