Internal Auditing Information Technology Case Study

Internal Auditing Information Technology Case Study Yue Sun (Leah) Activity 1. Key entity-level controls COSO Component Entity-level Controls Control Environment Organization wide integrity code of conduct Raising awareness and application of the code Granting restricted accesses to managers based on their department and responsibility scope Risk Assessment Organization wide risk assessment Risk appetites designed by department managers Having senior managements or control groups review and approve risk appetite Control Activities Organization wide policy protocol Independent internal audit committee oversight Information technology general control Information Communication Utilizing secured and monitored communication system for employees Monitoring Activities Performance management system Regularly perform internal auditing processes Activity 2. Audit procedure for information technology general control Determining whether the managements hold a positive attitude and approach toward integrity and ethics. Determining whether policies exists to define acceptable IT practices, conflict of interest, and or other expected standards of ethical behavior within the organization. Determining whether management take proper precaution and disciplinary action in circumstances where dishonor the policies. Determining whether practitioners and management receive complete necessary training to efficiently perform their duties. Determining whether the integrity code of conduct is being applied throughout daily operations. Determining whether the role of each employee is well defined, documented, and understood by all parties in the organization. Determining whether all procedures are properly documented by designated employee and the documentation is securely managed with restricted access. Determining whether there are processes in place to monitor the integrity and the ethical value within the department. Audit procedures and evidence that indicate operating effectiveness Audit procedures to determine operational efficiency Determining whether the tasks and goals are performed and achieved. It implies that the controls are operating efficiently when management and employees meet the expectations associated with their responsibilities. Evaluating the commitment of the management and employees when executing the internal controls set as higher level commitments from management and employees lead to higher level operating efficiency. Determining whether management is promoting and trying to enforce the internal controls in the organization. Observing the efficiency and effectiveness of communication between management and employees. It indicates that the controls are operating efficiently when management and employees keep an open and transparent communication channel. Observing the attitude of both management and employees towards integrity and ethics in the internal controls. Evidence that indicate operating effectiveness The operation should be considered effective when management holds a positive tone throughout the organization and the communication between management and employees is effective and transparent. Having an ethics and integrity program that is honored by both management and employees is another indicator for effective operation. Activity 4. SHR Corporations entity-level controls are mostly soft in nature and therefore, can impact the corporations employees in terms of how they approach issues. Such entity-level controls do operate across the organization to mitigate risks that threaten the company while provide assurance that the objectives of the organization would be achieved. In addition, the entity-level controls have both internal and external effect. For instance, such control would impact on the effectiveness at transaction and processing level which could minimize the risks that would prevent the company from achieving its objectives. Weakness in SHR Corporations entity-level controls include incidents where management is not dedicated to train and mentor employees. Lacking communication between management and employees could impact the operating effectiveness greatly. Another weakness would be when less reliance is placed on control activities that are performed by employees who require highly judgmental or complex tasks. In order to amend the listed weaknesses, management should be assessing the quality of the internal control performance across the organization. Monitoring activities are necessary and SHR should also acquire independent evaluation by internal auditors to minimize risks. Management and employees behavior could be affected by the entity-level controls that are carried out across the entire organization. Based on the risks that the organization is currently facing, the entity-level controls would require managements to assess and report on the effectiveness of the internal control of the organization. The independent internal auditors should confirm and evaluate such reports concerning the effectiveness of the corporations internal control. Management and employees behavior at business processing level could be positively impacted since entity-level controls could improve their accountability. Having an effective entity-level controls would help both management and employees comply with organizations policies and code of conducts. Because entity-level controls provide assurance to the board and management that the established procedures and policies are performed throughout the organizations operation. When auditing controls over the companys purchases and accounts payable, SHRs entity-level controls could affect professional skepticism since effective controls could minimize potential risks and misappropriation. Meanwhile, the entity-level controls would facilitate the assessment of process-level risks that could affect the operation of the organization. In addition, process-level controls could assist when conducting direct testes of transactions in order to ensure the financial statements are accurately presented.

Outsourcing IT Jobs: Pros And Cons Essay -- Outsourcing Globalization

Outsourcing IT Jobs: Pros and Cons In 1973, a monumental shift was prevailing where U.S. companies were sending low skilled jobs within the manufacturing industry to offshore countries to reduce labor cost while maximizing profits. The effect of the jobless manufacturing work force was a shift of those laborers to focus on and perfect the service industry of what it is today (Koch 1). During the high tech recessions of the late 1990s and a nominal expansion of the present time, the Information Technology industry, an industry which through continuous innovations enabled the companies and corporations of America to become more efficient and productive, is also facing the outsourcing similarity with manufacturing. While outsourcing manufacturing jobs offshore requires movement of raw materials and building new factories, Information Technology jobs could be outsourced much quicker than manufacturing jobs, as the majority of its roles and responsibilities are mobile. Overseas outsourcing of IT jobs has quickly become a controversial national issue. Outsourcing involves far more complicated advantages and disadvantages than the debaters on either side are willing to admit (Weidenbaum). Outsourcing can help a company operate in an increasingly competitive global marketplace. Outsourcing can enable a business to provide 24/7 coverage, especially for consumers who need around-the-clock support (Weidenbaum). In the next several paragraphs, I will discuss from a microeconomic level the actions that my employer implemented to take advantage of globalizing the work force to reduce costs, the issues my organization is facing with offshore efforts on the other hand, and then the cost associated with this trend towards macroeconomic wi... ...el to the U.S. macroeconomic perspective. Therefore, in the best interest of the American economy, political influences should intervene by either providing corporate tax breaks to offset the labor cost or slow the off shoring efforts by making U.S. companies aware of all the complications that go along with outsourcing Information Technology jobs overseas. Works Cited Goodwin, Bill. â€Å"Outsourcing users taken by surprised†. Computer Weekly. (2006): 4. Koch, Christopher. â€Å"Back Lash.† CIO Magazine. (2003): 1 – 3. http://www.cio.com/archive/090103/backlash.html Koch, Chris. â€Å"What CIOs Can Do.† CIO Magazine. (2003): 1. Terry, Rory L. â€Å"Answers on Outsourcing.† CNN Money Magazine. (2004): 1 – 3. Weidenbaum, Murray. â€Å"Outsourcing: Pros and Cons†. Executives Speeches (2004): 31 - 35 http://www.cio.com/archive/090103/backlash_sidebar_2.html

Impact of Byod (Bring Your Own Device)

Impact of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) on Enterprise Mobility: What is Enterprise Mobility? Definition: To put in simple words Enterprise Mobility (EM) is the technology that enables organizations to allow its employees to access the Enterprise data (such as company reports and presentations) and enterprise applications (such as CRM, SFA, emails, calendar, project management etc. via mobile phones or tablets from anywhere at any time. Giving them more flexibility at work, it allows employees to download company real time data, access and updates enterprise applications, participates in virtual meetings and teleconferences from anywhere, any time. End result of which is increased productivity of work force for the company and better service output for the customer. Rational for EM adoption and benefits?The growing number of mobile user base, availability of sophisticated smart phones, improved telecommunication infrastructure and fast adoption of mobile technology by employees/consume rs [35% of the employees globally are estimated to be mobile by 2013 (Satagopan and Mathai 2011)] all these factors together are setting up a stage for growth in EM adaption in near future [â€Å"EM market is expected to grow from  $67. 21 billion  in 2011 to$181. 9 Billion  by 2017 with a CAGR of 15. 17%† (MarketsandMarkets 2012)]. The CoIT (consumerzation on IT) has opened the door to the possibility of using the consumer mobile technology for enterprise purpose and the benefits of EM to an organization are tremendous. The most important benefits of effective EM strategy to any organization are; * Fast information flow: The EM can facilitate supersonic flow of the information within the organization.It can open various communication channels that can facilitate fast flow of information between the employs and between various departments of the company empowering the decision making process within the organization. Ability to share a real time data/ information with em ployees and fast decision making process can mean more efficient service output and opportunity to provide best customer care in the industry. Flexibility and comfort: The successful implementation of EM strategy will also provide work flexibility and comfort to the employees; resulting in the better work culture that companies can further promote to acquire and retain the best talent in the industry. In nut shell the EM strategy is win-win situation for both the employees and the organization. The successful EM strategy implementation holds a key for an organization to achieve the competitive advantage over its competitors and to become proactive to the environmental change.Barrier to the successful EM adoption: The cost associated with the corporate use licenses, purchase and maintenance of mobile devices is the biggest barriers for successful EM adoption. Depending up on the size and the number of employees of the company the cost of purchase and maintenance of the mobile devices could vary form an organization to organization, however it still could be a significant amount for a management of any organization to not to decide to walk on EM path.Could BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) be the solution to overcome the Barrier to EM adoption? What is BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)? Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is trend where people who love there I phone, I pad or other smart devices wants to bring them to work for various reasons And the enterprises allow (with Caveat) the use of such personal devices at work.The reasons why people want to bring/use their devices at work may include (but not limited to): * Comfort: Rather than learning to operate new device (provided by employer) employees feel it’s easier and comfortable for them to use their own devices at work [53% of the employees use their mobile devices for work (Gillett F and et al. 2012)]. * Changing work pattern and work schedule: work places are becoming more and more competitive.Cut throat competit ion at work means no excusive (even if they are genuine) and working out of hours, on weekends and from home which would require use of both company and personal devices such as home pc. * Social media sharing and Constant desire to be connected with friends: no one has survived the social media wave and almost every one (just a figurative statement) today has profile on some social media site and want constantly to be in touch with friends and relatives [68% employees and 71% prospective employees want to access social media at work (CISCO 2011)]. Multitasking: The trend of multitasking has picked up in a recent few years. To make the work environment more attractive and friendly the work restrictions are becoming weak and activities such as listening to music, messenger chat, online gaming are the common activities that employees want to do alongside their duties. * Brand loyalty: more and more consumers are becoming brand loyal and would not typically like to work on a device man ufactured by other company [apple received 2 million orders in the first 24 hours of the new phone launch. Times of India 2012)]. Allowing employees to bring and use their personal devices at work provides number of benefits to the company (some are discussed below). However along with the benefits BYOD often brings enterprise data security concerns. This skepticism about data security and some of the other fall back of the BYOD concept (discussed below in the report) are the reasons why despite the tremendous benefits BYOD can bring to the organization the company managements are very cautious about the BYOD model and not fully convinced to adopt/accept it.Incentive for an organization for adopting BYOD policy: In addition to the benefits of EM strategy that we have discussed earlier in this article, the most important incentive/benefit the BYOD model can provide to a company is the significant cost saving. As the devices used by the employees are owned by themselves the cost of pu rchase, insurance, maintenance, upgrade and ongoing support are paid by employees. That can save the huge cost which otherwise the company would have to bear.The other significant benefit to the company is the IT work force can focus more on supporting the IT requirements of the organization rather than purchasing and implementing the devices (Information service group 2012). Down falls of BYOD The most important downfall of the BYOD model is data security concern. In the event of the device loss the enterprise sensitive data can get exposed if the device falls in to wrong hand. Though the companies can wipe any such data from the device using remote wipe or lock down the device still such incidence (which are very common to occur) can expose the organization to the significant amount of risk.The other down fall of the model is as the employer has no choice on the make or the company/brand of device that an employee can bring to work. The IT department will have to support the devic es simultaneously which are running of various platforms such as iOS and Android and that could be daunting task for IT personnel. The most important argument that advocates the use of BYOD model is that it can save huge cost of buying and maintaining the device however the stipend or reimbursement towards the service plan used by the employees can increase the company cost in many folds than the coast of acquiring and maintaining the devices.Conclusion: In nut shell, the EM and BYOD concept are evolving concepts. Though the environmental factors and market trends suggest that the EM and BYOD will shape the future of the businesses and will change the way business operate today. It would not be wrong to predict that these concepts will take their fair share of time to evolve as mature concepts before business can accept them with eyes shut. References: 1. CISCO 2011, The Cisco Connected World Technology Report, Cisco Company. 2. CISCO 2011, The New Work Place Currency Report, Cisco Company. 3.Gillett, F, Mines,C Warner,J, Bartels,A, Schadler,T Yates,S, Sehgal,V, Huynh,S, Yamnitsky, M 2012 Forrester reserch 2012, NFO WORKERS WILL ERASE THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN ENTERPRISE AND CONSUMER TECHNOLOGIES – A BT Futures Report,Forrester reserch. 4. Information service group 2012 Bring Your Own Device [PowerPoint slides]. Reterived fromhttp://www. slideshare. net/slideshow/embed_code/14265374? rel=0 5. MarketsandMarkets 2012, Bring-your-own-device (BYOD), Consumerimization of IT (Co-IT) and Enterprise Mobility Market – Global Advancements, Business Models, Market Forecasts & Analysis (2012 – 2017), MarketsandMarkets Company Pune. . Satagopan, M and Mathai,P 2011, Ringing in change, Facts of mobile technology adoption in manufacturing, Wipro Councile for research. 7. Times of India 2012, iPhone 5: Apple pushes delivery time to October Sep. 12 2012 Times of India Bibliography : 1. Bridge soft inc 2011, What is Enterprise Mobility? Bridge soft inc, 19/09/20 12, http://www. brigadesoft. com/what-is-enterprise-mobility 2. Darragh Delaney 2012 Implementing a BYOD policy on your network, Computer World, 19/08/2012 http://blogs. computerworld. com/20227/implementing_a_byod_policy_on_your_network 3.Das K, 2012, Bring your own device bugs IT companies despite ban, The Times of India Indore, 9/09/2012 http://articles. timesofindia. indiatimes. com/2012-06-17/indore/32281223_1_device-personal-laptops-security-concerns 4. Malcom Harkins 2011 BYOD: Manage the Risks Intel's CISO on How to Reap the Benefits of Mobility, Govinfo Secutiry 19/09/2012 http://www. library. uq. edu. au/training/citation/harvard_6. pdf 5. Phil Johnson 2012 BYOD from the employee's POV BYOD for the employee has lots of benefits – and drawback, IT world 19/09/2012 http://www. tworld. com/it-consumerization/291968/byod-employees-pov 6. PHILIPPE WINTHROP 2012, CONFUSED ABOUT BYOD? IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT, the Enterprise Mobility Foundation, Inc, 19/09/2012, http://t heemf. org/2012/03/30/confused-about-byod-its-not-your-fault/ 7. PHILIPPE WINTHROP 2012, COULD THERE BE A BETTER WAY TO COPE WITH BYOD IN THE ENTERPRISE? , The Enterprise Mobility Foundation, Inc, 19/09/2012,http://theemf. org/2012/02/13/could-there-be-a-better-way-to-cope-with-byod-in-the-enterprise/ 8.PHILIPPE WINTHROP 2012, UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MOBILE DEVICE MANAGEMENT AND MOBILITY MANAGEMENT, the Enterprise Mobility Foundation, Inc, 19/09/2012, http://theemf. org/2012/02/23/understanding-the-difference-between-mobile-device-management-and-mobility-management/ 9. PHILIPPE WINTHROP 2012, UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CONSUMERIZATION OF IT AND BYOD, the Enterprise Mobility Foundation, Inc, 19/09/2012, http://theemf. org/2012/02/09/understanding-the-difference-between-the-consumerization-of-it-and-byod/ 10.Shashidahr J, 2012, Work shifts to ‘Bring your own device' culture, The Times of India, 9/09/2012 http://timesofindia. indiatimes. com/business/in dia-business/Work-shifts-to-Bring-your-own-device-culture/articleshow/16444032. cms 11. Singh S, 2012, ‘Bring Your Own Device' is most radical shift in enterprise computing since the introduction of the PC: Gartner, The Economics Times, 9/09/2012 http://articles. economictimes. indiatimes. com/2012-08-28/news/33450634_1_byod-mobile-devices-enterprise-applications 12. Stefanie Mosca 2011 What is

Victorian societal conventions Essay Example

Victorian societal conventions Essay Example Victorian societal conventions Essay Victorian societal conventions Essay Ironically, these goals are to fit in with the society one more, thus underlining the futility of her quest. Lady Windermere vacillates between adhering to societal conventions and has followed her instincts in her emotions. By the end of the play she is convinced she has made the right decision, ultimately serving to demonstrate how difficult it is for an individual to break away from the expectations of society. These contrasting themes once again aid in the plot; this is because of how the characters all talk about Mrs Erlynne, saying of how she is a scoundrel and to not be trusted.These accusations are soon scattered around and fall into Lady Windermere’s lap, adding to the tragic stance of the piece. Due to the Victorian societal conventions, anyone that is frowned upon is immediately seen as dirt and someone to keep away from. Another thing to keep in mind is that if the play were to have been written in modern day, the consequences of Mrs Erlynne’s actions whilst would still be frowned upon, would not be unheard of. Therefore, her rejection from society would be less likely as society no longer functions in the overall same way that Victorian society did.Finally we have trust and betrayal. Trust is a fairly rare commodity in this play and Wilde seems to suggest that trust is not to be found very easily within Victorian society. Lady Windermere doesn’t trust her husband and is quick to believe that he has betrayed her. In return, she seems only too eager to betray him with Lord Darlington. Lord Windermere is forced to trust Mrs Erlynne in a way as he hopes that her intentions towards her daughter are benign and that she won’t try to drag all of them into the mire.This trust is then rewarded at the end of the play as Mrs Erlynne leaves with the potential scandal avoided. Wilde could be suggesting that there isn’t enough trust and far too much deception and betrayal, and that in order to get ahead in life one must learn to be brave and trust others a bit more. Trust and betrayal are very important themes in Lady Windermere’s Fan as without them, there wouldn’t be much of a story to tell or at least, a less interesting one. This is because, without the idea of betrayal the level of tragedy would have greatly decreased, in turn possibly causing less intrigue and viewer enjoyment.Wilde has also once again, skilfully and linguistically hidden another truth of the world and how it works. Overall, I believe that all the contrasting themes in Lady Windermere’s Fan play important parts in not only creating an initial idea for the play but also, to continue the play with fluent language that will draw in the viewer and even make them think. Not only do these themes entice the viewer, they create a complex and interesting story line to last years.

Americas Teens Up In Smoke Essays - Human Behavior, Smoking, Health

America's Teens Up In Smoke Essays - Human Behavior, Smoking, Health America's Teens Up In Smoke Americas Teens Up in Smoke On every street corner in America, you will find a teen smoking. Even though a number of commercials and school orientations have given the effects of smoking, the kids feel they are invincible to the effects smoking can cause. Tobacco companies have targeted the youth, ages eleven to seventeen, because they are the future of their industry and very influential (Britannica online). Yes it is true; the future of America has been the focus of their progression. However, how can we have a healthy outlook on the future if 34.8 percent of our youth are inhaling five hundred chemicals into their bodies (Britannica online)? Society needs to focus on telling teenagers the numerous effects of smoking, so they can live a healthier life. The effects of smoking have long been proven to destroy out bodies. The number one disease caused by smoking is cancer. Ola James husband died of lung cancer this past summer. She says Every time I see someone light a cigarette, I think of how sick Richard was and it breaks my heart. She has watched the one person who meant more to her than anyone else in the world, die from a disease that TV has advertised for years. Although a smoker for many years, Richard James might be alive today if he had quit smoking when he was young. Smoking can also cause emphysema, which is a condition of the lungs marked by distension and frequently by impairment of heart action. Smoking has also been known to cause yellow stains on teeth, inflamed gums, periodontal disease, and other diseases of the mouth (Britannica online). With that in mind, who wants to have a cigarette hanging out of their mouth? Well the answer to that question can be answered in two words . . . todays youth. While no one really understands why teenagers take their first puff, whether its peer pressure or another reason, the fact is that they do. Obviously they dont have a high regard for their health. After repeatedly being told that smoking is bad, teenagers just do not seem to care. Another problem with smoking is the effects it has on others around you. Studies have shown that second hand smoke is more dangerous than first hand smoke (askjeeves.com). It causes those around them to be more susecptable to getting respritory problems and cancer. Now the 34.8 percent of the youth are not only bringing themselves down, but they are bringing down the rest of the population with them. If teenagers continue to smoke while they are pregnant, it will result in low birth weights and/or severe birth defects. This is not making Americas future look to bright. Although teenagers have been warned of the effects of smoking, they will continue to light up whenever and wherever they please. We as citizens must fight to make teenage smoking harder to start. We must make new laws, ensure that America follows these laws, and punish those who break them. I dont know who had it worse, teenagers fifty years ago who didnt know the effects of smoking, or teenagers today who do know the effects and just dont care. Smoking is doing nothing but harming the youth through diseases, and hurting those around them. If they knew more about the effects, then maybe they would not be so quick to start.

Methods Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Methods - Research Paper Example The design also involves administration of pre and post examination test to measure the fluid levels among the participants (Nationaltechcenter.org, 2013). For this study, a non-equivalent control-group design will be used to allow the researcher to compare the measurements of treatment group with the measurements recorded by the control group. This is intended to determine if there is a variance in in the level of dehydration that can be associated with the administration of diuretics. The control group in this study will be a group of 40 patients suffering from hypertension, who will not be allowed to use diuretics for a controlled period of time within the acceptable medical standards. A pretest will be done on them to measure the level of hydration before the experiment is done and a posttest carried out later. Treatment group in this case will involve another group of 40 hypertension patients who will undergo pretest to measure their level of hydration, then issued with diuretic tablets. A posttest examination will then be carried out on the treatment group to determine level of dehydration. ... Sample and Setting This study will involve a sample size of 80 patients suffering from high blood pressure and are between age 40 and 55. The sample size will be divided into two groups, one being a control group and the other being treatment group. This group of people was chosen because of their health condition and the fact that people with hypertension conditions are medically allowed to use diuretics under prescription of the doctors to help them lose fluids that are retained as a result of their conditions. The study will be carried out at Agha Khan Hospital during clinics schedules in collaboration with the hospital’s administration and the doctors’ guidance. The choice of this setting is influenced by the high turnover number of the blood pressure patients who visit the hospital on a daily basis and the availability of doctors to monitor the control group in case of any effect as a result of the planned temporary deprivation of diuretics. Description of the Powe r Analysis This study used G Power software for the power analysis. This helps to avoid trial-and-error method of finding a sufficient sample size, G Power allowed imputing the desired power of 0.8 as directed together with the given alpha value, which is 0.5 and expected effect size of 0.3 to generate the minimum sample size needed. The power analyzed here gives the probability of whether to accept or reject the null hypothesis. It should be noted that effect size is of 0.3 indicates that there was a small effect. The alpha of 0.5 shows the error or 95% confidence level in the data used or that the researcher is willing to accept a possibility of a 5% chance in the results. Quasi experiments control the intervening variables, since there is a controlled administration of the diuretics to

MBA Marketing - Report 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

MBA Marketing - Report 1 - Essay Example Littler corner market food makers have great motivation to be hopeful in todays commercial center. Expanded interest for distinguishing offering food products and buyers readiness to visit diverse retailers to get them—is making new promoting chances for food makers and processors that can offer imaginative stock intended to help and inclination of specific customer portion (Dudbridge, 2011). According to Lewis, (2009) Solidification in the food business has significantly gathered purchasing force under the control of simply a couple of expansive food buyers. At each phase of the worth chain, a little handful of vast firms are the predominant players. Four organizations (Tyson, Cargill, Quick, and National Meat Pressing) control 84% of the meatpacking business sector (Hester and Harrison, 2001). In flour processing, three organizations (Cargill/chs, ADM, and Conagra) control 55% of the business sector. At the retail end, Wal-Bazaar has one quarter of the $550 billion U.K. foodstuff market. The five top retail basic supply chains control more than a large portion of (52%) of the business sector and regularly utilize that power to take a bigger offer of the overall revenue far from farmers and other downstream suppliers of food. The aftereffect of the corporate combining has been a 49% expansion in the retailers offer of the shopper dollar and a 29% abatement in the farmer s offer since 1990. Social issue: A year in the wake of being on the cusp of passing historic point enactment to top nursery gasses, greens are coming to acknowledge the way that the shot of national and global movement on environmental change has ended up more remote than at any other time. The Ecological Insurance Office (EPA) is under ambush by recently enabled Republicans in Congress who contend that the general thought of natural security is unreasonably expensive for their obligation ridden nation. Usual to remaining idealistic even with