Auditing Information Systems, Second Edition

Chapter 14. Humanistic Aspects of Information Systems Auditing

An effective internal audit function serves multiple roles within an organization. The primary function of internal audit is to assist management of an organization in achieving strategic business objectives within a framework of sound internal control practices. All internal auditors, including information systems (IS) auditors, play key roles in this ongoing process. Depending on the process or system being evaluated, internal auditors must be able to perform the role of a consultant, mediator, negotiator, investigator, facilitator, and educator. The ability of internal auditors to effectively fill these roles benefits management and therefore provides a valuable resource to many organizations. On an individual basis, auditors who are flexible enough to effectively perform multiple roles should be highly valued by their companies.

In many professions there are specialists. For example, there are a myriad of doctors in the world. Doctors can be grouped into general categories such as family doctors, surgeons, dentists, and psychiatrists. These doctors can be further divided into areas of specialty, each concentrating on perfecting their skills on a few specific parts of the human anatomy. Similarly, the legal profession is composed of many thousands of attorneys, each of whom specializes in one or a few aspects of the law. The number of doctors, attorneys, and other professionals choosing to specialize in particular ...