Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Part 1: Business Acumen — Question 19

An organization has developed a large database that tracks employees, employee benefits, payroll deductions, job classifications, and other similar information. In order to test whether data currently within the automated system are correct, an auditor should:

Answer options

• A. Use test data and determine whether all the data entered are captured correctly in the updated database.
• B. Select a sample of data to be entered for a few days and trace the data to the updated database to determine the correctness of the updates.
• C. Use generalized audit software to provide a printout of all employees with invalid job descriptions. Investigate the causes of the problems.
• D. Use generalized audit software to select a sample of employees from the database. Verify the data fields.

Correct answer: D

Explanation

The correct answer is D because verifying a sample of employees ensures that the data fields are accurate and representative of the entire database. Option A lacks sampling and doesn't test a broad range of data. Option B only tests data over a short period, which may not reflect overall accuracy. Option C focuses on identifying invalid data but does not verify the accuracy of the data fields themselves.