Information technology (IT) serves a critical role in state
operations. State agencies and higher education institutions are
increasingly reliant on the automated processing of information.
It is important that the IT applications that process information
have controls to ensure and protect the accuracy, integrity,
reliability, and confidentiality of the State’s information.
Due to the increased reliance on IT applications, a
significant portion of the audits the State Auditor’s Office (SAO)
performs include an IT component. Auditors select IT controls
for testing during an audit based on a risk assessment. The risk
assessment considers, among other factors, the objectives and
scope of the audit. Therefore, the SAO does not test all IT
controls in every audit, with the high-risk and high-impact
IT controls being tested more frequently. In addition, to
minimize security risks, the SAO does not publicly report
sensitive IT audit issues, in accordance with the Texas
Government Code, Section 552.139.
Texas state auditor’s office report. Internet: <sao.texas.gov> (adapted).