Auditing Information Systems, Second Edition

9.3. EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Auditors should always be on the lookout for opportunities to recommend automation of previously manual procedures to increase operational efficiency. Management is often so concerned with day-to-day operations that they overlook automation opportunities. In some cases, management may not be aware of new technologies that would enable an operation to be automated with relative ease. In other cases, management in business units may look to the Internal Audit Department to assist in being heard by management of the IS development process. Internal auditors can reinforce a business operation's justification for a programming request to automate a procedure. This is not to say that an operation should automate simply for the sake of automating. There must be concrete evidence that the benefits of automation will outweigh the costs of designing and programming the system.

The same arguments can be made for effectiveness opportunities. Sometimes a process may already be automated or a system may be providing automated information, but the quality of the service or end product could be enhanced through a change in the automation process. For example, customers may be receiving automated transaction statements or invoices, but the information on the documents may be unclear or confusing. In this case, a change in the type or clarity of information provided would make the statements and invoices more effective ...