An IS auditor conducting a review of disaster recovery
planning at a financial processing organization has
discovered the following:
* The existing disaster recovery plan was compiled two years
ago by a systems analyst in the organization's IT department
using transaction flow projections from the operations
department.
* The plan was presented to the deputy CEO for approval and
formal issue, but it is still awaiting his attention.
* The plan has never been updated, tested or circulated to
key management and staff, though interviews show that each
would know what action to take for their area in the event
of a disruptive incident.
The basis of an organization's disaster recovery plan is to
reestablish live processing at an alternative site where a
similar, but not identical hardware configuration is already
established. The IS auditor should:
A. take no action as the lack of a current plan is the only
significant finding.
B. recommend that the hardware configuration at each site
should be identical.
C. perform a review to verify that the second configuration
can support live processing.
D. report that the financial expenditure on the alternative
site is wasted without an effective plan.
Answer / guest
Answer: C
The IS auditor does not have a finding unless it can be
shown that the alternative hardware cannot support the live
processing system. Even though the primary finding is the
lack of a proven and communicated disaster recovery plan, it
is essential that this aspect of recovery is included in the
audit. Since, if it is found to be inadequate the finding
will materially support the overall audit opinion. It is
certainly not appropriate to take no action at all, leaving
this important factor untested, and unless it is shown that
the alternative site is inadequate, there can be no comment
on the expenditure (even if this is considered a proper
comment for the IS auditor to make). Similarly, there is no
need for the configurations to be identical. The alternative
site could actually exceed the recovery requirements if it
is also used for other work, such as other processing or
systems development and testing. The only proper course of
action at this point would be to find out if the recovery
site can actually cope with a recovery.
| Is This Answer Correct ? | 2 Yes | 0 No |
A manufacturing firm wants to automate its invoice payment system. Objectives state that the system should require considerably less time for review and authorization and the system should be capable of identifying errors that require follow up. Which of the following would BEST meet these objectives? A. Establishing an inter-networked system of client servers with suppliers for increased efficiencies B. Outsourcing the function to a firm specializing in automated payments and accounts receivable/invoice processing C. Establishing an EDI system of electronic business documents and transactions with key suppliers, computer to computer, in a standard format D. Reengineering the existing processing and redesigning the existing system
IS management has decided to rewrite a legacy customer relations system using fourth-generation languages (4GLs). Which of the following risks is MOST often associated with system development using 4GLs? A. Inadequate screen/report design facilities B. Complex programming language subsets C. Lack of portability across operating systems D. Inability to perform data intensive operations
Which of the following network configuration options contains a direct link between any two host machines? A. Bus B. Ring C. Star D. Completely connected (mesh)
When performing a review of the structure of an electronic funds transfer (EFT) system, an IS auditor observes that the technological infrastructure is based on a centralized processing scheme that has been outsourced to a provider in another country. Based on this information, which of the following conclusions should be the main concern of the IS auditor? A. There could be a question with regards to the legal jurisdiction. B. Having a provider abroad will cause excesive costs in future audits. C. The auditing process will be difficult because of the distances. D. There could be different auditing norms.
Which of the following is an IS control objective? A. Output reports are locked in a safe place. B. Duplicate transactions do not occur. C. System backup/recovery procedures are updated periodically. D. System design and development meet users' requirements.
Many organizations require an employee to take a mandatory vacation (holiday) of a week or more to: A. ensure the employee maintains a quality of life, which will lead to greater productivity. B. reduce the opportunity for an employee to commit an improper or illegal act. C. provide proper cross training for another employee. D. eliminate the potential disruption caused when an employee takes vacation one day at a time.
Which of the following represents the MOST pervasive control over application development? A. IS auditors B. Standard development methodologies C. Extensive acceptance testing D. Quality assurance groups
Which of the following is an implementation risk within the process of decision support systems? A. Management control B. Semistructured dimensions C. Inability to specify purpose and usage patterns D. Changes in decision processes
The objective of IT governance is to ensure that the IT strategy is aligned with the objectives of (the): A. enterprise. B. IT. C. audit. D. finance.
The purpose for requiring source code escrow in a contractual agreement is to: A. ensure the source code is available if the vendor ceases to exist. B. permit customization of the software to meet specified business requirements. C. review the source code for adequacy of controls. D. ensure the vendor has complied with legal requirements.
What is a risk associated with attempting to control physical access to sensitive areas, such as computer rooms, through card keys, locks, etc.? A. Unauthorized individuals wait for controlled doors to open and walk in behind those authorized. B. The contingency plan for the organization cannot effectively test controlled access practices. C. Access cards, keys, and pads can be easily duplicated allowing easy compromise of the control. D. Removing access for people no longer authorized is complex.
The PRIMARY reason for separating the test and development environments is to: A. restrict access to systems under test. B. segregate user and development staff. C. control the stability of the test environment. D. secure access to systems under development.