Developing and Implementing a Business Continuity Audit Program

Why Should You Attend:

Considering information systems are generally critical to enhancing productivity, it is imperative deployed IT provide availability with service responsiveness meeting user utilization demands, even during crisis situations. Enterprise susceptibility as well as IT operational resiliency impact speedy and systematic redress for fulfilling efficiency, effectiveness, availability, and compliance requirements. Furthermore, neither business nor IT resides within static environments. Thus, environmental dynamics can generate changes altering system activities that require timely response and restoration to ensure continuous service delivery.

Threats to an entity’s existence manifest in diverse forms, including disruptions, emergencies, crises or disasters. Any one of these incidents or events can jeopardize data processing services sustaining mission critical operations. When business integrated information systems are unavailable, efficiency is diminished, effectiveness is eroded, compliance is hindered, and employees are idled. As a result, organizations should regularly examine their business continuity, disaster recovery, as well as back-up plans to ensure adequate operational requirements forecasting for service restoration.

Business continuity has been generally defined as a comprehensive managed effort to prioritize key business processes identifying significant threats to normal operations that permit planning strategies for ensuring effective and efficient organizational responses to challenges arising during and after a crisis. Consequently, business continuity planning encompasses processes for developing advance responses to service interruptions in such a manner that critical business functions continue at expected levels. Sub-categorically, disaster recovery planning is normally ranked as a key business continuity component referring to technological aspects of advance planning and organizing necessary to minimize potential losses and ensure critical business functionality if catastrophic circumstances materialize. An effective business continuity capability is essential.

Various resources that can contribute to the remediation process should be identified as business continuity enablement factors. These resources -- including essential personnel (and their roles and responsibilities), information, applications, and infrastructure -- should be documented in a plan demonstrating commitment to continuity.

During this webinar, Dr. Davis will give an overview of Business Continuity and what an audit encompasses. Dr. Davis will also discuss primary business continuity audit program considerations.

Areas Covered in the Webinar:

• Challenges of business continuity planning in today’s volatile threat landscape
• Key elements of crises management response
• How a Business Continuity Plan differs from a Disaster Recovery Plan
• Significant components for developing a Business Continuity Audit Plan
• Information gathering associated with a business continuity audit during audit program construction
• Acquiring appropriate business continuity audit evidence
• Recommendations for analyzing a Business Continuity Plan
• Communications development before, during, and after a Business Continuity Audit

Who Will Benefit:

• Auditors
• Operations Managers
• Vendor Managers
• Disaster Recovery Engineers
• Call center representatives
• Business Continuity Team members
• Information Security personnel
• Chief Security Officer
• Risk Managers
• Chief Information Officer
• Chief Operations Officer
• Information Security Managers
• Information Security Engineers
• Technology Managers

Robert E. Davis
Professor, Temple and West Chester University

Dr. Robert E. Davis obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Business Law, a Master of Business Administration in Management Information Systems, and a Doctor of Business Administration in Information Systems Management from Temple, West Chester, and Walden University; respectively. Moreover, during his twenty years of involvement in education, Dr. Davis acquired Postgraduate and Professional Technical licenses in Computer Science and Computer Systems Technology.

Dr. Davis also obtained the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) certificate — after passing the 1988 Information Systems Audit and Control Association’s rigorous three hundred and fifty multiple-choice questions examination; and was conferred the Certified Internal Controls Auditor (CICA) certificate by the Institute for Internal Controls.

Since starting his career as an information system auditor, Robert has provided data security consulting and IS auditing services to corporations as well as other organizations; in staff through management positions. Before engaging in the practice of IS auditing and information security consulting; Robert (as a corporate employee) provided inventory as well as general accounting services to Philip Morris, USA, and general accounting services to Philadelphia National Bank (Wells Fargo). Furthermore, he has prior experience as a freelance writer of IT audit and information security training material.

Dr. Davis received recognition as an accomplished, energetic auditor, author, and speaker with a sound mix of experience and skills in monitoring and evaluating controls. Based on his accomplishments, Temple University's Fox School of Business and Management Alumni Newsletter, as well as The Institute for Internal Controls e-newsletter featured Dr. Davis. Furthermore, he is an Advisory Board Member of The Institute for Internal Controls, the first and inaugural Temple University CISA in Residence and a founding Temple University Master of Science in IT Auditing and Cyber-Security Advisory Councilmen. Last, he accepted invitations to join Delta Mu Delta International Honor Society, the Golden Key International Honour Society, the Thomson Reuters' Expert Witness List, the IT Governance LTD expert panel, as well as the International Association of IT Governance Standards honorary membership group.

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