Information System Audit: How to Control the Digital Disruption(Security, Audit and Leadership Series)

The digitalization of companies is a recurrent topic of conversation for managers. Companies are forced to evolve at least as fast as their competitors. They have to review their organization, their processes, and their way of working. This also concerns auditors in terms of their audit strategy and working methods. Digitalization is the tip of the iceberg that represents the increasing reliance on information technology of the company’s information system. Companies have seen new competitors succeed with a digital approach, competitors that have opened new markets or new ways of interacting with their customers, and all business processes can be digitalized. In this new paradigm, auditors have to renew themselves too. Long gone are the days of auditors specializing in one technique, like financial auditors or IT auditors. This makes it a phenomenal opportunity for auditing to renew itself, embracing the vision of the company’s information system: long live the information system auditors! This book proposes you to go step by step from a common understanding of our history of auditing to gradually defining and justifying the impacts of digitalization on the audit strategy and the preparation of audits.

Table of Contents:
About the author. Preface. 1 Audit. 2 Information system. 3 Information system audit. 4 Legal risks. 5 Operational risks. 6 IT processes. 7 Human uncertainties. 8 IT risks. 9 Confidence. 10 Risks management. 11 Information system audit strategy. 12 Performing audits. Index.

About the Author :
Philippe Peret is an IT Engineer with a major in IT Audit (CNAM, France). He passed a master in business administration (Toulouse School Management, France). With plus twenty years of experience in IT, management, and audit, he works initially in consulting in program management office, project management. He co-authored the new release of SDMS™, SDMS21™, a leading methodology on Information Systems Management and projects management. He moves to audit, CISA certified in 2008, and performs financial, IT, legal and forensic engagements initially for audit firms then for Corporate Audit departments (e.g. KPMG, Avon Cosmetics, Tyco International). Other book (French and English): "More Haste? Less Speed! —Effective IT Project Management"—ISBN 978-2-9557622-0-2

Review :
This book provides an excellent overview of the history of auditing and its relationship with digitalization. It emphasizes the increasing importance of digitalization in today's business environment and its impact on audit strategy and preparation. Digitalization is no longer just a trend but a necessity for businesses. It involves the growing reliance on information technology within a company's information system. Many companies have seen new competitors succeed through digital approaches, opening up new markets and redefining customer interactions. As a result, all business processes can now be digitized. In this new landscape, auditors play a crucial role. They must adapt to the digital shift, as the days of specializing in just one technique, such as financial or IT auditing, are over. This presents a significant opportunity for auditing to evolve and align with the vision of a company's information system. One of the key challenges in the digital era is ensuring data consistency. Data used by different departments is often assumed to be identical simply because they share the same name. However, this assumption is not always accurate for three main reasons: 1. Data with the same name may describe different things. 2. Data with the same name may refer to the same thing but describe it differently. 3. Data with the same name may refer to the same thing and describe it similarly but manage it differently. These inconsistencies pose a significant challenge that auditors must address. The author also informs us about the importance of moving from the concept of IT to the idea of information systems, which involves linking IT risks to business risks and creating services around the company's operational functions. I highly recommend this book to all our colleagues. The author provides a systematic and comprehensive explanation of the events that have shaped the future of the auditing career. The book is based on important events and institutional experiences in the business world. It offers a holistic approach, revealing the evolution of auditing from the past to the present, and makes an essential contribution to the literature in this field. - Assoc Prof Sezer Bozkus Kahyaoglu CIA, CFE, CFSA, CRMA, CICP, CPA - Izmir Bakircay University