1. AUDIT SOFTWARE Chapter 16

2. Generalized Audit Software Off-the-shelf software that provides a means to gain access to and manipulate data maintained on computer storage media. Motivations for generalized audit software development The set of problems caused by the diversity of computerized information processing environments that auditors might confront.

3. Functional Capabilities of Generalized Audit Software File access File reorganization Selection Statistical Arithmetic Stratification and frequency analysis File creation and updating Reporting

4. Audit tasks that can be accomplished using generalized audit software Examine the quality of data Examine the quality of system processes Examine the existence of the entities the data purports to represent Undertake analytical review

5. Functional limitations of generalized audit software Generalized audit software permits auditors to undertake only ex post auditing and not concurrent auditing Generalized audit software has only limited capabilities for verifying processing logic It is difficult for auditors to determine the application system’s propensity for error using generalized audit software

6. The phases should be managed: Feasibility analysis and planning Design Coding & testing Operation, evaluation and documentation

7. Utility Software Software that performs fairly specific functions that are needed frequently, often by a large number of users, during the operation of computer systems.

8. Auditors can use utility software to : Facilitate assessment of security and integrity. Facilitate gaining an understanding of an application system Assess data quality. Assess program quality. Facilitate program development Facilitate assessing operational efficiency.

9. Expert Systems Programs that encapsulate the knowledge that human experts have about a particular domain and possess capabilities to reproduce this knowledge when presented with a particular problem.

10. Neural Network Software It is used primarily for pattern recognition, learning, and classification purposes. The network learns by adjusting internal weights among its components until it can predict the output based on the input pattern.

11. Specialized audit software Software written in a procedure- oriented or problem-oriented language to fulfill a specific set of audit tasks. 3 ways to developed audit software: –Auditors can take total responsibility for developing and implementing the software themselves.