<s>
An	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
audit	I-General_Concept
,	O
or	O
information	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
audit	I-General_Concept
,	O
is	O
an	O
examination	O
of	O
the	O
management	O
controls	O
within	O
an	O
Information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
(	O
IT	O
)	O
infrastructure	B-Application
and	O
business	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IT	B-General_Concept
audits	I-General_Concept
are	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
automated	O
data	O
processing	O
audits	O
(	O
ADP	O
audits	O
)	O
and	O
computer	O
audits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
were	O
formerly	O
called	O
electronic	B-Application
data	I-Application
processing	I-Application
audits	O
(	O
EDP	B-General_Concept
audits	I-General_Concept
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audit	I-General_Concept
is	O
different	O
from	O
a	O
financial	O
statement	O
audit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
of	O
operations	O
,	O
and	O
cash	O
flows	O
in	O
conformity	O
to	O
standard	O
accounting	O
practices	O
,	O
the	O
purposes	O
of	O
an	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audit	I-General_Concept
is	O
to	O
evaluate	O
the	O
system	O
's	O
internal	O
control	O
design	O
and	O
effectiveness	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
risks	O
and	O
need	O
for	O
high	O
levels	O
of	O
assurance	O
increase	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audits	I-General_Concept
to	O
check	O
businesses	O
IT	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
performances	O
and	O
to	O
lower	O
the	O
probability	O
and	O
impact	O
of	O
technology	O
threats	O
and	O
disruptions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
primary	O
functions	O
of	O
an	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audit	I-General_Concept
are	O
to	O
evaluate	O
the	O
systems	O
that	O
are	O
in	O
place	O
to	O
guard	O
an	O
organization	O
's	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Specifically	O
,	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
audits	I-General_Concept
are	O
used	O
to	O
evaluate	O
the	O
organization	O
's	O
ability	O
to	O
protect	O
its	O
information	O
assets	O
and	O
to	O
properly	O
dispense	O
information	O
to	O
authorized	O
parties	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audit	I-General_Concept
aims	O
to	O
evaluate	O
the	O
following	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
specifically	O
,	O
organizations	O
should	O
look	O
into	O
three	O
major	O
requirements	O
:	O
confidentiality	O
,	O
integrity	O
,	O
and	O
availability	O
to	O
label	O
their	O
needs	O
for	O
security	O
and	O
trust	O
in	O
their	O
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Various	O
authorities	O
have	O
created	O
differing	O
taxonomies	O
to	O
distinguish	O
the	O
various	O
types	O
of	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audits	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Goodman	O
&	O
Lawless	O
state	O
that	O
there	O
are	O
three	O
specific	O
systematic	O
approaches	O
to	O
carry	O
out	O
an	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audit	I-General_Concept
:	O
</s>
<s>
Others	O
describe	O
the	O
spectrum	O
of	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audits	I-General_Concept
with	O
five	O
categories	O
of	O
audits	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
System	O
and	O
process	O
assurance	O
audits	O
form	O
a	O
subtype	O
,	O
focussing	O
on	O
business	O
process-centric	O
business	O
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Systems	B-General_Concept
Development	I-General_Concept
:	O
An	O
audit	O
to	O
verify	O
that	O
the	O
systems	O
under	O
development	O
meet	O
the	O
objectives	O
of	O
the	O
organization	O
,	O
and	O
to	O
ensure	O
that	O
the	O
systems	O
are	O
developed	O
in	O
accordance	O
with	O
generally	O
accepted	O
standards	O
for	O
systems	B-General_Concept
development	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Client/Server	O
,	O
Telecommunications	O
,	O
Intranets	O
,	O
and	O
Extranets	O
:	O
An	O
audit	O
to	O
verify	O
that	O
telecommunications	O
controls	O
are	O
in	O
place	O
on	O
the	O
client	O
(	O
computer	O
receiving	O
services	O
)	O
,	O
server	O
,	O
and	O
on	O
the	O
network	B-Architecture
connecting	O
the	O
clients	O
and	O
servers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
And	O
some	O
lump	O
all	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audits	I-General_Concept
as	O
being	O
one	O
of	O
only	O
two	O
type	O
:	O
"	O
general	O
control	O
review	O
"	O
audits	O
or	O
"	O
application	O
control	O
review	O
"	O
audits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
number	O
of	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audit	I-General_Concept
professionals	O
from	O
the	O
Information	O
Assurance	O
realm	O
consider	O
there	O
to	O
be	O
three	O
fundamental	O
types	O
of	O
controls	O
regardless	O
of	O
the	O
type	O
of	O
audit	O
to	O
be	O
performed	O
,	O
especially	O
in	O
the	O
IT	O
realm	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
external	O
audit	O
of	O
information	O
systems	O
is	O
primarily	O
conducted	O
by	O
certified	O
Information	O
System	B-General_Concept
auditors	I-General_Concept
,	O
such	O
as	O
CISA	O
,	O
certified	O
by	O
ISACA	O
,	O
Information	O
System	O
Audit	O
and	O
Control	O
Association	O
,	O
USA	O
,	O
Information	O
System	O
Auditor	O
(	O
ISA	O
)	O
certified	O
by	O
ICAI	O
(	O
Institute	O
of	O
Chartered	O
Accountants	O
of	O
India	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
certified	O
by	O
reputed	O
organization	O
for	O
IS	B-General_Concept
audit	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Guidelines	O
are	O
available	O
to	O
assist	O
auditors	O
in	O
their	O
jobs	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
those	O
from	O
Information	B-General_Concept
Systems	I-General_Concept
Audit	I-General_Concept
and	O
Control	O
Association	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Currently	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
many	O
IT-dependent	O
companies	O
that	O
rely	O
on	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
in	O
order	O
to	O
operate	O
their	O
business	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
these	O
,	O
the	O
importance	O
of	O
IT	B-General_Concept
Audit	I-General_Concept
is	O
constantly	O
increased	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
important	O
roles	O
of	O
the	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audit	I-General_Concept
is	O
to	O
audit	O
over	O
the	O
critical	O
system	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
financial	O
audit	O
or	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
specific	O
regulations	O
announced	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
rise	O
of	O
VOIP	O
networks	O
and	O
issues	O
like	O
BYOD	O
and	O
the	O
increasing	O
capabilities	O
of	O
modern	O
enterprise	O
telephony	O
systems	O
causes	O
increased	O
risk	O
of	O
critical	O
telephony	O
infrastructure	B-Application
being	O
misconfigured	O
,	O
leaving	O
the	O
enterprise	O
open	O
to	O
the	O
possibility	O
of	O
communications	O
fraud	O
or	O
reduced	O
system	O
stability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Enterprise	O
communications	O
audits	O
are	O
also	O
called	O
voice	O
audits	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
term	O
is	O
increasingly	O
deprecated	O
as	O
communications	O
infrastructure	B-Application
increasingly	O
becomes	O
data-oriented	O
and	O
data-dependent	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
"	O
telephony	O
audit	O
"	O
is	O
also	O
deprecated	O
because	O
modern	O
communications	O
infrastructure	B-Application
,	O
especially	O
when	O
dealing	O
with	O
customers	O
,	O
is	O
omni-channel	O
,	O
where	O
interaction	O
takes	O
place	O
across	O
multiple	O
channels	O
,	O
not	O
just	O
over	O
the	O
telephone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IT	B-General_Concept
audits	I-General_Concept
are	O
built	O
on	O
the	O
basis	O
of	O
adherence	O
to	O
standards	O
and	O
policies	O
published	O
by	O
organizations	O
such	O
as	O
NIST	O
and	O
PCI	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
absence	O
of	O
such	O
standards	O
for	O
enterprise	O
communications	O
audits	O
means	O
that	O
these	O
audits	O
have	O
to	O
be	O
based	O
an	O
organization	O
's	O
internal	O
standards	O
and	O
policies	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
industry	O
standards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Use	O
of	O
Artificial	O
Intelligence	O
(	O
AI	O
)	O
in	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audits	I-General_Concept
is	O
growing	O
rapidly	O
,	O
with	O
30%	O
of	O
all	O
corporate	O
audits	O
to	O
be	O
conducted	O
using	O
AI	O
by	O
2025	O
as	O
reported	O
by	O
the	O
World	O
Economic	O
forum	O
from	O
2015	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AI	O
in	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audits	I-General_Concept
raises	O
many	O
ethical	O
issues	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
Artificial	O
Intelligence	O
causes	O
unintended	O
biases	O
in	O
results	O
An	O
issue	O
that	O
AI	O
faces	O
in	O
completing	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audits	I-General_Concept
for	O
corporations	O
is	O
that	O
unintended	O
biases	O
can	O
occur	O
as	O
the	O
AI	O
filters	O
through	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Technology	O
replacing	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
humans	O
Big	O
4	O
firms	O
have	O
invested	O
significant	O
amounts	O
of	O
money	O
in	O
emerging	O
technologies	O
in	O
the	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audit	I-General_Concept
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
AI	O
is	O
now	O
being	O
used	O
in	O
assurance	O
practices	O
performing	O
tasks	O
such	O
as	O
“	O
auditing	O
and	O
accounting	O
procedures	O
such	O
as	O
review	O
of	O
general	O
ledgers	O
,	O
tax	O
compliance	O
,	O
preparing	O
work-papers	O
,	O
data	O
analytics	O
,	O
expense	O
compliance	O
,	O
fraud	O
detection	O
,	O
and	O
decision-making.	O
”	O
This	O
essentially	O
replaces	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
auditors	O
and	O
relegates	O
those	O
who	O
work	O
in	O
assurance	O
to	O
roles	O
as	O
“	O
overseers	O
”	O
of	O
the	O
technology.However	O
,	O
firms	O
still	O
need	O
auditors	O
to	O
perform	O
analysis	O
on	O
the	O
AI	O
results	O
of	O
the	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audit	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Globalization	O
in	O
combination	O
with	O
the	O
growth	O
in	O
information	B-General_Concept
technology	I-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
has	O
caused	O
companies	O
to	O
shift	O
to	O
an	O
increasingly	O
digitized	O
working	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
in	O
audits	O
has	O
transformed	O
the	O
way	O
auditors	O
accomplish	O
important	O
audit	O
functions	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
management	O
of	O
databases	O
,	O
risk	O
assurance	O
and	O
controls	O
,	O
and	O
even	O
governance	O
and	O
compliance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
IT	B-General_Concept
audit	I-General_Concept
systems	O
improve	O
the	O
operational	O
efficiency	O
and	O
aid	O
in	O
decision	O
making	O
that	O
would	O
otherwise	O
be	O
left	O
to	O
hand-held	O
calculations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
help	O
to	O
eliminate	O
the	O
human	O
error	O
in	O
audits	O
and	O
while	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
fully	O
solve	O
the	O
issue	O
,	O
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
have	O
proven	O
to	O
be	O
helpful	O
in	O
audits	O
done	O
by	O
the	O
Big	O
4	O
and	O
small	O
firms	O
alike	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
the	O
increased	O
use	O
of	O
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
in	O
audits	O
,	O
authoritative	O
bodies	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
American	O
Institute	O
of	O
Certified	O
Public	O
Accountants	O
(	O
AICPA	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
Information	B-General_Concept
Systems	I-General_Concept
Audit	I-General_Concept
Control	O
Association	O
(	O
ISACA	O
)	O
have	O
established	O
guidance	O
on	O
how	O
to	O
properly	O
use	O
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
to	O
perform	O
audits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Auditors	O
must	O
now	O
adhere	O
to	O
the	O
established	O
guidelines	O
when	O
utilizing	O
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
in	O
audits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
use	O
of	O
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
AI	O
techniques	O
on	O
financial	O
audits	O
is	O
starting	O
to	O
show	O
huge	O
benefits	O
for	O
leading	O
accounting	O
firms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
study	O
done	O
by	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
Big	O
4	O
accounting	O
firms	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
expected	O
that	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
IT	B-General_Concept
Systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
AI	O
techniques	O
will	O
generate	O
an	O
increase	O
of	O
$6.6	O
trillion	O
dollars	O
in	O
revenue	O
as	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
the	O
increase	O
in	O
productivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
leading	O
auditing	O
firms	O
are	O
making	O
enormous	O
investments	O
with	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
increasing	O
productivity	O
and	O
therefore	O
revenue	O
through	O
the	O
development	O
or	O
outsourcing	O
of	O
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
AI	O
techniques	O
to	O
assist	O
in	O
financial	O
audits	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PwC	O
,	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
biggest	O
auditing	O
firms	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
,	O
has	O
narrowed	O
down	O
three	O
different	O
types	O
of	O
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
AI	O
techniques	O
that	O
firms	O
can	O
develop	O
and	O
implement	O
to	O
achieve	O
increased	O
revenue	O
and	O
productivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
type	O
of	O
system	O
requires	O
decision	O
making	O
to	O
be	O
shared	O
between	O
the	O
human	O
auditor	O
and	O
the	O
IT	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
to	O
produce	O
the	O
maximum	O
output	O
by	O
allowing	O
the	O
system	O
to	O
take	O
over	O
the	O
computing	O
work	O
that	O
could	O
not	O
be	O
one	O
by	O
a	O
human	O
auditor	O
alone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
utilization	O
of	O
IT	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
and	O
AI	O
techniques	O
on	O
financial	O
audits	O
extend	O
past	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
reaching	O
maximized	O
productivity	O
and	O
increased	O
revenue	O
.	O
</s>
