PROCESSING INTEGRITY

PRIVACY

CONFIDENTIALITY

SYSTEMS
RELIABILITY

PROCESSING
INTEGRITY
Florida Norma I.
Veras

Categories 0f Integrity Controls

Input Controls
Processing Controls
Output Controls

1.

INPUT CONTROLS
Controls to Regulate the Integrity Of
Input:
Forms Design- Source documents and other forms should
be designed to help ensure that errors and omissions are
minimized
Pre-numbered Forms Sequence Test- Pre-numbering
helps verify that no items are missing.
Turnaround Documents- Documents sent to external
parties that are prepared in machine-readable form to
facilitate their subsequent processing as input records.
Cancellation And Storage Of Documents
Authorization And Segregation Of Duties

Common Tests To Validate Input Include:

Field Check- Determines if the characters in a field are of the
proper type.
Sign Check- Determines if the data in a field have the
appropriate arithmetic sign.
Limit Check- Tests whether an amount exceeds a
predetermined value.
Range Check- Similar to a field check, but it checks both ends
of a range.
Size (Capacity) Check- Ensures that the data will fit into the
assigned field.
Completeness Check- Determines if all required items have
been entered
Validity Check- Compares the value entered to a file of

 Additional Batch Processing Data

Entry Controls:
Sequence Check- Tests whether the data is in the proper
numerical or alphabetical sequence.
Error Log- Records information about data input or
processing errors (when they occurred, cause, when they
were corrected and resubmitted).
Automatic Entry Of Data- Summarize key values for a
batch of input records.

Additional Online Data Entry

Controls

Automatic Entry Of Data- Whenever possible, the system

should automatically enter transaction data, such as next

Prompting- System requests each input item

and waits for an acceptable response
Pre-formatting- Fields that need to be
completed are highlighted
Closed-loop Verification- Checks accuracy of
input data by retrieving related information.
Transaction Logs- Maintains a detailed record
of all transaction data,
Error Messages- Should indicate when an
error occurred, which item, and how it should be
corrected

2. PROCESSING CONTROLS
Data Matching- Two or more items must match before processing can
proceed
File Labels- External labels should be checked visually to ensure the correct
and most current files are being updated.
o Header Record- located at the beginning of each file, contains the file
name, expiration date, and other identification data
o Trailer Record- at the end of the file, contains the batch totals calculated
during input.
Recalculation Of Batch Totals- Batch totals should be recomputed as
processing takes place
Cross-footing Balance Test- Compares arithmetic results produced by two
different methods to verify accuracy
Write-protection Mechanisms- Protect against accidental writing over or
erasing of data files but are not foolproof.
RFID Security- Many businesses are replacing bar codes and manual tags
with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags that can store up to 128 bytes of

3. OUTPUT CONTROLS
User Review Of Output- Users carefully examine
output for reasonableness, completeness, and to
assure they are the intended recipient.
Reconciliation Procedures- Periodically, all
transactions and other system updates should be
reconciled to control reports, file status/update
reports, or other control mechanisms.
External Data Reconciliation- Database totals
should periodically be reconciled with data
maintained outside the system