Managing and reducing IT risks and maintaining a state of IT audit readiness

(Source:- ACL Blog)

As if the job of an IT manager or leader was not already challenging enough, today’s IT risk and regulatory environment is constantly increasing in complexity. Alongside this, there is an unprecedented proliferation of business devices, systems and data, creating more ever-changing risks.

So how to deal with all of this?

The whole concept of being able to achieve and maintain a state of “IT Audit Readiness” may seem like a pipe dream. But what if processes could be put in place that result in up-to-date and meaningful risk assessments, well documented and managed controls and minimal negative findings from audits? By combining people, process and technology, you can better manage and reduce IT risks. These 11 key steps make your risk management and compliance activities work in a way that is smarter, quicker, simpler and efficient:

1. Identify and assess IT risks, starting with those that are strategic in impact, including regulatory, operational and emerging risks.
2. Identify control objectives that will help mitigate IT risks.
3. Map control objectives into a master control framework library.
4. Plan scope and stress test micro risks within control objectives.
5. Assess the effectiveness of existing controls.
6. Capture, track and report deficiencies to improve controls.
7. Monitor! Automate testing of IT controls to free up IT resources and provide better IT risk coverage across the organization.
8. Manage issues by flagging exceptions, reviewing, investigating and remediating through issue lifecycle.
9. Ongoing improvement of control and monitoring processes = Audit Readiness.
10. Define KRI metrics to run risk analytics for predictive IT risk trending.
11. Integrate IT risk management processes into overall ERM

Not only will these steps help reduce the complexity and burden of IT management, but they will also help you contribute better insights to executive management around the nature of IT risks. Dig deeper into these 11 steps with this free 36-page eBook!

Download the eBook now

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