Required by regulators and seen as an important tool in professional bankers, an IT audit tests the controls that surround and protect the bank's mission critical systems.

The comprehensive examination reviews management plans and controls, security resources and operations and electronic policies and procedures to ensure that they comply with federal, state and industry standards.

All banks that connect to the Internet, not just banks with Internet banking, are required to conduct a third-party examination. The connection to the Internet creates new risks of unauthorized access and regulations require that banks operate with strong controls to protect customer and bank data.

The IT Audit includes:

• Determination of the effectiveness of policies and procedures and their consistency with safe and sound banking practices.
• Determination of the bank's effectiveness in controlling the risks inherent in data processing and electronic delivery systems.
• Evaluation of security risks and vulnerabilities in the data processing and Internet banking systems and proposal of possible solutions to control security risks.