Processing Integrity Controls (Input, Processing, Output)

Closed-loop verification (?)

(I) a input validation method that uses data entered into the system to retrieve and display other related information so that the data entry person can verify the accuracy of the input data

Turnaround document (?)

(I) a record of company data sent to an external party and then returned by the external party for subsequent input into the system

Hash total (?)

(I) a type of batch total generated by summing values for a field that would not usually be totaled (non-monetary values)

Record count (?)

(I) a type of batch total that equals the number of records processed at a given time

Financial total (?)

(I) a type of batch total that equals the sum of a field that contains monetary values

Check digit (?)

(I) an additional digit in an ID number that is computed from the other digits

Prompting (?)

(I) an online data entry completeness check that requests each required item of input data and then waits for an acceptable response before requesting the next required item

Validity check (?)

(I) compares the ID code or account number in transaction data with similar data in the master file to verify that the account exists

Cancellation/storage of source documents (?)

(I) control used so that documents are not inadvertently or fraudulently reentered into the system

Prenumbering source documents (?)

(I) control used to verify that no documents are missing

Reasonableness test (?)

(I) determines correctness of the logical relationship between two data items

Field check (?)

(I) determines whether the characters in a field are of the proper type

Sign check (?)

(I) determines whether the data in a field have the appropriate arithmetic sign

Size check (?)

(I) ensures that the input data will fit into the assigned field

Check digit verification (?)

(I) recalculating a check digit to verify that a data entry error has not been made

Limit check (?)

(I) tests a numerical amount against a fixed value

Sequence check (?)

(I) tests whether a batch of input data is in the proper numerical or alphabetical sequence

Range check (?)

(I) tests whether a numerical amount falls between predetermined lower and upper limits

Batch totals (?)

(I) the sum of a numerical item for a batch of documents, calculated prior to processing the batch, when the data are entered, and subsequently compared with computer-generated totals after the processing step to verify that the data was processed correctly

Completeness check (?)

(I) verifies that all required data items have been entered

What are the four types of output controls?

(O) 1. User review of output (Reasonable? Complete? Correct recipient?) 2. Reconciliation procedures (e.g., subsidiaries sum to the control account) 3. External data reconciliation (e.g., bank reconciliations, physical inventory count matches internal records) 4. Data transmission controls (e.g., system requests re-transmission if error is detected)

Parity checking (?)

(O) A data transmission control in which the receiving device recalculates the parity bit to verify accuracy of transmitted data

Checksum (?)

(O) A data transmission control that uses a hash of a file to verify accuracy; namely, when packets are reassembled, the recipient creates hash of the document and compares the hash to a hash created by the sender

Parity bit (?)

(O) an extra bit added every character; used to check transmission accuracy

Write-protection mechanisms (?)

(P) a processing control that protects against overwriting or erasing data files stored on magnetic media

Zero-balance test (?)

(P) a processing control that verifies the balance of a control (e.g., clearing) account equals zero after all entries to it have been made

Cross-footing balance test (?)

(P) a processing control which verifies accuracy by comparing two alternative ways of calculating the same total

Concurrent update controls (?)

(P) controls that lock out users to protect individual records from errors that occur if multiple users attempted to update the same record simultaneously

File labels (?)

(P) external labels are written by humans; internal labels are in machine-readable form; should be kept up to date

Recalculation of batch totals (?)

(P) re-computation of batch totals to determine if there any discrepancies, which would indicate a processing error

Data matching (?)

(P) two or more items of data must be matched before an action can take place (Think: 3 way match)

Header record (?)

(P) type of internal label that appears at the beginning of each file and contains the file name, expiration date, and other file identification information

Trailer record (?)

(P) type of internal label that appears at the end of a file; in transaction files, the trailer record contains the batch totals calculated during input

Transposition error

an error that results when numbers in two adjacent columns are inadvertently exchanged