General controls in computer systems

Because almost all business organizations own or will shortly own computer systems, auditors can no longer treat the computer as a “black box” to be ignored when attesting to the fairness with which financial statements present financial position and results of operations. This paper is primarily written for auditors who are becoming involved in auditing computerized accounting systems. It covers in detail general controls in computer systems, the first and most important category of controls evaluated by an auditor. General controls relate to all EDP activities; they span all jobs processed on the computer system. When they are weak or non-existing, the auditor must expand his testing of the entire computer system, often at considerable additional cost to the client.