IMPORTANCE | ROLES OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS AUDIT IN A FINANCIAL TURBULENT TIME
The importance of information system and the roles of information systems just like importance of accounting cannot in any way be neglected or relegated to the background. The looming financial crisis in the Eurozone that hopefully can be averted would not have been a serious issue if the information systems of the various components responsible for the crisis were properly audited.
Knowledge is power but, information is the driving force behind that power. We now live in the era of information superhighway where it takes nano seconds for information to be disseminated all over the world. This fact makes it logical to conclude that the success or otherwise of a business is largely linked to the ability of the business protect her information assets, control her information and ensure that information system actually adds value to a company. The aim of this article is to highlight the importance of auditing information systems and also to look at the role of information systems audit.
IMPORTANCE OF AUDITING AN INFORMATION SYSTEM
For any business (for profit or for non profit) to survive, it must have an adequate information security system in place. How to know that a system is secured is when an audit is carried out on the system. Most company employ the white-hat hacking techniques to identify loopholes that need to be closed in their information system.
In a nut shell, the world would be a worry free place if we have the assurance that are information (trade secrets, private information, personal identity, etc) are safe, hence, the importance of auditing an information system.
TO ENSURE THE SECURITY OF INFORMATION
Information is a vital asset of any entity that needs to be seriously secured or face the consequence of not doing so. Information security has become so vital that many large organizations have full fledged department that handles the inflow and outflow of information. Information security is not all about securing the data in your data warehouse, it goes beyond that. By information security audit, the activities of actors in the information domain need to be monitored more than ever. The advent of mobile computing and Smartphone created a new loophole in the business of handling information which the information audit must track down and proffer solution to. Just recently, a young computer scientist working with a leading cloud computing company got drunk on his way back from the office and misplaced his personal portable device loaded with information that have weak or no security. This brief analogy is an example of the kind of ugly incident that can easily be avoided if a sound information systems audit had been undertaken.
TO FILTER OUT NOISE IN THE SYSTEM
Noise in any information system is a key factor that causes mistakes, misunderstandings and misrepresentation of facts which has proved to be fatal over the period of time. It is by auditing the system that carries the information flow that such noises are identified and corrective action taken to either remove or ameliorate their effects on the organization.
CREATION OF JOBS
This may sound weird but, it is the fact of the matter. The information systems audit profession have over the last decade created more jobs than lots of other sectors. There is hardly a project that is carried out now without evaluating the security of that project. Suffix this to say that part of the role of information audit is to stimulate the economy through series of job creations.
BUILDING CONFIDENCE AND PUBLIC REPUTATION
The general public would rather go with a secured system with lesser benefit than with an unsecured system with more benefits. This is more pronounced in the world of business and investment where investors seek the safety of their capital first before profit. This is a rational thing to do as the number one tenet of investing and financial management is to ensure the safety of your capital. The general idea behind any form of auditing of any kind is to render credibility to a piece of information
The role of information auditing also include improving the general standard of living in an economy. Through adequate information audit, treats to human lives and properties are identified and remove if possible. This will also go a long way in preventing these cycles of global financial crisis that we face these days.