In a society where security issues, wrongful processing and other IT problems have become all but unacceptable, reliable IT services and information processing are paramount. To keep pace, IT services are becoming subject to more and more requirements, while the technology and systems powering IT services are growing in complexity. This heightened complexity steadily complicates adequate risk management and control and security, which, in turn, trigger new IT risks.

New technology calls for digital transformation

There are many developments in the field of online services and related security issues. A growing number of private and public organisations are using state-of-the-art technology to process their primary and secondary processes. This use of new technology is required for them to stay competitive as an organisation and usually calls for a digital transformation of processes and organisational structure.

IT audit – integral to financial statement audit

The new technology also triggers new risks and dependencies that tend to affect an organisation’s financial performance and its ability to continue as a going concern. Many organisations are required by law to have their primary processes and financial statements audited by an independent external auditor. IT audit procedures have become increasingly integral to the financial statement audit and make up an ever-growing share of this audit.

Reliability and automation

When auditing your IT infrastructure, we develop and use audit methodologies that tie in with your industry, organisation, systems or applications. These include robotics, which we may use to perform automated substantive procedures that are efficient and reliable. For years now, we have performed increasingly in-depth data analyses of key audit matters. These allow us to zoom in on specific risk areas, which boost quality and offer us and our clients a better understanding of risks. The methods we use also contribute heavily to the efficiency of the audit process.

Our services

BDO can help you by performing an independent and objective audit of your IT systems and suggesting and implementing improvements. Our goal is to use efficient methods to add more value to your financial statements and to offer you a deeper understanding of the IT risks. In providing our services, we leverage a combination of the expertise of experienced and certified professionals, and innovative methods and techniques.

We also offer a large team of certified IT auditors who are qualified to conduct the most complex IT audits and other reviews. Our starting point will always be the IT risks relevant for your organisation. The end goal is to provide assurance that you are in control of the risks inherent to your IT infrastructure.

What we offer:

Audit Analytics: data analysis that helps us harness trends and changes in your IT infrastructure. Audit analytics capabilities provide focus and ultimately make you achieve a position where you are in continuous control and are able to self-monitor your IT risks. We offer a range of tools and best practices for setting up and performing analyses tailored to your organisation.
IT Processes and IT General Controls (ITGC): these are essential for securing your assets, maintaining data integrity and ensuring your organisation’s operational effectiveness and ability to continue as a going concern. An audit can target a broad variety of aspects, ranging from business processes to applications and technologies. Your business and/or audit risks will always form the starting point for our procedures. Not only do we identify key security or control risks, but we also offer concrete suggestions and solutions that will help you mitigate the risks you incur.
Logical Access Security: we audit the logical access security of your IT systems or applications to identify risks of fraud and unauthorised transactions. Targeted recommendations and continuous risk mitigation in your key business processes are crucial to ensuring data integrity in your organisation.
Conversion Audit: the implementation of a new IT system or a new application involves risk, for instance when it comes to converting data. We offer a conversion audit to assess whether the data was converted correctly, whether no data was lost and, if applicable, whether data was cleaned up or enriched correctly and completely.

Contact

Our IT Risk Assurance specialists can offer you organisational and technical support in all the areas listed above. Their goal is to give you a better understanding of your IT risks, IT infrastructure and assurance on these elements. They would be happy to sit down with you to discuss the impact of technological advances and the related IT risks for your internal control structure. We can help you manage your digital challenges by creating opportunities and providing assurance.