1. The Process of Auditing Information Systems

• Develop and implement a risk-based IT audit strategy in compliance with IT audit standards to ensure that key areas are included. 

• Plan specific audits to determine whether information systems are protected, controlled and provide value to the enterprise. 

• Conduct audits in accordance with IT audit standards to achieve planned audit objectives. 

• Report audit findings and make recommendations to key stakeholders to communicate results and effect change when necessary. 

• Conduct follow-ups or prepare status reports to ensure appropriate actions have been taken by management in a timely manner.

2. Governance and Management of IT

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the IT governance structure to determine whether IT decisions, directions and performance support the enterprise’s strategies and objectives. 

• Evaluate IT organizational structure and human resources (personnel) management to determine whether they support the enterprise’s strategies and objectives. 

• Evaluate the IT strategy, including the IT direction, and the processes for the strategy’s development, approval, implementation and maintenance for alignment with the enterprise’s strategies and objectives. 

• Evaluate the enterprise’s IT policies, standards and procedures, and the processes for their development, approval, implementation, maintenance and monitoring to determine whether they support the IT strategy and comply with regulatory and legal requirements. 

• Evaluate the adequacy of the quality management system (QMS) to determine whether it supports the enterprise’s strategies and objectives in a cost-effective manners. 

• Evaluate IT management and monitoring of controls (e.g., continuous monitoring, quality assurance) for compliance with the enterprise’s policies, standards and procedures. 

• Evaluate IT resource investment, use and allocation practices, including prioritization criteria, for alignment with the enterprise’s strategies and objectives. 

• Evaluate IT contracting strategies and policies, and contract management practices to determine whether they support the enterprise’s strategies and objectives. 

• Evaluate risk management practices to determine whether the enterprise’s IT- related risk is properly managed. 

• Evaluate monitoring and assurance practices to determine whether the board and executive management receive sufficient and timely information about IT performance. 

• Evaluate the enterprise’s business continuity plan (BCP) to determine the enterprise’s ability to continue essential business operations during the period of an IT disruption.

3. Information Systems Acquisition, Development, and Implementation

• Evaluate the business case for proposed investments in information systems acquisition, development, maintenance, and subsequent retirement to determine whether it meets business objectives. 

• Evaluate the project management practices and controls to determine whether business requirements are achieved in a cost-effective manner while managing risk to the enterprise. 

• Conduct reviews to determine whether a project is progressing in accordance with project plans, is adequately supported by documentation and status reporting is accurate. 

• Evaluate controls for information systems during the requirements, acquisition, development, and testing phases for compliance with the enterprise’s policies, standards, procedures, and applicable external requirements. 

• Evaluate the readiness of information systems for implementation and migration into production to determine whether project deliverables, controls and the enterprise’s requirements are met. 

• Conduct post implementation reviews of systems to determine whether project deliverables, controls and the enterprise’s requirements are met.

4. Information Systems Operations, Maintenance and Support

• Conduct periodic reviews of information systems to determine whether they continue to meet the enterprise’s objectives. 

• Evaluate service level management practices to determine whether the level of service from internal and external service providers is defined and managed. 

• Evaluate third-party management practices to determine whether the levels of controls expected by the enterprise are being adhered to by the provider. 

• Evaluate operations and end-user procedures to determine whether scheduled and non-scheduled processes are managed to completion. 

• Evaluate the process of information systems maintenance to determine whether They are controlled effectively and continue to support the enterprise’s objectives. 

• Evaluate data administration practices to determine the integrity and optimization of databases. 

• Evaluate the use of capacity and performance monitoring tools and techniques to determine whether IT services meet the enterprise’s objectives. 

• Evaluate problem and incident management practices to determine whether incidents, problems or errors are recorded, analysed, and resolved in a timely manners. 

• Evaluate change, configuration, and release management practices to determine whether scheduled and non-scheduled changes made to the enterprise’s production environments are adequately controlled and documented.

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