How Often Should You Conduct an IT Internal Audit?
Did you know that the average employee wastes 22 minutes a day on computer issues?
If your employees are dealing with IT issues every day, the productivity of your business might be suffering.
How often should you conduct an IT internal audit? In this article, we will explain to you how often you should.
Before Investing or Making Changes
If your organization is going through big changes, such as a merger or seeking an investment, it is the perfect time to perform an IT audit.
The last thing you want is for there to be a discrepancy when you show investors a report of your operations.
Those who are looking to invest in your business will want to see that you are taking care of things internally and you are not keen on letting the ball drop.
When You Observe Glitches in the System
IT operations must always run smoothly in within a company. If you are hearing your employees and personnel say not all the programs are updated, then it might be time to perform an audit.
Much like the accounting books, if you notice there are gaps, then you will need to go back in and find the source of the problem.
Even if the problem seems small, you never know how much you need to change overall. In the audit, you might even discover certain things are not working as they should.
If Audits Show Positive Results
Whenever a business performs regular audits, and these come out with flying colors, they may be able to reduce the number of times an audit is performed.
Just because there are no issues, it does not mean you should stop performing audits.
If you stop with regular audits, some employees might feel less inclined to follow protocols and keep up with company practices.
Infrequent IT audits will also leave your operational security vulnerable to breaches.
Even if you keep performing audits and getting positive results, doing it often will help you develop more productive ways to conduct an audit.
After Certain Employees Leave
If a key employee leaves, it is the perfect time to perform an audit. Not only will it ensure the person was doing their job, but it will also give you a sense of the type of cleanup you must conduct.
An internal audit right after an employee leaves sets the groundwork for the next person that will be taking over.
Once they see the audit report, they might have ideas for how to perform the job more efficiently.
Always Perform Regular Audits
Make sure always to schedule regular audits to compliment the special circumstance audits.
Regular Audits will ensure everyone in the organization prepares the same way and always follows the policies set by the company.
IT Internal Audit: The Bottom Line
How often should you perform an IT internal audit? You should do it whenever there is a significant change happening or a member of the team leaves, as well as scheduling regular audits.
Is your business getting the technology support it needs? If it is not, let Sagacent Technologies help. Contact us to speak to one of our experts.
Sagacent Technologies offers technology management and support, including proactive/preventative maintenance, onsite and offsite data back-ups, network and security audits, mobility solutions, disaster planning, and emergency business resumption services. The company serves clients of 10 to 150 employees within the Silicon Valley region.