Need and methods of auditing Information systems.

Need and methods of auditing Information systems

AUDITING OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS

OBJECTIVES

• Ensure computer based financial and other information reliable

• Ensure all records included while processing

• Ensure protection from frauds

AUDIT METHODS

• AUDITING AROUND COMPUTER : Take sample inputs and manually apply processing rules and compare outputs with computer outputs

• AUDITING THROUGH THE COMPUTER : Establish audit trail which allows examining selected intermediate results. Control totals provide intermediate checks

AUDITING THROUGH THE COMPUTER

•Facility to trace transaction value and print intermediate results

• Selective printing of records meeting criteria specified by the auditor For example :Inactive accounts, overactive accounts, accounts with high balance

• Comparing credit and debit balances

• Ensure logs are kept of who did what in critical data entry and processing to fix responsibility. Called an Audit trail.

• Auditor’s own check inputs and expected outputs.

AUDITING WITH THE COMPUTER

Use special audit packages to check system Audit package allows

• Extracting data based on the specified criterion for inspection (e.g.

Students with wide disparity in marks in two subjects)

• Totaling specified subset of data for check

• Procedure to check sale discounts

Process with independent data file created by auditor and verify to see if system is as per specification