Making investments in information technology plays an important role in growing a business, but also opens it up to technological risks.
During the past few decades, most organisations in almost every industry have invested in IT infrastructure in order to get a competitive advantage and grow at a rapid pace. However, this increased level of dependence on IT comes with its own set of risks and challenges. Not being able to identify and acknowledge these risks and challenges well in time can lead to major losses and disrupt business continuity. This is why IT auditing is considered an important part of technology risk management in the constantly evolving IT landscape, with newer risks surfacing each day.
But what exactly is IT auditing and when is your organisation supposed to perform one? How can your organisation benefit from regular IT auditing? If you had the same questions in mind, you have come to the right page!
In this article, we will share with you some of the main reasons for getting an IT audit done for your organisation. But before we dive in, let’s understand what IT auditing is and what it comprises.
IT auditing is the process of assessment and investigation of an organisation’s IT policies, systems, infrastructure and operations in an effort to ensure business growth and continuity, while mitigating any potential IT risks. Similar to how financial audits help evaluate the financial position of a company, it helps analyse how well a company is doing when it comes to IT and technology risk management. IT auditing helps businesses avoid losses that may occur due to cybersecurity incidents, non-compliance with regulations and operational inefficiencies.
IT auditing isn’t a one-time job and if you thought the right time for an IT audit is when you face the most number of security risks, think again! In fact, IT auditing is a regular process that helps identify new security loopholes, legal risks and inefficiencies when they emerge and mitigate them as soon as possible.
The IT auditing process comprises the following steps:
In the first stage of an IT audit, a preliminary assessment of the following is performed:
The next step in the process is to define the scope of the assessment which includes the different aspects of the IT systems to be covered, including but not limited to:
Other variables that define the scope of the audit include the duration of the IT audit and the locations where it is to be performed. Apart from this, the objective of IT auditing needs to be well defined as well, depending on the requirements of an organisation.
One of the most important steps in the IT auditing process is to carefully identify and collect relevant data and evidence to support the evaluation part of the process. Depending on the method of evaluation chosen by the IT auditors, this step involves the assessment of the IT infrastructure, existing systems and processes, hardware, software, firewall, and user access control, among other things.
In this step, the auditors need to perform a meticulous evaluation of the available data and evidence, in order to identify the gaps and loopholes that may pose significant risks to the business continuity and growth potential of an organisation.
In the final step, the auditors document all the available evidence that has been collected during the IT audit. The final report will also contain a complete record of all the steps taken during the process, in addition to the professional recommendations derived on the basis of the evaluation.
Regular IT auditing to monitor and assess your IT strategy and infrastructure is essential because of the following reasons:
In today’s world business data holds the highest value. By performing an IT audit you can assess whether or not your IT systems and databases are well protected and managed internally. This is crucial to ensure optimum data security and avoid data breaches.
No matter the scale of your operations, your business can become the target of bad actors who can take advantage of the weak cybersecurity measures that put your business at high risk for cyber attacks. By performing regular IT audits, you can better assess your cybersecurity status before bad actors do.
Performing a risk assessment isn’t enough. It’s equally important if not more important to identify the solutions for risk management and mitigation. The security solutions need to be robust and reliable enough to keep your business protected at all times.
One of the main objectives of IT auditing is to prepare a secure IT strategy that helps a business implement the required controls and utilise them in the right way. Such an IT strategy should be bulletproof, free from loopholes, and up to date with the latest advancements in the field.
It’s important to ensure that your information management systems and processes are fully compliant with the IT-specific standards, regulations, laws and policies set by the government authorities, such as those for cybersecurity and GDPR. If they are not, your business can face legal issues, huge penalties and even risk getting shut down by the authorities.
Sometimes, businesses rely on outdated technology or have inefficient systems or processes in place, which costs them a lot of money in the long run. An IT audit can help you identify and eliminate such inefficiencies.
Not all cybersecurity threats originate from external sources. Sometimes, there are elements within your organisation that may result in a cybersecurity breach. This requires a deeper inspection of user access control and the presence of shadow IT within your organisation, in order to identify if there are any unauthorised personnel, devices or software that may affect your cybersecurity status.
With the help of an IT audit, you can identify which areas of your infrastructure need to be upgraded. When all your systems are up to date and operating at the optimum speed, it puts your business in a great position to grow and succeed.
An IT audit can reveal exactly which types of hardware, software and services your company actually needs and which ones are no longer necessary for your operations. This way you can streamline your operations, allocate your budget where it’s actually required, and thereby make your operations more cost-effective.
Not having a secure IT strategy may not only affect your business financially, but could also damage your reputation, in case it faces a data breach or cyber attack. It can make all the difference between the success and failure of your business. So, why take chances when you can perform regular IT audits and protect your corporate assets effectively?
If you are serious about safeguarding your organisation’s best interests and keeping IT troubles at bay, don’t underestimate the importance of IT auditing. To get an IT audit done by our team of experienced IT auditors, contact us today!
