Computer Audits – What you Need to Know
The computer audit is a process carried out by specially trained professionals to carry out a thorough audit, which consists of collecting, grouping and evaluating evidence to determine if an information system safeguards the business assets, maintains the integrity of the data, works effectively to carry out the purposes of the organization, efficiently use resources, and comply with established laws and regulations, also allow to systematically detect the use of resources and information flows within an organization and determine what information is critical to the fulfillment of its mission and objectives, identifying needs, duplicities, costs, value and barriers that hinder efficient information flows.
The IT audit has 2 types which are:
Internal Audit: is one that is done inside the company without hiring outsiders.
External Audit: as the name says it is one in which the company hires people from outside to do the audit in your company.
Auditing consists mainly of studying the control mechanisms that are implemented in a company or organization, determining if they are adequate and meet certain objectives or strategies, establishing the changes that should be made to achieve them. The control mechanisms can be directive, preventive, detection, corrective or recovery before a contingency.
The objectives of the audit are:
- The analysis of the efficiency of the Computer Systems
- Verification of compliance with the Regulations in this area
- The review of the effective management of computing resources.
Its benefits are:
- Improve the public image.
- Trust in users about security and control of IT services.
- Optimizes internal relationships and the work climate.
- Lowers the costs of poor quality (rework, rejections, claims, among others).
- Generates a balance of IT risks.
- It controls the investment in an IT environment, often unpredictable.
The audit, in general, serves to improve certain characteristics in the company before the market, for example, the following attributes that give better value to the company as:
- Performance
- Reliability
- Effectiveness
- Cost-effectiveness
- Security
- Privacy
In general, audits help to improve the processes in a company and consequently this improves the company itself, which gives more value to the company and its processes and therefore has better prestige in the market. One of the leading companies that offer IT auditing and compliance solutions to its clients is Cygna Labs. Based in Miami, Florida, the company offers a range of services to its clients. It is a Microsoft Silver Certified Partner and was founded by Christian Ehrenthal in 2017, and their flagship product is the Cygna Auditor.