As a business owner, you understand the need for a regular financial audit. Reasons include 1) Improving your business operations, 2) Improving your business reputation and credibility, 3) Detecting and neutralizing fraudulent activity, and 4) Preparing for business growth.

Sadly, most business owners don’t audit their own IT operations on a regular basis. Whether you have an internal IT department, or an external IT provider such as a Managed Services Provider, performing an external IT audit by a 3rd party makes a lot of sense. Here are the top 5 benefits of a 3rd party external IT audit.

• Identify Cybersecurity Risks – A good 3rd party external IT audit will determine what cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities exist in your IT infrastructure. Most internal IT teams as well as external IT providers are great at day-to-day IT support but aren’t cybersecurity experts. An external IT audit can identify cybersecurity weaknesses and provide a punch list of vulnerabilities to fix.
• Identify Opportunities for Improvements in IT Controls – Depending on your current IT operations maturity level, an external IT audit can uncover a multitude of opportunities to improve IT controls, especially in relation to cybersecurity frameworks such as CIS and NIST. Identifying missing IT policies, procedures, and workflows can also lead to reduced cybersecurity risk.
• Provide an IT Baseline – Having an IT audit performed leads to an IT baseline, so you know exactly where your IT stands today, and as you move forward, you’ll be able to compare your IT operations in the future to the baseline you’ve established.
• Improve Communications within your Organization – The completion of an IT audit provides a conduit for effective and direct communication between the IT team and your business executive leadership. Reviewing the IT audit report provides feedback to the IT team on where there may be shortcomings, and also provides an opportunity for the business executive leadership to provide additional feedback about expectations, business risk, and operational requirements.
• Provide Information to Executive Leadership on IT Decision-Making – If you feel like your IT is underperforming, or doesn’t provide you with the appropriate cybersecurity protections, an IT audit can provide you with facts that either prove or disprove your hunches. Deciding to change IT leaders or IT providers based on facts gives you the comfort that you’re making the right decision.

Interested in learning more about IT audits? Schedule a complimentary Cybersecurity Discovery call.