Flashes of brilliance - role of information system auditors

Internal Auditor, June, 1994 by Sara S. Patterson, Kimberly A. Svevo-Cianci

As part of his responsibilities, Sarup travels throughout the world and consults with senior managers in many corporations. Today, he views the changes in the large corporations, such as IBM Corporation, General Motors, and Ford, as the wave of the future. He believes IS auditors of the twenty-first century will have radically different roles within organizations and even different personalities.

"When companies start redesigning the way they operate the business, our current definition of controls dissolves," Sarup said. "The impact of reengineering will have a profound impact on auditors. The checks and balances we use now will either be obsolete or will have to change dramatically. As auditors, we need to find new definitions for how to control information.

"IS auditors should not become so focused on procedures today that they cannot see that procedures cannot dominate the new world of business and government. I would turn around Machiavelli's famous words that the 'end justifies any means' to warn IS auditors that the means cannot become an end in themselves."

Summary

Opportunities for IS auditors will continue to change as the future unfolds. Standing still is not an option for professionals in this field. IS auditors must remain open-minded, attend to their flashes of brilliance, and communicate them to senior managers within their organizations.

Sara S. Patterson is Director of Communications for the EDP Auditors Association, headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.

Kimberly A. Svevo-Cianci is President of Svevo Associates International in Batavia, Illinois.