Internal Controls for Information Technology

event of a catastrophic disruption (fire) or disaster (hurricane) and a major IT or data center outage occurs

Developing backup procedures, implementing company-wide, recovery plans need to be developed and offsite backup locations should also be considered

Having internal controls is one thing, but how the company evaluates that control is a matter all by itself. Being an independent auditor, it is our job to understand an entity and

3. (TCO 5) Internal Control Procedures are required to safeguard company assets and to ensure ethical operation

Internal control has different control principles, establishing responsibility focuses on allotting different tasks to a concerned person, like each sales person should have an individual sales register. Different controls on physical, mechanical and electronic should be exercised as this will help in reducing the unauthorized use of different resources, this is essential for safeguarding assets and

Every organization must have adequate control mechanisms in place to help protect sensitive information from the distribution or transmission outside the organization, inappropriate disclosure, and control of how the information accessed is used. Companies should have policies in place that outline the course of action to take should inappropriate usage or disclosure of data be

(TCO 5) Internal Controls are required to safeguard assets and to ensure ethical business practices. (1) Identify and explain the reason for any two of the five components of internal control (10 points) and (2) provide examples of how your two selected components of internal control will meet the goal of safeguarding assets and promoting ethical business

There are many rules companies must follow whenever documenting financial information or any other data which is gather during any business transactions. In order for said companies to report financial information internal controls have to be put in place as companies have to adhere to certain laws and regulations. Internal controls can be defined as a process which companies follow in order to ensure all financial reporting is done in a reliable and lawful manner. Some think of it as a system which works within a system as it plays a major role on the success of a company’s accounting system. At the organizational level, internal control objectives relate to the reliability of financial

There will be a disaster plan in place for such things as floods, storms, of equipment failure. All customer information will be backed up and on a secure network and system with password protected group policies.

of internal controls are (1) to safeguard assets and (2) to ensure reliability of the financial

Internal controls represent an organization’s processes and procedures used to meet its goals and objectives and serve as a defense in safeguarding assets and preventing and detecting errors, fraud, and abuse. Effective internal controls provide reasonable assurance that an organization’s objectives are achieved through (1) reliable financial reporting, (2) compliance with laws and regulations, and (3) effective and efficient operations. The passing of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as the numerous corporate frauds and bankruptcies over the past decade—including some

Owning a business can have many stressors day to day. When starting a business there is a lot of planning and preparation involved. Many small businesses are owners who have put their own money into the business and look at it as an investment. Unfortunately with all the planning that goes into starting a business, one thing is often over looked. Most of the time the “what ifs”, are not part of the planning stage. One reason for this is that people do not like to think of the bad things that could or may happen. So with all the time and planning put into starting a business why not put some extra thought into a plan B if a disaster strikes? This plan B could be a business continuity plan or a disaster recovery plan. Business continuity plans are an essential part of the modern day business. There are so many potential disasters for small businesses that could seize the production or even close the business down for good. A recent study from Gartner Inc., found that “90% of companies that experience data loss go out of business within two years. It also found that 80% of company owners have not thought about how they would keep their businesses up and running if a data disaster occurs.” According to the Association of Records Managers and Administrators, “about 60 percent of businesses that experience a major disaster such as a fire close

“Internal controls are policies and procedures put in place to ensure the continued reliability of accounting systems” (Ingram 2017). WorldCom’s attempts at maintaining internal controls are less than favorable. Segregation of duties enables the division responsibilities to ensure that no employee completes two similar tasks. The CEO’s monitoring of WorldCom’s financial processes shows that the company has a lax segregation of duties, which makes it easier to commit fraud. Access controls protect financial data from unauthorized access, however, WorldCom’s extent is password-protected computers. No access inventories are taken to monitor employee usage, so there is no trail of when employees are doing during work.

Contingency planners are now asserting that contingency planning is a value-added component that can be a competitive advantage in the marketplace as well a means of helping organizations save money. Processes that are deeply analyzed in terms of continuity will usually be more secure, and new ways of working may emerge to help streamline operations. Contingency planning can be useful when forging alliances with external organizations or during acquisition phases. Contingency planning should be part of an organization’s quality cycle as well. “Business continuity and disaster recovery have gained somewhat in the eyes of top corporate management since the start of the 1990s. As the industry has slowly evolved from what could almost have been called a ‘black art’ to something starting to resemble a disciplined science, basic business principles have begun to become increasingly relevant” (Rothstein, 2003, p. 1).

Effective internal controls protect a company’s assets, maintain compliance, improve operations, prevent fraud, and promote accuracy in financial reporting. In 1992 the