Malicious attacks, careless employees, data breaches, system crashes – as a business’s dependency on IT increases, so does the myriad of IT-related risks that it faces. Our team of experts is here to assist in preventing or alleviating such risks and helping you to find solutions that are as unique as your business.
One of the key assets of most businesses is its data. If business decisions based on data are to be informed and apposite, the data must be accurate, timely and complete. Information systems supplying data must be subject to controls which ensure they are reliable, secure and effectively managed. The repercussions of systems being unavailable can be widespread – from frustrating delays in financial or regulatory reporting to reputational damage resulting from customer-facing systems being unavailable. Legislation introduced to protect an individual’s data allows hefty fines to be imposed on businesses that succumb to a preventable data breach.
The role of IT assurance is to assess the effectiveness of the control framework in place to mitigate IT-related risks, giving you the assurance that it is operating effectively.
Our team of IT assurance experts are IT professionals. While we speak the same language as your IT function, we also understand the needs of your business and key stakeholders, including regulators. We will offer advice and assurance on a wide range of topics and across a broad range of technologies.
We provide subject matter expertise to cover a range of IT-related audits and are experienced in working on either an outsourced basis or alongside your in-house team. Some of the services we offer:
- IT general controls – We will help you ensure the integrity of your data and processes by reviewing the basic controls being applied to applications, operating systems, databases, supporting IT infrastructure etc.
- Data analytics – We will help you achieve a better understanding of your data and how you can drive value and insight from data assets.
- Change management – Changes to applications, business processes and infrastructure must be controlled in order to mitigate the risk of negatively impacting the stability or integrity of the changed environment. We assess whether the controls around change management are operating effectively.
- Project management – We provide assurance around complex IT projects. Our pre-implementation reviews provide comfort prior to a project going live. Post implementation, we help draw out what has gone well and also where lessons can be learnt in order to improve the management of future projects.
- Data governance – Data is an important asset. We will assess the effectiveness of your data governance framework to ensure that data is treated in a manner which allows its value to be realised across all areas of the business. We assess the adequacy and effectiveness of the controls and reconciliations in place and review whether there is sufficient evidence of their execution.
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) – To avoid attention from the Information Commissioners Office, governance and controls must be sufficient to prevent personal data being accidentally or deliberately compromised. We help gauge compliance with GDPR by assessing the effectiveness of processes and controls for obtaining, processing and storing data.
- Business continuity planning and disaster recovery – Loss of data or unavailability of systems are risks with severe consequences for all businesses. We undertake expert reviews to assess your level of resilience. Importantly, we also assess how effectively and thoroughly your plans have been tested.
- IT governance – IT should support a business and help it achieve its goals. Without effective oversight and governance, IT may not be aligned with a business’s strategic objectives and become a money sink. We evaluate IT governance structures and their ability to deliver results. We make recommendations for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the IT function.
- Management information – IT systems form the basis of a business’s management information and reporting function and it is vital that the information derived is accurate, complete and timely. We carry out assessments of the quality of management information from an IT perspective as well as its relevance to the business.
- Incident investigations – When a data breach occurs or a system fails, it is not always clear what has gone wrong. We will seek out the root cause of the issue and help you address the underlying control weaknesses.
