Organizations, big and small, are quite familiar with financial and regulatory audits. Conducted quite regularly, most staff are well aware of these audits. However, apprehensions rise when organizations are asked to undergo IT audits, ITGC audits, GITC audits and IT application control audits. With the increasing usage of IT in conducting business, organizations need to ensure that the IT infrastructure put in place is in compliance with industry standards and an IT audit can help you analyze this. SOC Assurance, your IT auditor, can help your staff and organization prepare for an IT audit, from clients, regional regulatory authorities and even international organizations.
Larger organizations usually have a complete IT team in place to manage their IT infrastructure. Smaller organizations, on the other hand, are usually stretched for resources and do not prefer undergoing external audits. A lack of an IT audit by following and understanding the application audit process properly can be detrimental to future business projects and that is where SOC Assurance helps you regain your competitive edge. We work with you to plan your IT audits and put processes and controls in place so that your organization follows globally accepted norms for IT. Our plan and execution for preparing you for the IT audit is simple and covers the most important aspects of data integrity and availability.
First and foremost, we evaluate your organization’s systems for their downtime to ensure that the infrastructure is available to your staff and even your clients (where applicable) at all times. System downtimes severely impact staff productivity, even if, your clients may not be directly affected and ultimately cause business losses. When the IT infrastructure is in place and running smoothly, data access becomes easier for your staff. But then the question arises, whether authorized users are getting access to data on your systems. Unauthorized access to data carries risks of exposure not only for your business but also for your clients, vendors etc. Maintaining the security of information that your IT infrastructure holds is paramount to an IT audit.
After data security is assured, we look into the integrity of the data that is being accessed. Your IT infrastructure should be able to handle data requests accurately as well as in a timely manner. This integrity of data handling is extremely important for running smooth business operations. If you handle data for your clients, then the integrity of data becomes even more important.
Overall, SOC Assurance helps you realise the value of the data that your organization hold. We also help you understand the risks associated with the weak implementation of IT infrastructure and help you put in place practices that will minimize these risks.