f The specialised nature of information systems (IS) auditing and the skills necessary to perform such audits require standards that apply specifically to IS auditing. One of the goals of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) is to advance globally applicable standards to meet its vision. The development and dissemination of the IS Auditing Standards are a cornerstone of the ISACA professional contribution to the audit community. The framework for the IS Auditing Standards provides multiple levels of guidance:  Standards define mandatory requirements for IS auditing and reporting. They inform: – IS auditors of the minimum level of acceptable performance required to meet the professional responsibilities set out in the ISACA Code of Professional Ethics – Management and other interested parties of the profession’s expectations concerning the work of practitioners – Holders of the Certified Information Systems Auditor® (CISA®) designation of requirements. Failure to comply with these standards may result in an investigation into the CISA holder’s conduct by the ISACA Board of Directors or appropriate ISACA committee and, ultimately, in disciplinary action.  Guidelines provide guidance in applying IS Auditing Standards. The IS auditor should consider them in determining how to achieve implementation of the standards, use professional judgement in their application and be prepared to justify any departure. The objective of the IS Auditing Guidelines is to provide further information on how to comply with the IS Auditing Standards.  Procedures provide examples of procedures an IS auditor might follow in an audit engagement. The procedure documents provide information on how to meet the standards when performing IS auditing work, but do not set requirements. The objective of the IS Auditing Procedures is to provide further information on how to comply with the IS Auditing Standards. COBIT resources should be used as a source of best practice guidance. The COBIT Framework states, "It is management's responsibility to safeguard all the assets of the enterprise. To discharge this responsibility as well as to achieve its expectations, management must establish an adequate system of internal control." COBIT provides a detailed set of controls and control techniques for the information systems management environment. Selection of the most relevant material in COBIT applicable to the scope of the particular audit is based on the choice of specific COBIT IT processes and consideration of COBIT information criteria. As defined in the COBIT Framework, each of the following is organised by IT management process. COBIT is intended for use by business and IT management, as well as IS auditors; therefore, its usage enables the understanding of business objectives, communication of best practices and recommendations to be made around a commonly understood and well-respected standard reference. COBIT includes:  Control objectives—High-level and detailed generic statements of minimum good control  Control practices—Practical rationales and “how to implement” guidance for the control objectives  Audit guidelines—Guidance for each control area on how to obtain an understanding, evaluate each control, assess compliance and substantiate the risk of controls not being met  Management guidelines—Guidance on how to assess and improve IT process performance, using maturity models, metrics and critical success factors. They provide a management-oriented framework for continuous and proactive control self-assessment specifically focused on: – Performance measurement—How well is the IT function supporting business requirements? Management guidelines can be used to support self-assessment workshops, and they also can be used to support the implementation by management of continuous monitoring and improvement procedures as part of an IT governance scheme. – IT control profiling—What IT processes are important? What are the critical success factors for control? – Awareness—What are the risks of not achieving the objectives? – Benchmarking—What do others do? How can results be measured and compared? Management guidelines provide example metrics enabling assessment of IT performance in business terms. The key goal indicators identify and measure outcomes of IT processes, and the key performance indicators assess how well the processes are performing by measuring the enablers of the process. Maturity models and maturity attributes provide for capability assessments and benchmarking, helping management to measure control capability and to identify control gaps and strategies for improvement. Glossary of terms can be found on the ISACA web site at www.isaca.org/glossary. The words audit and review are used interchangeably. Disclaimer: ISACA has designed this guidance as the minimum level of acceptable performance required to meet the professional responsibilities set out in the ISACA Code of Professional Ethics. ISACA makes no claim that use of this product will assure a successful outcome. The publication should not be considered inclusive of any proper procedures and tests or exclusive of other procedures and tests that are reasonably directed to obtaining the same results. In determining the propriety of any specific procedure or test, the controls professional should apply his/her own professional judgement to the specific control circumstances presented by the particular systems or information technology environment. The ISACA Standards Board is committed to wide consultation in the preparation of the IS Auditing Standards, Guidelines and Procedures. Prior to issuing any documents, the Standards Board issues exposure drafts internationally for general public comment. The Standards Board also seeks out those with a special expertise or interest in the topic under consideration for consultation where necessary. The Standards Board has an ongoing development programme and welcomes the input of ISACA members and other interested parties to identify emerging issues requiring new standards. Any suggestions should be e-mailed ([email protected]), faxed (+1.847. 253.1443) or mailed (address at the end of document) to ISACA International Headquarters, for the attention of the director of research standards and academic relations. This material was issued 15 April 2005. IS AUDITING GUIDELINE