Introduction to Information Audit

1. Introduction to Information Audit Department of Computer and System Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia jcolivar@itmorelia.edu.mx 19.72388 lat, -101.1848 long M.C. Juan Carlos Olivares Rojas

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3. Outline Audit and Information Audit Concepts. Types of Auditing. Internal and External Audit. Field of Information Audit. Internal Control. Control Models using in Information Audit. Principles applied to Information Auditors. Managers and Auditor Responsabilities.

4. Objectives of the Session • The students will know the basis of audit and Information Audit

5. Audit and Information Audit Concepts • There area lot of definition about what Audit and Infromation Audit means. • Activity: in pairs try to discuss what’s the diference among Audit, Consult and Advisory. • Audit is an evaluation of a person, organization, system, process, project or product.

6. Audit • Audits are performed to ascertain the validity and reliability of information, and also provide an assessment of a system's internal control. • The goal of an audit is to express an opinion on the person/organization/system etc. under evaluation based on work done on a test basis. • Information Audit is “review the existing system of information management, identify problems and recommend solutions for those problems” (Elis 1993)

7. Information Audit • Other definition of Information audit is “an analysis of the communications (processes and information) that take place between agents (people) in a social context (the organisation) using a variety of media and channels (technology).” • Information Audit (IA) is focused in describe how things are done instead of existence; for example, use of a database rather than exist a database.

8. Information Audit • The IA contex have to set against organizational goals and costraints. • The IA has to try to solve question such as: • What is the purpose of the audited system? • Does it accomplish its purpose? • Is the purpose in line with the purpose and philosophy of the organisation as a whole?

9. Information Audit • How effectively are resources used? • How are resources accounted for and safeguarded? • How useful is the information system supporting the organisation? • How reliable is the information system? • Does the system comply with regulations and standards?

10. In Sum… • The goal of the Audit project • Compare what is, • To what should be • To bring the two together • The process is: • Establish what should be • Get support • Find out what is • Create results and recommendations.

11. Homework • Deadline: Monday, February 16 • 20% Format • 40% Research and writting an Essay about: ISACA, COBIT and ITIL Standards. Download all the Manuals and delivery only the principal ideas. • 40% Make a State-of-the-Art Table among the standards evaluating most of 3 features.

12. Types of Auditing • Exist diferent clasification of Auditing. • By deep Level: General and Technical • General Auditing includes an assesment of diferent areas (i.e., financial, administrative, quality, etc.) in a company at the same time. • Technical Audits are specific such as Information System Audit.

13. Internal and External Audits • Internal Audits are realized by Individual of the Organization. The advantages are most knowledge of Internal Control and less time in the audit process. The disadvantages can be non-Ethical Reports. • External Audit or Superior Control Audit is realized by Third-People. This is recommended type of audit because is most Ethical and Efficient but required more time.

14. Field of Information Audit • What are Business Process? • It’s a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product (serve a particular goal) for a particular customer or customers. • Activity: Indicate what are the Business Process in a University such as Instituto Tecnologico de Morelia

15. Business Process • Some Business Process are very similar. • What’s the diference? • It’s the business rules. These are statements that define or constrain some aspect of the business • Activity: What are the business rules of ITM? Describe the rules of some sport or game such as Soccer, Tenis, Tetris, etc.

16. What is Audited? • The Information that leads to knowledge • Resources for making information • How info is used • The people who need and create info • Info capture, management and presentation tools • How info is valued

17. What’s the Point? • Understand information • What is it? • How does it move? • Manage information • What should we spend on it? • How should it flow? • Give information its rightful place as something we pay attention to. • Money • Material goods • Processes

18. Internal Control • It’s defined as a process effected by an organization's structure, work and authority flows, people and management information systems, designed to help the organization accomplish specific goals or objectives. • It is a means by which an organization's resources are directed, monitored, and measured.

19. Internal Control • It plays an important role in preventing and detecting fraud and protecting the organization's resources, both physical (e.g., machinery and property) and intangible (e.g., reputation or intellectual property such as trademarks). • Internal control is a key element of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which required improvements in internal control in United States public corporations.

20. Internal Control • The governance is a very important activity inside organizations because drive and direct the Internal Control. • Procurement plays and importan role in the modern organization because need mechanism to regularize the practices and maintance the justice. • External Control is supported by Goverment Legislation.

21. Homework • Installing and OS (such as Windows, Linux, Mac) in a Virtual Machine. Deadline: Friday, February 20. • Redact an Essay how are the kind of licenses for Software in Virtualized Environments. • Can We Execute twice or more time the same software in virtual Machine. • Deadline: Wednesday, February 18

22. Essay • It’s a writting document which aims to persuade the audience about the validity and importance of one's own ideas on a specific topic • It’s an argument which a process of analysis-synthesis is realized. I doesn’t have a fixed and exclusive structure, but the following features are recommended.

23. Essay • It is recommended to start defining the author position and items to be addressed in the rest of the document. • In the development is recommeneded to define a method to develop ideas such as: defining, comparing, analyzing, arguing, among others. • It has to each of the main points that support the author's position or posture.

24. Essay • Conclusions have to re-list the author’s position in a brief summary and show the action lines to be follow (proposed) • Part of the Essay is a process of inquiry to obtain the theoretical framework as a base to argue opinions. • Essays are most used in social sciences.

25. Control Models using in Information Audit • Discussion About Methodologies: • ISACA (Information System Audit and Control Association) • COBIT (Common OBjectives for Information and related Technologies) • ITIL (Information Technologies Infraestructure Library)

26. Other Methodologies • COSO • ISO/IEC 17799:2000 • ISO/IEC 13335 • ISO/IEC 15408 • TickIT • NIST 800-14

27. An Audit Project • What are the goals of the project? • What is the overall process? • What are the deliverables? • What does the plan look like?

28. What Are The Goals? • To assess what information and flow the org needs • To assess what information and flow the org now has • To make recommendations about how to get the two to match

29. What’s the Overall Process? 1. Analyze objectives for ideal process 2,3 Get a mandate and support 4 Plan the audit 5 Perform the audit 6,7 Interpret and Present the results 8,9 Take action 10 Repeat

30. What are the Deliverables?

31. Deliverables: A Goals-Knowledge-Info Taxonomy • Organizational objective 1 • Knowledge requirement 1.1 • Info that supports requirement • Containers for the information • People who need to know it • Flow • Creation • Use • Disposal • Knowledge requirement 1.2 • Organizational objective 2

32. Deliverables: Guardian and Stakeholder Profiles Who will you approach in the org and how? • What: Word files, a spreadsheet or Db records • Who are they? • How will you approach them? • What do you know without asking? • How: • Asking around • Quick email or other communication • Org charts or readiness results

33. Deliverables: Audit Methods Plan What are the available methods ? • Analysis of docs and Dbs • Observation • Trying yourself • Interviews • Meetings • Surveys • Mapping

34. Activity • Analize the Document (SGC –Sistema de Gestión de la Calidad-) of previous homework. • Describe in your own words if the process described in the document correspond with the reality. • How do you realized the last steep?

35. Deliverables: Audit Methods Plan How will you assess the information resources of your organization? • What: Word, spreadsheet or Db • Analysis, resource, method • Date, time, and staff • How • Try each method • Discuss with guardians and stakeholders • Design for change

36. Deliverables: Staging Plan In what order should groups and information resources be done? • What: Word Doc, spreadsheet or DB • Groups and sources identified • Dates, times and staff for each • How • Arranged by • Strategic importance and potential for a win • Amount of support and ease or simplicity • Fair representation of all information

37. Deliverables: Information Analyses The assessment of each dimension of the organization's information. • What? Word, spreadsheet or Db • Data collected • Standard set of • Information Resources • How • Apply methods and plan • Collect data, analyze and revisit if needed

38. Deliverables: Reports and Presentations What are the analysis methods available? • Side-by-side comparison • SWOT • CATWOE • Clients • Actors • Transformations • Ownership • Environment

39. Finding the Diferences

40. Deliverables: Reports and Presentations The official results of the audit • What • Word files, Slide decks • Email messages, meeting agendas • How • Lots of trial inside the team • Test results to supporters • Trial presentations to insiders • Multiple methods to communicate

41. Deliverables: Follow-Up Plan What should the org do and how will its success be measured? • What • Word file, project plan • Action • Preliminary scope, schedule, and budget • How • Work with appropriate guardians and execs • Focus on highest return projects first • Give lots of leeway to the formation of the exact solution • Caveat the heck out of your estimates

42. The Team • Audit manager • Understands the org’s business • Ability to listen • Respected • Auditors • Technology analysts • Interviewers • SME (Subject Matter Experts) • Tool designers • Survey construction • Data analysis and presentation techniques • Consultants • Specialist support in the background

43. Discussion About The Corporation Movie • It’s a movie about Sustainable Development. • The Corporations are Persons • Where is applied the Informatic Auditing Process?

44. Activity • Forming Teams of 4 persons or less, discuss yours professional opinion with a Group Decision Techniques for obtaining a unique proposal. • This proposal must be discuted with the classroom.

45. Group Discussion Techniques The process problem solving has three phases acording by Mintzberg: Identified the problem Development diferente possible solutions Evaluate possible solutions and selected it the more adequate Other autors have added two aditional phases: Execute the desired solution Evaluate the results of executing this solution.

46. Group Discussion Techniques For Taking Group Decision exist diferent methodos such as: Votation (the most voted decission wins), Approved Votation (each member can be to vote for more than one option, the most voted option wins), Range Sum (the options has assigned a ponderation, when 1 is for the less votation, this process is realizaed by each member in individual way, wins the options with the most puntuaction) y Minimal Desviation (We selected the option with the most punctuaction and the minimal desviation).

47. Group Discussion Techniques Nominal Group Technique is a decision making method for use among groups of many sizes, who want to make their decision quickly, as by a vote, but want everyone's opinions taken into account (as opposed to traditional voting, where only the largest group is considered). First, every member of the group gives their view of the solution, with a short explanation. Then, duplicate solutions are eliminated from the list of all solutions, and the members proceed to rank the solutions, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.

48. Group Discussion Techniques • The numbers each solution receives are totaled, and the solution with the lowest (i.e. most favored) total ranking is selected as the final decision. There are variations on how this technique is used. For example, it can identify strengths versus areas in need of development, rather than be used as a decision-making voting alternative. Also, options do not always have to be ranked, but may be evaluated more subjectively.

49. Group Discussion Techniques These techniques: Brainstorm, Round Table (similar to Brainstorm but each member of the Team has a turn for exposing his/her ideas), SWOT(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats).

50. Group Discussion Techniques The Phillips 66 Method is a group discussion technique which is used to help overcome the problem of silence in group situations and to ensure that everyone gets a chance to contribute to the discussion.  The group is divided into sub-groups of six participants each.  These groups each spend six minutes discussing possible solutions to an identified problem, and then report back to the larger group with a proposed solution