Advanced topics of a computer center audit

Abstract

An auditor's review is concerned mostly with the faithfulness of accounts. The opinion is always achieved after carrying out an audit in which various types of appropriate control measures are applied, depending on the actual situation. An investigation into the organization and procedures of the computer center (hereafter called the computer center audit) forms a professionally necessary complement to activities traditionally carried out by the auditor in environments where the opinion is not merely achieved on the basis of the application of control measures directed towards the results of data processing, but where the opinion is also based on the conditions under which automatic data processing takes place. After a concise introduction about the place of a computer center audit in the whole spectrum of internal control measures and related factor, this article will deal with two specific subjects which may be covered in a computer center audit: the security of data communication networks and data dictionary/directory systems. This article is aimed especially at auditors who carry out computer center audits. The authors hope that it will lead to further discussion.