Cheat Sheet: IT Audit Lifecycle & Compliance Correlation

Cheat sheet that correlates ITGRC, ITGC, ITAC, ISO 27001, SOX, and SOC within the IT Audit Lifecycle, along with two real-time examples.

Cheat Sheet: IT Audit Lifecycle & Compliance Correlation

1. ITGRC (IT Governance, Risk, and Compliance): Umbrella framework for managing IT risks and aligning IT with organizational goals. Ensures alignment with regulatory frameworks like SOX, ISO 27001, and SOC.
2. ITGC (IT General Controls): Foundation for auditing IT systems. Controls related to access management, change management, and IT operations. A subset of ITGRC.
3. ITAC (IT Application Controls): Specific to application-level processes. Includes data input, processing, and output controls. Builds on ITGC to ensure transactional accuracy.
4. ISO 27001 (Information Security Management System): International standard for managing information security. Provides a framework for establishing and maintaining IT security controls. Can overlap with ITGC (e.g., access control policies).
5. SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act): U.S. compliance regulation for financial reporting and corporate governance. Focuses heavily on ITGC and ITAC for ensuring data integrity in financial systems.
6. SOC (Service Organization Controls): Reports on the internal controls of service providers. Often aligns with ISO 27001 and ITGC to assess operational security.

Real-Time Examples

Example 1: SOX Audit in a Financial Institution

• Scenario: A bank must comply with SOX for financial reporting.
• Steps: ITGC Implementation: The IT team ensures controls over user access to financial applications (e.g., segregation of duties). ITAC Validation: Data validation controls ensure all financial transactions are processed accurately. SOC Reporting: If using a cloud service for financial data, a SOC 2 Type II report is reviewed to assess vendor controls. Audit Outcome: Any issues, like unauthorized access, are remediated based on the auditor's findings.

Example 2: ISO 27001 Certification for E-Commerce Platform

• Scenario: An online retailer seeks ISO 27001 certification to assure customers of data security.
• Steps: ITGRC Framework: Risk assessment identifies areas like customer data encryption and secure payment gateways. ITGC Implementation: Controls include regular patch management and multi-factor authentication for admin accounts. Audit: An external auditor assesses compliance with ISO 27001 requirements. Outcome: Certification is granted, improving customer trust and compliance with SOC 2 requirements if the retailer provides B2B services.