Isaca CISA Practice Test 22
Question 210
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A business unit requests that internal audit review only controls selected by its system owner. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Inquiry alone is weaker than independently corroborated technical evidence.
- Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference.
- Audit resources should be allocated according to assessed risk and organizational priorities.
- Sample conclusions must reflect observed deviations and appropriate uncertainty.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference. The corresponding audit procedure is: Examine threat scenarios, regulatory exposure, process dependencies and proposed exclusions.
Incorrect Answers
A:Inquiry alone is weaker than independently corroborated technical evidence. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Auditors receive conflicting statements from administrators about whether an encryption setting was enabled during the test period. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference. The governing distinction is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference.
C:Audit resources should be allocated according to assessed risk and organizational priorities. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: The annual audit plan gives equal effort to a low-risk intranet and a newly acquired payment processing platform. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference. The governing distinction is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference.
D:Sample conclusions must reflect observed deviations and appropriate uncertainty. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A sample of authorized changes contains failures, yet the auditor extrapolates a zero-percent exception rate. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference. The governing distinction is: Audit scope must be based on independent assessment of relevant risk rather than auditee preference.
Question 211
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A payment API relies on user-supplied transaction values without server-side validation. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Representative imaging workflow meets agreed performance and data-handling requirements.
- Invalid or manipulated requests are blocked and legitimate transactions remain correct.
- Design tests reject unauthorized refunds and reconcile approved changes in records.
- Peak-load tests meet approved service thresholds with sufficient operating headroom.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Invalid or manipulated requests are blocked and legitimate transactions remain correct. It addresses control identification and design. Underlying audit concern: Application control design must validate untrusted inputs against authorized business rules.
Incorrect Answers
A:Representative imaging workflow meets agreed performance and data-handling requirements. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A hospital chooses a cloud imaging service without confirming network reliability or clinical response needs. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Invalid or manipulated requests are blocked and legitimate transactions remain correct. The governing distinction is: Application control design must validate untrusted inputs against authorized business rules.
C:Design tests reject unauthorized refunds and reconcile approved changes in records. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A new web checkout design addresses user experience but fails to define controls for unauthorized refund changes. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Invalid or manipulated requests are blocked and legitimate transactions remain correct. The governing distinction is: Application control design must validate untrusted inputs against authorized business rules.
D:Peak-load tests meet approved service thresholds with sufficient operating headroom. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud platform is declared ready despite failed high-load tests and no capacity remediation plan. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Invalid or manipulated requests are blocked and legitimate transactions remain correct. The governing distinction is: Application control design must validate untrusted inputs against authorized business rules.
Question 212
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: Developers complete general security videos but continue committing cloud keys into source repositories. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Controlled simulations generate correlated alerts at the appropriate stages.
- Repeat risky behavior declines and timely phishing reporting increases.
- Secret commits are blocked or promptly flagged and repeat incidents decline.
- Unauthorized snapshot downloads are blocked and authorized operations are logged.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Secret commits are blocked or promptly flagged and repeat incidents decline. It addresses security awareness training and programs. Underlying audit concern: Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors.
Incorrect Answers
A:Controlled simulations generate correlated alerts at the appropriate stages. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A malicious attachment launches a child process and connects to an unfamiliar command server. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Secret commits are blocked or promptly flagged and repeat incidents decline. The governing distinction is: Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors.
B:Repeat risky behavior declines and timely phishing reporting increases. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Annual phishing training records show high completion but employees repeatedly submit credentials to simulated malicious sites. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Secret commits are blocked or promptly flagged and repeat incidents decline. The governing distinction is: Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors.
D:Unauthorized snapshot downloads are blocked and authorized operations are logged. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A virtualization administrator can snapshot and download regulated production virtual machines without oversight. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Secret commits are blocked or promptly flagged and repeat incidents decline. The governing distinction is: Role-specific training and technical controls should address actual high-risk behaviors.
Question 213
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A software delivery group claims quality because unit tests pass, but repeated severe production incidents persist. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- A quality management system needs controlled documentation and implementation monitoring.
- Quality management should evaluate defects, process capability and business outcomes across the lifecycle.
- Data lifecycle governance must extend to replicas, backups and derived datasets.
- Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Quality management should evaluate defects, process capability and business outcomes across the lifecycle. The corresponding audit procedure is: Compare escaped defects, acceptance tests, release evidence and root-cause trends.
Incorrect Answers
A:A quality management system needs controlled documentation and implementation monitoring. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A new corporate service standard is rolled out without training, version control or effectiveness reviews. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Quality management should evaluate defects, process capability and business outcomes across the lifecycle. The governing distinction is: Quality management should evaluate defects, process capability and business outcomes across the lifecycle.
C:Data lifecycle governance must extend to replicas, backups and derived datasets. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud analytics environment retains raw regulated data after the approved business retention period. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Quality management should evaluate defects, process capability and business outcomes across the lifecycle. The governing distinction is: Quality management should evaluate defects, process capability and business outcomes across the lifecycle.
D:Sourcing decisions should assess total risk and contractual fitness, not price alone. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Procurement selects the lowest-cost cloud vendor while ignoring prior security incidents and regulatory audit rights. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Quality management should evaluate defects, process capability and business outcomes across the lifecycle. The governing distinction is: Quality management should evaluate defects, process capability and business outcomes across the lifecycle.
Question 214
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A cloud move assumes existing encryption keys will work in the target without import or custody testing. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Production readiness needs business acceptance and control testing beyond unit coverage.
- An iterative development method still requires risks and controls within its delivery process.
- Migration accuracy requires field-level validity, completeness and financial reconciliation.
- Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility. The corresponding audit procedure is: Review key ownership, import support, encrypted data types and restoration requirements.
Incorrect Answers
A:Production readiness needs business acceptance and control testing beyond unit coverage. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A payroll release passes developer unit tests but has never completed end-to-end statutory deduction testing. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility. The governing distinction is: Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility.
B:An iterative development method still requires risks and controls within its delivery process. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An agile team delivers features every sprint but security stories are never included in the product backlog. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility. The governing distinction is: Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility.
C:Migration accuracy requires field-level validity, completeness and financial reconciliation. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A bank converts 20 years of loan records into a new core system and reconciles only total record counts. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility. The governing distinction is: Migration design must preserve cryptographic dependencies and data accessibility.
Question 215
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A board report includes hundreds of raw test details but fails to distinguish enterprise-critical findings. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Rebuild the population including historical departures before selecting test items.
- Present a concise prioritized executive summary with detailed workpapers available on request.
- Write an evidence-based finding with risk impact and agreed accountable action owner.
- Choose an auditor-controlled sample that includes untested, recently changed and high-impact services.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Present a concise prioritized executive summary with detailed workpapers available on request. The relevant control principle is: Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Leadership can identify top risks, accountable owners and decision timelines without losing evidence traceability.
Incorrect Answers
A:Rebuild the population including historical departures before selecting test items. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A database access audit receives a file containing only current active users although it must assess leavers over the last quarter. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Present a concise prioritized executive summary with detailed workpapers available on request. The governing distinction is: Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support.
C:Write an evidence-based finding with risk impact and agreed accountable action owner. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A report calls a firewall exception critical but provides no business impact, cause or responsible owner. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Present a concise prioritized executive summary with detailed workpapers available on request. The governing distinction is: Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support.
D:Choose an auditor-controlled sample that includes untested, recently changed and high-impact services. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Management offers ten handpicked successful failover demonstrations as evidence that every critical service has tested recovery. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Present a concise prioritized executive summary with detailed workpapers available on request. The governing distinction is: Risk-based communication should prioritize material implications and provide traceable support.
Question 216
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A network router is upgraded without identifying the legacy protocol needed by an older warehouse controller. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Infrastructure component changes require compatibility and interface impact assessment.
- Infrastructure health alone does not represent availability of external service dependencies.
- Patch governance requires risk-based prioritization, deployment tracking and exception management.
- Problem management seeks root causes and prevention of recurring incidents.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Infrastructure component changes require compatibility and interface impact assessment. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect route tables, protocol dependencies, vendor support and test evidence.
Incorrect Answers
B:Infrastructure health alone does not represent availability of external service dependencies. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud-hosted application has healthy virtual machines but customer logins fail when its external identity service is unavailable. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Infrastructure component changes require compatibility and interface impact assessment. The governing distinction is: Infrastructure component changes require compatibility and interface impact assessment.
C:Patch governance requires risk-based prioritization, deployment tracking and exception management. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A security patch is applied on test servers but production remains vulnerable for months without risk approval. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Infrastructure component changes require compatibility and interface impact assessment. The governing distinction is: Infrastructure component changes require compatibility and interface impact assessment.
D:Problem management seeks root causes and prevention of recurring incidents. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A helpdesk repeatedly reopens application errors but closes each ticket without investigating a shared underlying defect. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Infrastructure component changes require compatibility and interface impact assessment. The governing distinction is: Infrastructure component changes require compatibility and interface impact assessment.
Question 217
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A supplier SLA measures network interface uptime while the business requires successful customer transactions. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Reported service levels capture transaction outages even when network links are healthy.
- Only authorized destinations receive necessary data and workflow use is logged.
- Every emergency deployment links to an accountable approver and completed review.
- Recovery performance meets required levels or management implements a documented alternative.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Reported service levels capture transaction outages even when network links are healthy. It addresses it service level management. Underlying audit concern: Service agreements should define measurable outcomes aligned with customer needs.
Incorrect Answers
B:Only authorized destinations receive necessary data and workflow use is logged. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A department builds a low-code workflow that sends customer data to an unknown external connector. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Reported service levels capture transaction outages even when network links are healthy. The governing distinction is: Service agreements should define measurable outcomes aligned with customer needs.
C:Every emergency deployment links to an accountable approver and completed review. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An urgent firewall change is deployed without a ticket and later cannot be attributed to an approver. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Reported service levels capture transaction outages even when network links are healthy. The governing distinction is: Service agreements should define measurable outcomes aligned with customer needs.
D:Recovery performance meets required levels or management implements a documented alternative. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A data processing vendor consistently misses recovery times but management pays service credits without correcting the cause. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Reported service levels capture transaction outages even when network links are healthy. The governing distinction is: Service agreements should define measurable outcomes aligned with customer needs.
Question 218
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A new HR system meets its technical go-live date but fails the promised reduction in onboarding time. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend controlled cutover sequencing, idempotency and monitoring for duplicate events.
- Recommend benefit-gap analysis with assigned corrective owners and target dates.
- Recommend independent server-side business validation and abuse testing before release.
- Recommend a structured post-implementation review with improvement assignments.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Recommend benefit-gap analysis with assigned corrective owners and target dates. The relevant control principle is: Post-implementation review should assess realized business outcomes as well as delivery. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Follow-up metrics demonstrate whether the approved onboarding outcome is achieved.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend controlled cutover sequencing, idempotency and monitoring for duplicate events. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An ERP cutover leaves the old interface running and duplicates orders in both systems. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend benefit-gap analysis with assigned corrective owners and target dates. The governing distinction is: Post-implementation review should assess realized business outcomes as well as delivery.
C:Recommend independent server-side business validation and abuse testing before release. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A payment API relies on user-supplied transaction values without server-side validation. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend benefit-gap analysis with assigned corrective owners and target dates. The governing distinction is: Post-implementation review should assess realized business outcomes as well as delivery.
D:Recommend a structured post-implementation review with improvement assignments. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A completed software project is archived without documenting incidents and change causes from the first operating month. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend benefit-gap analysis with assigned corrective owners and target dates. The governing distinction is: Post-implementation review should assess realized business outcomes as well as delivery.
Question 219
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A payroll release passes developer unit tests but has never completed end-to-end statutory deduction testing. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Review legal calculation scenarios, integration test results, unresolved defects and sign-offs.
- Compare throughput thresholds, test environment parity and unresolved bottlenecks.
- Examine initial incidents, defect trends, handover documents and user support readiness.
- Recalculate lifetime costs, benefit timing, support effort and discount assumptions.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Review legal calculation scenarios, integration test results, unresolved defects and sign-offs. The governing principle is: Production readiness needs business acceptance and control testing beyond unit coverage.
Incorrect Answers
B:Compare throughput thresholds, test environment parity and unresolved bottlenecks. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud platform is declared ready despite failed high-load tests and no capacity remediation plan. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review legal calculation scenarios, integration test results, unresolved defects and sign-offs. The governing distinction is: Production readiness needs business acceptance and control testing beyond unit coverage.
C:Examine initial incidents, defect trends, handover documents and user support readiness. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A completed software project is archived without documenting incidents and change causes from the first operating month. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review legal calculation scenarios, integration test results, unresolved defects and sign-offs. The governing distinction is: Production readiness needs business acceptance and control testing beyond unit coverage.
D:Recalculate lifetime costs, benefit timing, support effort and discount assumptions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An automation business case counts staff savings but omits new licenses, monitoring and transition costs. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review legal calculation scenarios, integration test results, unresolved defects and sign-offs. The governing distinction is: Production readiness needs business acceptance and control testing beyond unit coverage.
Question 220
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: An enterprise calls backups successful because jobs complete, but no recent restoration test has been performed. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend periodic representative restoration tests with objective success criteria.
- Recommend representative scenario tests including concurrent demand and decision roles.
- Recommend independent protected backup custody and tested clean restoration.
- Recommend documented alternates and tested activation decision protocols.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Recommend periodic representative restoration tests with objective success criteria. The relevant control principle is: Backup completion does not prove data restorability or usable business recovery. A meaningful follow-up should establish: Restored data is complete, usable and recovered within approved objectives.
Incorrect Answers
B:Recommend representative scenario tests including concurrent demand and decision roles. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A company rehearses DR annually on a clean weekend but its live recovery window overlaps payroll peaks and storage contention. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend periodic representative restoration tests with objective success criteria. The governing distinction is: Backup completion does not prove data restorability or usable business recovery.
C:Recommend independent protected backup custody and tested clean restoration. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An attacker encrypts production files and online backups because both use the same compromised admin identity. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend periodic representative restoration tests with objective success criteria. The governing distinction is: Backup completion does not prove data restorability or usable business recovery.
D:Recommend documented alternates and tested activation decision protocols. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A continuity plan lists the chief executive as the only emergency decision authority with no alternate. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend periodic representative restoration tests with objective success criteria. The governing distinction is: Backup completion does not prove data restorability or usable business recovery.