Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) — Question 1078

An IS auditor is tasked with reviewing an organization's purchase invoices to discover fictitious entries that may have been created as part of a suspected fraud scheme. Which of the following is the MOST effective data analysis technique for this situation?

Answer options

• A. Benford’s law
• B. Predictive analysis
• C. Data mining
• D. Regression analysis

Correct answer: A

Explanation

Benford’s law is particularly useful for detecting anomalies in numerical data, as it identifies expected frequency distributions of digits. This makes it the most effective for spotting fictitious entries in invoices. The other methods, while useful in different contexts, do not specifically target the type of irregularities that Benford’s law is designed to uncover.