What is an IT Audit?

We mention IT assessments as part of the work we do at RB Consulting and this is a new concept to some people so it may help to look at what one is, and why anyone would want one. A good start is to think about an accounting audit or similar assesment process. A financial audit is done to help you get a picture of your financial state on paper and in reality. An IT assessment is similar in that it helps you get a view of the state of your IT situation on paper and in reality. The assessment of IT strategy and implementation is becoming more common as IT has grown to be more critical to the success of companies in any industry. This leads to the quick answer to the question of why one would want to do an IT assessment. IT is a critical factor in the success of a company so knowing whether IT is a strength or weakness is a key piece of proper management and decision making.

What should it include?

A good IT assessment will provide you a view into several factors of your IT group and how they match up with the industry. This includes answers to the following questions:

• How you compare with others in the industry?
• How your IT strategy aligns with the corporate goals and vision?
• What the IT team is doing right?
• What are the IT team needs?
• How do contracts/license agreements impact plans?
• What is our Roadmap/Plan for addressing issues?
• How does our Roadmap/Plan align with business goals?

This assessment should include a review of vendors and how they play a role in your strategy both today and in the future. For example, you may have a well-run outsourced IT operation, or you might have to make some changes to make that vendor work for you.

Assessing the Assessor

There are some indicators to look for in an assessment to help you assess the assessor. These indicators are important in any good IT assessment. First, the assessor needs to understand your business, environment, and culture. These non-IT facets are crucial to a good IT strategy and lack of consideration of these factors are often a reason why IT fails or struggles. Second, the assessor needs to look at your infrastructure, staff, budget targets and goals. Each of these items is needed in assessing an IT department and in plotting a course for the future. A great plan can be rendered useless if you lack the budget, the staff, or the infrastructure to support that plan. This is a common flaw in assessments when the assessor has a bias towards a particular solution, technology, or vendor. They try to steer you towards a solution that is perfect for them (fiancially or in comfort/experience), but is not a good fit for you. A great way to avoid this is to make sure the assessor has no vested interests in a given outcome. This is the same sort of independence you look for in a financial auditor and for similar reasons. 

Can We Assess Ourselves?

What about assessments done by my current staff? This is a great question and a fine approach if you are confident in the abilities of your staff to plan and implement your vision. We do recommend, however, that you do go to an outside firm/group/consultant periodically as a way to bring in fresh ideas. This also can help protect you and your team from any type of group think as outside assessors will likely bring in new ideas. I have seen a lot of IT teams become myopic over a period as short as a few years. They can become highly focused on a few key issues or stuggles and they do not have the bandwidth to pick their heads up from their daily work. This "fire fighting" mode limits their ability to look at other options in the industry.

How do I learn more?

We are happy to help you determine how complex your IT assessment should be and whether one makes sense for your company at this time. Sometimes you are better off spending some time organizing your comporate IT thoughts before bringing in an assessor. If you would like to schedule time to talk it over with us, please contact us on this site, send an email to [email protected] or give us a call at 1-866-726-9507.