CHAPTER 13

Information System Auditing I

Information Technology

Reasons:

Explosive growth of technology Broader use of information systems The use of mainframe , distributed processing and personal computers by an increasing percentage of an organizations staff and managers. The vast increase of information The decrease in skepticism about the accuracy of data The shift of systems management The increase in information system literacy The increasing use of LAN and distributing computing environments. The increasing use of personal database The increasing use of enterprise- wide system

Information System Components

Hardware

can be categorized in 4 groups:

Servers Pcs Minicomputers mainframes

Central Processing Unit (CPU)

- brain of the computer

Magnetic Tape Drives

- read and write data in sequential order in magnetic tape

Disk Drives
- because of their physical construction and associated software, can directly access data

Printers
Impact Printers Non- impact Printers

Console

-function as a command center

Terminal

- cathode ray-tube or video display terminal

Software
Application Software
- performs the organizations business processing

Systems Software
itself

- manages the internal operation of the computer

Online Real Time

Information Systems Controls

General Control

Organizational Control

Systems Development Life Cycle

Request for system design High-level systems design

Analysis of inputs, processing and outputs of the existing system Detailed breakdown of user requirements Functional specifications listing exactly what the system is suppose to accomplish, from a business perspective Alternatives

Detailed system design

Detailed program specifications File layouts Report and online screen layouts System flowchart Overall system narrative Data-conversion procedures Test plans Data-element definitions

Program Coding and Testing

Conversion Implementation Maintenance

Data security Physical security

Contingency Planning and Disaster Recovery

Operating System Storage

Telecommunication Program Changes Hardware