The data contained in the files shown in Figure 9.9 provide evidence that may either
corroborate or refute audit objectives. Most of the tests described in the following section
involve using ACL to access and extract data from these files. For a detailed explanation
of ACL commands, review the instruction manual that accompanies the ACL software
and consult ACL’s online Help feature.
As a preliminary step in using ACL, each file needs to be defined in terms of its
physical location and its structure. Through a series of easy-to-use pop-up menus,
ACL’s Data Definition Wizard allows the auditor to specify the name of the file, specify
its location (on the mainframe or PC) and define the file’s structure in terms of