The other general controls referred to in ISA 315 cover the areas of system software acquisition development and maintenance; program change; and application system acquisition, development and maintenance.
‘System software’ refers to the operating system, database management systems and other software that increases the efficiency of processing. Application software refers to particular applications such as sales or wages. The controls over the development and maintenance of both types of software are similar and include:
Controls over application development, such as good standards over the system design and program writing, good documentation, testing procedures (eg use of test data to identify program code errors, pilot running and parallel running of old and new systems), as well as segregation of duties so that operators are not involved in program development
Controls over program changes – to ensure no unauthorised amendments and that changes are adequately tested, eg password protection of programs, comparison of production programs to controlled copies and approval of changes by users
Controls over installation and maintenance of system software – many of the controls mentioned above are relevant, eg authorisation of changes, good documentation, access controls and segregation of duties.
Exam focus
Students often confuse application controls and general controls. In the June 2008 CAT Paper 8 exam, Question 2 asked candidates to provide examples of application controls over the input and processing of data. Many answers referred to passwords and physical access controls – which are examples of general controls – and thus failed to gain marks.