– Information security
– Disaster recovery/business recovery
• Application controls:
– Tests of control
– Controls embedded in various applications to satisfy
management’s policies and procedures for carrying out
business processes
• Physical controls:
– Authorization of service instance
– Segregation of duties (if applicable, IT personnel too)
– Supervision
– Audit trails
– Access controls to systems and data
– Independent verification (performance reports, independent
reviews, audits, error logs, etc.)
Controls are evaluated at three levels: design effectiveness,
implementation and operational effectiveness.
Design effectiveness relates to the ability of the control to
mitigate risks and provide adequate controls over a certain
business process or to ensure that policies are enforced within
business processes. The control should be able to detect a
material misstatement or error in a timely manner.
The second level is whether the control has actually been
implemented. It is possible to determine the implementation
via a walk-through. SAS No. 109 recommends such a
procedure to make that determination.
The third level is whether, on a continuing basis, that
control is actually performing as designed (i.e., control
effectiveness). Traditionally, financial and IT auditors have
used tests of controls as a way to make this determination.
This level is the topic of the fifth element, monitoring.
Controls are also categorized as to the area or aspect of the
entity as follows: general controls, application controls and
physical controls. General controls are controls that in general
affect the computer systems (information systems) and
information technologies employed by the entity in performing
functions (business processes) associated with financial
reporting activities. Application controls are computer controls
embedded within technologies and systems that are intended to
ensure that policies and procedures are carried out in the
business processes.