Undergraduate - UnitACS3765 - Computer auditing

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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6 points, SCA Band 3, 0.125 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered, or view unit timetables.

Level	Undergraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Business and Economics
Organisational Unit	Department of Accounting
Offered	South Africa First semester 2014 (Day)

Synopsis

This unit focuses on computer information systems (CIS) and draws on the knowledge gained from AFS2760/ACS2760. The unit introduces the management of computer information systems (CIS) with a particular focus on the internal controls that should be present in a CIS environment and would be of interest to the external auditor. The important concepts and procedures to use and audit financial databases and CIS are also covered in this unit. The download of financial data and its manipulation in order to verify and audit it, as well as the performance of computer assisted auditing techniques (CAATs) on this data are examined in this unit. The influence of the internet and e-commerce on the business and auditing environments, as well as applicable legislation are also covered. In addition, this unit contains a strong practical element of using database software, spreadsheets and selected audit software often used by accountants and auditors in practice.

Outcomes

The learning goals associated with this unit are to:

explain the most important aspects of management of a computer information system (CIS)
describe and explain computer security and controls, and apply that knowledge in order to assess the relevant audit risks and to make recommendations, as an external auditor, for the improvement of security and controls in simulated simple and advanced CIS environments and networks
describe and discuss the procedures and problematic areas surrounding the download of client's data to the external auditor's computer environment for audit purposes
plan, based on proper risk assessment, the external audit of financial CIS systems, selecting techniques such as CAATs (computer-assisted auditing techniques)
explain, interpret and illustrate the influence of the internet and E-commerce on the business and auditing environments, including relevant legislation
explain and describe database technology and apply the knowledge practically in database software on computer
use the computer practically as a business, accounting and auditing tool with spreadsheet analysis software, CAATs software and automated audit working papers in selected case studies.

Assessment

Within semester assessment: 45%
Examination: 55%

Chief examiner(s)

Ms Blanche Steyn

Workload requirements

3 hours per week

Prerequisites

Students must have passed AFW2760, ACS2760 or AFS2760, AND FIT1003 before undertaking this unit.

Prohibitions

AFW3765 and AFS3765