Auditing Technology and IT Investment Management

Why Should You Attend:

Internal auditors play a valuable role in ensuring that IT investments are well-managed and have a positive impact on an organization. Changes to a company’s information technology (IT) environment, both information systems and the underlying platforms, are a source of significant operational risk. To protect its IT investment and reduce operating risk, robust change management processes are critical.

This IT audit webinar will help auditors (When planning system conversion audits) how to get a good understanding of the business requirements for the system, the project's risks, and how the proposed system will work. To understand the solution, they must identify the various operational and system changes that will be implemented. Also, because project information usually becomes available over time, how to have some audit planning be completed on an iterative basis. Finally, leading edge IT Investment practices will be discussed, helping your organization’s IT improvement effort as well as your IT results.

At the end of this seminar the speaker will answer your specific questions you may have on technology investments and IT investment management.

Areas Covered in this Webinar:

• Audit scope.
• What is the goal?
• Planning efforts.
• The general audit steps.
• Audit risk assessment.
• Audit objectives.
• Audit approach.
• What auditors like to see.
• Audit testing.
• Issues to watch out for.
• Other considerations.
• The audit report.
• Lessons learned.
• Leading edge IT Investment Management practices.
• Next steps.
• Further recommended readings.

Who Will Benefit:

• CIOs
• Senior IT Executives
• Project Sponsors
• Project Managers
• Chief Audit Executives
• IT Auditors
• Executive Management with oversight responsibilities
• Risk Managers
• Quality and Software Testing Professionals

Instructor Profile:

Dan Swanson, President of Dan Swanson and Associates, Ltd., is a 25-year internal audit veteran, who was the Director of Professional Practices at the Global Office of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). Prior and subsequent to the IIA, Swanson was an independent management consultant for more than 15 years. He has completed audit projects for more than 30 different organizations, spending almost 10 years in government auditing, at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels, and the rest in the private sector, mainly in the financial services, transportation, and health sectors.

Swanson led the writing of the OCEG internal audit guide for use in auditing GRC programs and also participated in the SEC sponsored COSO small business task force efforts to provide guidance for small to medium public companies regarding internal control over financial reporting. The author of more than 200 articles on internal auditing and other management topics, Swanson is currently an independent management consultant and freelance author. Dan published his first book in 2010, entitled SWANSON on Internal Auditing - Raising the Bar!

Topic Background:

Converting from old to new computer systems is an important, but often underestimated, aspect of IT projects. Implementing a new system usually requires a variety of system changes, production data conversion and migration, and new operational policies and procedures. Each of these areas poses significant risk to the organization during the actual system conversion. To protect its IT investment and reduce operating risk, robust change management processes are critical. The need for a positive control environment and a very unforgiving attitude regarding unauthorized IT changes by management cannot be overemphasized. Insufficiently tested IT changes should also be an unacceptable practice. IT Investment Management helps guide the organization’s strategic investment in IT, and leading edge practices to consider will be presented.

So conversion audit efforts typically focus on reviewing plans and results for:

1. The overall implementation of the IT solution
2. The systems that are required to implement the IT solution
3. The operational changes required within the organization as part of the implementation
4. The risk management practices in place to monitor and control risk

When planning system conversion audits, auditors need a good understanding of the business requirements for the system, the project's risks, and how the proposed system will work. To understand the solution, they must identify the various operational and system changes that will be implemented. Also, because project information usually becomes available over time, some audit planning will have to be completed on an iterative basis.

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