What are the importance of computer auditing.

Relate this to our current

environment.
One of the most important factors to consider when discussing computer
audit is that the term computer audit can mean many different things to different
people. What may be regarded as computer auditing in one organization, and very
much the realm of the specialist computer auditor, may be undertaken by business
auditors in another similar organization. For example, computer audit may be
restricted to auditing systems software in one organization, whilst areas such as
auditing systems under development may be the responsibility of the business
auditor. Similarly, in some organizations, it is not uncommon for the role of
computer audit to be extended to include the review of clerical procedures and the
production of compliance based audit work programmes for field auditors, thereby
providing a wider systems audit service. There are no hard and fast rules as to what
constitutes computer audit. Often, similar sized organizations operating in the same
sector may have different approaches to computer audit. Even where there appears
to be commonality in the scope of audit areas, there can be significant variations in
the depth of auditing undertaken. An audit of an operating system in one
organization may require between 5 and 10 man-days, whilst in another, the same
operating system may be subject to a more detailed examination lasting several
months.
A key feature of many organizations today is change. Although not
necessarily the driver of change, IT is invariably an intrinsic component and much of
the change would not be possible without IT. IT has had a major impact on social,
economic and political factors throughout the world. Not only has it led to the
creation of new professions but it has also revolutionized others, such as office
work, or, when combined with robotics, manufacturing industries. Computer audit
operates in a climate of constant and rapid change. Computer auditors are
continually faced with the prospect of faster, smaller and cheaper IT systems. An
analogy that is frequently used to describe the rapid development of IT, is if aviation
had developed at the same rate, man would have landed on the moon in 1922. IT is
a dynamic area which in turn, requires a dynamic and flexible control structure.