Isaca CISA Practice Test 40
Question 390
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A financial reporting controls audit tests only the cloud provider's availability status but ignores the customer's application controls. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Map financial assertions, provider responsibilities and customer-controlled configuration or access processes.
- Reconcile HR departures and access history against the access extract's coverage dates.
- Inspect the engagement charter, agreed objectives, evidence plan and promised deliverables.
- Reconcile the full transaction population by day, channel and risk characteristics.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Map financial assertions, provider responsibilities and customer-controlled configuration or access processes. The governing principle is: An audit must cover the controls relevant to the stated reporting objective across service-provider boundaries.
Incorrect Answers
B:Reconcile HR departures and access history against the access extract's coverage dates. 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 audit step is: Map financial assertions, provider responsibilities and customer-controlled configuration or access processes. The governing distinction is: An audit must cover the controls relevant to the stated reporting objective across service-provider boundaries.
C:Inspect the engagement charter, agreed objectives, evidence plan and promised deliverables. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Management calls a readiness workshop a completed audit even though no testing or assurance opinion was planned. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Map financial assertions, provider responsibilities and customer-controlled configuration or access processes. The governing distinction is: An audit must cover the controls relevant to the stated reporting objective across service-provider boundaries.
D:Reconcile the full transaction population by day, channel and risk characteristics. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An auditor samples only Monday transactions to conclude that weekend payments were controlled effectively. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Map financial assertions, provider responsibilities and customer-controlled configuration or access processes. The governing distinction is: An audit must cover the controls relevant to the stated reporting objective across service-provider boundaries.
Question 391
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An anomaly model ranks high-value payments as suspicious but the auditor cannot explain its scoring or false-positive rate. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Perceived or actual conflicts undermine the credibility of objective audit judgment.
- Join multiplicity can distort counts and audit conclusions even when query syntax succeeds.
- Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation.
- Follow-up must evaluate whether remediation controls are effectively implemented, not just promised.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect model inputs, thresholds, precision results and representative flagged cases.
Incorrect Answers
A:Perceived or actual conflicts undermine the credibility of objective audit judgment. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An external contractor offers the auditor a valuable gift while a supplier compliance assessment is being finalized. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation. The governing distinction is: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation.
B:Join multiplicity can distort counts and audit conclusions even when query syntax succeeds. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An audit query joins employee and privilege tables but mistakenly duplicates rows for users with multiple roles. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation. The governing distinction is: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation.
D:Follow-up must evaluate whether remediation controls are effectively implemented, not just promised. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Post-audit follow-up marks a critical password weakness closed solely because management sent a completion email. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation. The governing distinction is: Analytics-assisted findings still require understandable criteria and independent validation.
Question 392
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: A revoked supplier certificate remains trusted by an application because revocation checks are disabled. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status.
- IoT assets require inventory, secure identity and segmentation proportionate to exposure.
- Forensic evidence requires documented custody and integrity from acquisition through analysis.
- Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements. The corresponding audit procedure is: Inspect trust-store settings, CRL/OCSP reachability, cache behavior and certificate status.
Incorrect Answers
A:PKI monitoring should validate deployed certificates and trust paths, not just job status. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An internal portal outage follows certificate expiration despite an automated renewal job that reported success. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements. The governing distinction is: Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements.
B:IoT assets require inventory, secure identity and segmentation proportionate to exposure. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Warehouse sensors retain factory passwords and are reachable from the corporate office LAN. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements. The governing distinction is: Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements.
C:Forensic evidence requires documented custody and integrity from acquisition through analysis. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An investigator copies a suspect laptop disk without recording who handled it or whether the image changed. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements. The governing distinction is: Certificate trust decisions should account for revocation and current validity requirements.
Question 393
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: An audit query joins employee and privilege tables but mistakenly duplicates rows for users with multiple roles. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Reconcile event volume, source heartbeat, ingestion timestamps and excluded records.
- Reconcile unique user IDs, row counts and cardinality before and after joins.
- Compare approved charter, new testing requests, risk justification and effort forecast.
- Review required technical tests, skill inventory, schedules and critical-path tasks.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Reconcile unique user IDs, row counts and cardinality before and after joins. The governing principle is: Join multiplicity can distort counts and audit conclusions even when query syntax succeeds.
Incorrect Answers
A:Reconcile event volume, source heartbeat, ingestion timestamps and excluded records. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A continuous monitoring dashboard reports zero failed access attempts because its collection job stopped three days ago. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Reconcile unique user IDs, row counts and cardinality before and after joins. The governing distinction is: Join multiplicity can distort counts and audit conclusions even when query syntax succeeds.
C:Compare approved charter, new testing requests, risk justification and effort forecast. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Fieldwork expands to a new subsidiary without updating the approved engagement scope or communicating budget impact. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Reconcile unique user IDs, row counts and cardinality before and after joins. The governing distinction is: Join multiplicity can distort counts and audit conclusions even when query syntax succeeds.
D:Review required technical tests, skill inventory, schedules and critical-path tasks. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A compliance audit is due in four weeks but its only database specialist is assigned to an unrelated engagement. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Reconcile unique user IDs, row counts and cardinality before and after joins. The governing distinction is: Join multiplicity can distort counts and audit conclusions even when query syntax succeeds.
Question 394
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A database access audit receives a file containing only current active users although it must assess leavers over the last quarter. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- The engagement record shows independent decisions and an appropriately handled ethics disclosure.
- Each sampled leaver can be traced from HR termination to historical account status and removal time.
- An attempted single-user dual approval is blocked and the two identities appear in audit evidence.
- The reporting workpaper transparently reconciles exceptions to the supported conclusion.
Explanation
Correct Answer
B:Each sampled leaver can be traced from HR termination to historical account status and removal time. It addresses audit testing and sampling methodology. Underlying audit concern: Sampling from an incomplete population invalidates the intended terminated-user control test.
Incorrect Answers
A:The engagement record shows independent decisions and an appropriately handled ethics disclosure. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An external contractor offers the auditor a valuable gift while a supplier compliance assessment is being finalized. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Each sampled leaver can be traced from HR termination to historical account status and removal time. The governing distinction is: Sampling from an incomplete population invalidates the intended terminated-user control test.
C:An attempted single-user dual approval is blocked and the two identities appear in audit evidence. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A new security control requires two operators to approve destructive data deletion, but both approvals can use one shared account. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Each sampled leaver can be traced from HR termination to historical account status and removal time. The governing distinction is: Sampling from an incomplete population invalidates the intended terminated-user control test.
D:The reporting workpaper transparently reconciles exceptions to the supported conclusion. 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 verification is: Each sampled leaver can be traced from HR termination to historical account status and removal time. The governing distinction is: Sampling from an incomplete population invalidates the intended terminated-user control test.
Question 395
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An IT strategy document lists new tools but has no targets for customer availability or service costs. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Risk decisions must consider both likelihood and impact against appetite and tolerance.
- A quality management system needs controlled documentation and implementation monitoring.
- Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes.
- Ambiguous governance rights can produce inconsistent and unowned technology decisions.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes. The corresponding audit procedure is: Interview business sponsors and compare strategic priorities with proposed IT measures.
Incorrect Answers
A:Risk decisions must consider both likelihood and impact against appetite and tolerance. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A department labels a customer outage risk acceptable because its probability is low without evaluating financial impact. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes. The governing distinction is: Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes.
B: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: Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes. The governing distinction is: Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes.
D:Ambiguous governance rights can produce inconsistent and unowned technology decisions. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Two subsidiaries have overlapping IT decision boards with conflicting authority to approve enterprise architecture exceptions. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes. The governing distinction is: Technology strategy should translate enterprise value objectives into measurable performance outcomes.
Question 396
An IS auditor evaluates this situation: An endpoint protection console reports agents installed but several laptops have not checked in for months. Which audit principle MOST directly applies to this situation?
- Security tool deployment alone is insufficient without health, coverage and response checks.
- Assessment conclusions depend on complete and relevant testing coverage.
- Forensic collection scope should preserve a complete relevant timeline within lawful boundaries.
- Network segmentation should enforce justified traffic paths and reduce lateral movement.
Explanation
Correct Answer
A:Security tool deployment alone is insufficient without health, coverage and response checks. The corresponding audit procedure is: Reconcile device inventory, agent heartbeat, signature status and unmanaged endpoints.
Incorrect Answers
B:Assessment conclusions depend on complete and relevant testing coverage. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A code review tool shows no vulnerabilities after analysts exclude the main authentication module from scanning. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Security tool deployment alone is insufficient without health, coverage and response checks. The governing distinction is: Security tool deployment alone is insufficient without health, coverage and response checks.
C:Forensic collection scope should preserve a complete relevant timeline within lawful boundaries. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A cloud incident investigator exports only the latest activity logs, omitting records from the suspected initial compromise. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Security tool deployment alone is insufficient without health, coverage and response checks. The governing distinction is: Security tool deployment alone is insufficient without health, coverage and response checks.
D:Network segmentation should enforce justified traffic paths and reduce lateral movement. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A production network permits unrestricted traffic from user workstations to a sensitive payment database. In the present case, the most directly relevant principle is: Security tool deployment alone is insufficient without health, coverage and response checks. The governing distinction is: Security tool deployment alone is insufficient without health, coverage and response checks.
Question 397
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A cloud analytics environment retains raw regulated data after the approved business retention period. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- IT performance reports demonstrate progress toward business-approved goals.
- The risk record identifies an authorized owner, action, due date and monitored residual risk.
- Catalog labels, permissions and sample data handling match the approved classification.
- Sample expired datasets and derivatives are removed or validly held with traceable evidence.
Explanation
Correct Answer
D:Sample expired datasets and derivatives are removed or validly held with traceable evidence. It addresses data governance and classification. Underlying audit concern: Data lifecycle governance must extend to replicas, backups and derived datasets.
Incorrect Answers
A:IT performance reports demonstrate progress toward business-approved goals. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An IT strategy document lists new tools but has no targets for customer availability or service costs. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Sample expired datasets and derivatives are removed or validly held with traceable evidence. The governing distinction is: Data lifecycle governance must extend to replicas, backups and derived datasets.
B:The risk record identifies an authorized owner, action, due date and monitored residual risk. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A risk register identifies unpatched critical servers but assigns the mitigation decision to the auditor. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Sample expired datasets and derivatives are removed or validly held with traceable evidence. The governing distinction is: Data lifecycle governance must extend to replicas, backups and derived datasets.
C:Catalog labels, permissions and sample data handling match the approved classification. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A finance spreadsheet contains confidential salary data but is labeled public in the enterprise catalog. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Sample expired datasets and derivatives are removed or validly held with traceable evidence. The governing distinction is: Data lifecycle governance must extend to replicas, backups and derived datasets.
Question 398
Before reaching an audit conclusion, consider: A red-team exercise reports success based on one simulated phishing click without demonstrating access or business impact. Which evidence should the auditor review FIRST to evaluate this risk?
- Map significant threats, governing policy, external requirements and checklist control objectives.
- Review classification rules, false-positive cases, override frequency and business needs.
- Review exercise objectives, attack path evidence, scope rules and observed controls.
- Review scanner evidence, actual exposure, exploit preconditions and protective controls.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Review exercise objectives, attack path evidence, scope rules and observed controls. The governing principle is: Testing results should distinguish initial indicators from validated compromise outcomes.
Incorrect Answers
A:Map significant threats, governing policy, external requirements and checklist control objectives. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A technology subsidiary adopts a security checklist that cannot be traced to its enterprise risk appetite or legal obligations. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review exercise objectives, attack path evidence, scope rules and observed controls. The governing distinction is: Testing results should distinguish initial indicators from validated compromise outcomes.
B:Review classification rules, false-positive cases, override frequency and business needs. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A research team labels every file confidential, generating excessive DLP false positives and routine overrides. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review exercise objectives, attack path evidence, scope rules and observed controls. The governing distinction is: Testing results should distinguish initial indicators from validated compromise outcomes.
D:Review scanner evidence, actual exposure, exploit preconditions and protective controls. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A vulnerability scanner reports a critical web flaw but the service is behind a compensating control and no validation occurs. In the present case, the most directly relevant audit step is: Review exercise objectives, attack path evidence, scope rules and observed controls. The governing distinction is: Testing results should distinguish initial indicators from validated compromise outcomes.
Question 399
Management reports that this issue has been corrected: A supplier gives the audit team a third-party control report that expired before the review period. Which result would provide the STRONGEST assurance that the issue is corrected?
- Each sampled leaver can be traced from HR termination to historical account status and removal time.
- The evidence trail shows authorized access, controlled storage and timely disposal or retention.
- Assurance evidence spans the review period without unexplained reliance gaps.
- A test change cannot bypass approval, and independent exception review still operates.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Assurance evidence spans the review period without unexplained reliance gaps. It addresses audit evidence collection techniques. Underlying audit concern: Service-provider assurance must cover the actual period and relevant control objectives.
Incorrect Answers
A:Each sampled leaver can be traced from HR termination to historical account status and removal time. 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 verification is: Assurance evidence spans the review period without unexplained reliance gaps. The governing distinction is: Service-provider assurance must cover the actual period and relevant control objectives.
B:The evidence trail shows authorized access, controlled storage and timely disposal or retention. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: An auditor exports personally identifiable records to an unsecured laptop for analytics testing. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Assurance evidence spans the review period without unexplained reliance gaps. The governing distinction is: Service-provider assurance must cover the actual period and relevant control objectives.
D:A test change cannot bypass approval, and independent exception review still operates. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A payroll system uses post-payment anomaly reports but has no approval requirement for changing bank accounts. In the present case, the most directly relevant verification is: Assurance evidence spans the review period without unexplained reliance gaps. The governing distinction is: Service-provider assurance must cover the actual period and relevant control objectives.
Question 400
An IS auditor is preparing recommendations after reviewing this situation: A regional outage exercise reveals that business partners were never included in the communications tree. Which recommendation would BEST address the identified weakness?
- Recommend proactive log management and capacity alarms without impairing recovery.
- Recommend end-to-end alternate-site exercises and remediation of service-access gaps.
- Recommend an updated stakeholder communication plan and verification schedule.
- Recommend assigning recovery priorities from approved business impact thresholds.
Explanation
Correct Answer
C:Recommend an updated stakeholder communication plan and verification schedule. The relevant control principle is: Continuity communication should address external dependencies and affected stakeholders. A meaningful follow-up should establish: A rerun delivers correct messages through tested channels within response requirements.
Incorrect Answers
A:Recommend proactive log management and capacity alarms without impairing recovery. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: Database transaction logs fill the only disk volume and cause a payment service outage. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend an updated stakeholder communication plan and verification schedule. The governing distinction is: Continuity communication should address external dependencies and affected stakeholders.
B:Recommend end-to-end alternate-site exercises and remediation of service-access gaps. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A call center continuity binder lists alternate desks but employees cannot access the customer service application from that location. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend an updated stakeholder communication plan and verification schedule. The governing distinction is: Continuity communication should address external dependencies and affected stakeholders.
D:Recommend assigning recovery priorities from approved business impact thresholds. This would be relevant to a different issue such as: A continuity plan treats a rarely used test portal and a critical emergency dispatch system as equally urgent. In the present case, the most directly relevant recommendation is: Recommend an updated stakeholder communication plan and verification schedule. The governing distinction is: Continuity communication should address external dependencies and affected stakeholders.