CISA Exam Questions (Information Systems Auditing Process)
A PRIMARY benefit derived for an organization employing control self-assessment techniques is that it: A. can identify high-risk areas that might need a detailed review later. B. allows IS auditors to independently assess risk. C. can be used as a replacement for traditional audits. D. allows management to relinquish responsibility for control.
A.
An IS auditor is reviewing a software application that is built on the principles of service-oriented architecture. What is the INITIAL step? A. Understanding services and their allocation to business processes by reviewing the service repository documentation. B. Sampling the use of service security standards as represented by the Security Assertions Markup Language . C. Reviewing the service level agreements established for all system providers. D. Auditing the core service and its dependencies on other systems.
A.
An external IS auditor issues an audit report pointing out the lack of firewall protection features at the perimeter network gateway and recommending a specific vendor product to address this vulnerability. The IS auditor has failed to exercise: A. professional independence. B. organizational independence. C. technical competence. D. professional competence.
A.
An organization uses a bank to process its weekly payroll. Time sheets and payroll adjustment forms (e.g., hourly rate changes, terminations) are completed and delivered to the bank, which prepares checks and reports for distribution. To BEST ensure payroll data accuracy: A. payroll reports should be compared to input forms. B. gross payroll should be recalculated manually. C. checks should be compared to input forms. D. checks should be reconciled with output reports.
A.
During the planning stage of an IS audit, the PRIMARY goal of an IS auditor is to: A. address audit objectives. B. collect sufficient evidence. C. specify appropriate tests. D. minimize audit resources.
A.
In planning an IS audit, the MOST critical step is the identification of the: A. areas of significant risk. B. skill sets of the audit staff. C. test steps in the audit. D. time allotted for the audit.
A.
The PRIMARY reason an IS auditor performs a functional walk-through during the preliminary phase of an audit assignment is to: A. understand the business process. B. comply with auditing standards. C. identify control weakness. D. develop the risk assessment.
A.
The purpose of a checksum on an amount field in an electronic data interchange communication of financial transactions is to ensure: A. integrity. B. authenticity. C. authorization. D. nonrepudiation.
A.
The success of control self-assessment depends highly on: A. line managers assuming a portion of the responsibility for control monitoring. B. assigning staff managers, the responsibility for building controls. C. the implementation of a stringent control policy and rule-driven controls. D. the implementation of supervision and monitoring of controls of assigned duties.
A.
When evaluating the collective effect of preventive, detective and corrective controls within a process, an IS auditor should be aware of which of the following? A. The point at which controls are exercised as data flow through the system B. Only preventive and detective controls are relevant C. Corrective controls are regarded as compensating D. Classification allows an IS auditor to determine which controls are missing
A.
Which of the following is an attribute of the control self-assessment approach? A. Broad stakeholder involvement B. Auditors are the primary control analysts C. Limited employee participation D. Policy driven
A.
Which of the following is the key benefit of a control self-assessment? A. Management ownership of the internal controls supporting business objectives is reinforced. B. Audit expenses are reduced when the assessment results are an input to external audit work. C. Fraud detection will be improved because internal business staff are engaged in testing controls. D. Internal auditors can shift to a consultative approach by using the results of the assessment.
A.
Which of the following represents the GREATEST potential risk in an electronic data interchange (EDI) environment? A. Lack of transaction authorizations B. Loss or duplication of EDI transmissions C. Transmission delay D. Deletion or manipulation of transactions prior to or after establishment of application controls
A.
Which of the following responsibilities would MOST likely compromise the independence of an IS auditor when reviewing the risk management process? A. Participating in the design of the risk management framework B. Advising on different implementation techniques C. Facilitating risk awareness training D. Performing due diligence of the risk management processes
A.
Which of the following situations could impair the independence of an IS auditor? The IS auditor: A. implemented specific functionality during the development of an application. B. designed an embedded audit module for auditing an application. C. participated as a member of an application project team and did not have operational responsibilities. D. provided consulting advice concerning application good practices.
A.
While evaluating software development practices in an organization, an IS auditor notes that the quality assurance (QA) function reports to project management. The MOST important concern for an IS auditor is the: A. effectiveness of the QA function because it should interact between project management and user management. B. efficiency of the QA function because it should interact with the project implementation team. C. effectiveness of the project manager because the project manager should interact with the QA function. D. efficiency of the project manager because the QA function needs to communicate with the project implementation team.
A.
While planning an IS audit, an assessment of risk should be made to provide: A. reasonable assurance that the audit will cover material items. B. definite assurance that material items will be covered during the audit work. C. reasonable assurance that all items will be covered by the audit. D. sufficient assurance that all items will be covered during the audit work.
A.
An IS auditor discovers that devices connected to the network are not included in a network diagram that had been used to develop the scope of the audit. The chief information officer explains that the diagram is being updated and awaiting final approval. The IS auditor should FIRST: A. expand the scope of the IS audit to include the devices that are not on the network diagram. B. evaluate the impact of the undocumented devices on the audit scope. C. note a control deficiency because the network diagram has not been approved. D. plan follow-up audits of the undocumented devices.
B.
An IS auditor performing a review of application controls would evaluate the: A. efficiency of the application in meeting the business processes. B. impact of any exposures discovered. C. business processes served by the application. D. application's optimization.
B.
During an exit interview, in cases where there is disagreement regarding the impact of a finding, an IS auditor should: A. ask the auditee to sign a release form accepting full legal responsibility. B. elaborate on the significance of the finding and the risk of not correcting it. C. report the disagreement to the audit committee for resolution. D. accept the auditee's position because they are the process owners.
B.
The MOST effective audit practice to determine whether the operational effectiveness of controls is properly applied to transaction processing is: A. control design testing. B. substantive testing. C. inspection of relevant documentation. D. perform tests on risk prevention.
B.
The MOST important reason for an IS auditor to obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence is to: A. comply with regulatory requirements. B. provide a basis for drawing reasonable conclusions. C. ensure complete audit coverage. D. perform the audit according to the defined scope.
B.
The PRIMARY purpose of an IT forensic audit is: A. to participate in investigations related to corporate fraud. B. the systematic collection and analysis of evidence after a system irregularity. C. to assess the correctness of an organization's financial statements. D. to preserve evidence of criminal activity.
B.
When developing a risk-based audit strategy, an IS auditor should conduct a risk assessment to ensure that: A. controls needed to mitigate risk are in place. B. vulnerabilities and threats are identified. C. audit risk is considered. D. a gap analysis is appropriate.
B.
Which of the following is the FIRST step performed prior to creating a risk ranking for the annual internal IS audit plan? A. Prioritize the identified risk. B. Define the audit universe. C. Identify the critical controls. D. Determine the testing approach.
B.
Which of the following is the MAIN reason to perform a risk assessment in the planning phase of an IS audit? A. To ensure management's concerns are addressed. B. To provide reasonable assurance material items will be addressed. C. To ensure the audit team will perform audits within budget. D. To develop the audit program and procedures to perform the audit.
B.
An IS auditor is developing an audit plan for an environment that includes new systems. The organization's management wants the IS auditor to focus on recently implemented systems. How should the IS auditor respond? A. Audit the new systems as requested by management. B. Audit systems not included in last year's scope. C. Determine the highest-risk systems and plan accordingly. D. Audit both the systems not in last year's scope and the new systems
C.
An IS auditor performing an audit of the risk assessment process should FIRST confirm that: A. reasonable threats to the information assets are identified. B. technical and organizational vulnerabilities have been analyzed. C. assets have been identified and ranked. D. the effects of potential security breaches have been evaluated.
C.
An IS auditor who has discovered unauthorized transactions during a review of electronic data interchange (EDI) transactions is likely to recommend improving the: A. EDI trading partner agreements. B. physical controls for terminals. C. authentication techniques for sending and receiving messages. D. program change control procedures.
C.
An appropriate control for ensuring the authenticity of orders received in an electronic data interchange system application is to: A. acknowledge receipt of electronic orders with a confirmation message. B. perform reasonableness checks on quantities ordered before filling orders. C. verify the identity of senders and determine if orders correspond to contract terms. D. encrypt electronic orders.
C.
An external IS auditor discovers that systems in the scope of the audit were implemented by an associate. In such a circumstance, IS audit management should: A. remove the IS auditor from the engagement. B. cancel the engagement. C. disclose the issue to the client. D. take steps to restore the IS auditor's independence.
C.
The final decision to include a material finding in an audit report should be made by the: A. audit committee. B. auditee's manager. C. IS auditor. D. chief executive officer of the organization.
C.
The internal audit department has written some scripts that are used for continuous auditing of some information systems. The IT department has asked for copies of the scripts so that they can use them for setting up a continuous monitoring process on key systems. Would sharing these scripts with IT affect the ability of the IS auditors to independently and objectively audit the IT function? A. Sharing the scripts is not permitted because it would give IT the ability to pre-audit systems and avoid an accurate, comprehensive audit. B. Sharing the scripts is required because IT must have the ability to review all programs and software that runs on IS systems regardless of audit independence. C. Sharing the scripts is permissible as long as IT recognizes that audits may still be conducted in areas not covered in the scripts. D. Sharing the scripts is not permitted because it would mean that the IS auditors who wrote the scripts would not be permitted to audit any IS systems where the scripts are being used for monitoring.
C.
To ensure that audit resources deliver the best value to the organization, the FIRST step in an audit project is to: A. schedule the audits and monitor the time spent on each audit. B. train the IS audit staff on current technology used in the company. C. develop the audit plan on the basis of a detailed risk assessment. D. monitor progress of audits and initiate cost control measures.
C.
When developing a risk management program, what is the FIRST activity to be performed? A. Threat assessment B. Classification of data C. Inventory of assets D. Criticality analysis
C.
When evaluating the controls of an electronic data interchange (EDI) application, an IS auditor should PRIMARILY be concerned with the risk of: A. excessive transaction turnaround time. B. application interface failure. C. improper transaction authorization. D. nonvalidated batch totals.
C.
Which of the following is MOST important to ensure that effective application controls are maintained? A. Exception reporting B. Manager involvement C. Control self-assessment D. Peer reviews
C.
Which of the following is evaluated as a preventive control by an IS auditor performing an audit? A. Transaction logs B. Before and after image reporting C. Table lookups D. Tracing and tagging
C.
Which of the following represents an example of a preventive control with respect to IT personnel? A. A security guard stationed at the server room door B. An intrusion detection system C. Implementation of a badge entry system for the IT facility D. A fire suppression system in the server room
C.
While performing an audit of an accounting application's internal data integrity controls, an IS auditor identifies a major control deficiency in the change management software supporting the accounting application. The MOST appropriate action for the IS auditor to take is to: A. continue to test the accounting application controls and inform the IT manager about the control deficiency and recommend possible solutions. B. complete the audit and not report the control deficiency because it is not part of the audit scope. C. continue to test the accounting application controls and include the deficiency in the final report. D. cease all audit activity until the control deficiency is resolved.
C.
A company has recently upgraded its purchase system to incorporate electronic data interchange (EDI) transmissions. Which of the following controls should be implemented in the EDI interface to provide for efficient data mapping? A. Key verification B. One-for-one checking C. Manual recalculations D. Functional acknowledgements
D.
A long-term IT employee with a strong technical background and broad managerial experience has applied for a vacant position in the IS audit department. Determining whether to hire this individual for this position should be PRIMARILY based on the individual's experience and: A. length of service, because this will help ensure technical competence. B. age, because training in audit techniques may be impractical. C. IT knowledge, because this will bring enhanced credibility to the audit function. D. ability, as an IS auditor, to be independent of existing IT relationships.
D.
An IS auditor has identified a business process to be audited. The IS auditor should NEXT identify the: A. most valuable information assets. B. IS audit resources to be deployed. C. auditee personnel to be interviewed. D. control objectives and activities.
D.
An IS auditor should ensure that review of online electronic funds transfer reconciliation procedures should include: A. vouching. B. authorizations. C. corrections. D. tracing.
D.
An audit charter should: A. be dynamic and change to coincide with the changing nature of technology and the audit profession. B. clearly state audit objectives for, and the delegation of, authority to the maintenance and review of internal controls. C. document the audit procedures designed to achieve the planned audit objectives. D. outline the overall authority, scope and responsibilities of the audit function.
D.
An internal IS audit function is planning a general IS audit. Which of the following activities takes place during the FIRST step of the planning phase? A. Development of an audit program B. Define the audit scope C. Identification of key information owners D. Development of a risk assessment
D.
An organization's IS audit charter should specify the: A. plans for IS audit engagements. B. objectives and scope of IS audit engagements. C. detailed training plan for the IS audit staff. D. role of the IS audit function.
D.
During a compliance audit of a small bank, the IS auditor notes that both the IT and accounting functions are being performed by the same user of the financial system. Which of the following reviews conducted by the user's supervisor would represent the BEST compensating control? A. Audit trails that show the date and time of the transaction B. A daily report with the total numbers and dollar amounts of each transaction C. User account administration D. Computer log files that show individual transactions
D.
During a risk analysis, an IS auditor identifies threats and potential impacts. Next, the IS auditor should: A. ensure the risk assessment is aligned to management's risk assessment process. B. identify information assets and the underlying systems. C. disclose the threats and impacts to management. D. identify and evaluate the existing controls.
D.
During a security audit of IT processes, an IS auditor found that documented security procedures did not exist. The IS auditor should: A. create the procedures document based on the practices. B. issue an opinion of the current state and end the audit. C. conduct compliance testing on available data. D. identify and evaluate existing practices.
D.
For a retail business with a large volume of transactions, which of the following audit techniques is the MOST appropriate for addressing emerging risk? A. Use of computer-assisted audit techniques B. Quarterly risk assessments C. Sampling of transaction logs D. Continuous auditing
D.
The extent to which data will be collected during an IS audit should be determined based on the: A. availability of critical and required information. B. auditor's familiarity with the circumstances. C. auditee's ability to find relevant evidence. D. purpose and scope of the audit being done.
D.
Which of the following controls would an IS auditor look for in an environment where duties cannot be appropriately segregated? A. Overlapping controls B. Boundary controls C. Access controls D. Compensating controls
D.
Which of the following is the MOST critical step when planning an IS audit? A. Review findings from prior audits. B. Executive management's approval of the audit plan. C. Review IS security policies and procedures. D. Perform a risk assessment.
D.
While reviewing sensitive electronic work papers, the IS auditor noticed that they were not encrypted. This could compromise the: A. audit trail of the versioning of the work papers. B. approval of the audit phases. C. access rights to the work papers. D. confidentiality of the work papers.
D.
