Sean Patrick Walsh

I’m glad it worked out successfully for them. Whenever I hear people discussing shipping vehicles I always cringe a little and offer my experience as an incentive for them to properly vet their shipper.

There isn’t really much else I could have done. The only other thing I could think of is had the company escrow the value of my vehicles before transport to an account I could empty in the event my vehicles were not delivered. I suppose too that I could have purchased a specialized transport insurance, but specialized insurances are pricey by…[Read more]

I agree with you about arguing one assertion as more important than another. I personally feel that completeness and accuracy are both equally paramount. I would consider both of them as important to each other as having two legs is important to walking. I think a person could make an argument for one over the other based upon their personal…[Read more]

Whenever I see things happening like that at a business, or hear about them happening, makes me wonder what else is going on. Also, how much worse could other things be that might be taking place too. I think a lot of behavior like your example is just the “tip of the iceberg” in a sense. That behavior, and exposing you to it as both an intern…[Read more]

I did have insurance, but my insurance company had a minimum length of time that had to pass in order for the truck to be considered a loss. Also, the police department in Philly was of little help because they informed me that I could not open up a theft case because I paid the business to take the trucks and it was a civil dispute at that point.…[Read more]

You are very lucky you were refunded the losses to your debit card. Credit card losses are much easier to recover because the laws regarding what the card holder is responsible for in the event of fraud are much more protective than they are for losses incurred from debit card fraud. You have a very limited window of time to “catch” debit card…[Read more]

I agree that employees are the threat to the vulnerabilities in an ERP system like SAP. I think that a separation of duties and responsibilities policy can help to alleviate a lot of the opportunity for fraud, and a mandatory vacation policy or job rotation policy can help bring the fraud to light before it gets to a very large size.

I agree. We definitely saw what happens to investors when false assertions are made with Enron and Worldcom. We still see it today too, but not on as grand of a scale. “Financial engineering” and stock manipulation definitely take place through corporate financial reporting tactics, and many of them never come to light because once a few good…[Read more]

3. Have you ever: Been a victim of fraud.

When I separated from the US Navy, I was at the time stationed in Bremerton, Washington. I was moving back to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and I owned two trucks at the time. Well, I couldn’t simultaneously drive a moving truck with all of my household goods and both trucks back, so I hired a vehicle…[Read more]

1. The concept of ‘Assertions’ is important to accountants. Who else is it important to? Why?

Assertions are important to a business’s creditors and investors. Both groups rely on assertions provided by the business about its fiscal health and state in order to acquire lines of credit to conduct business. If a creditor or investor loans mon…[Read more]

Thank you for the link!

I felt like what little there was on both frameworks in the textbook really made it difficult for me to discern between the two. Thanks for clearing a little more up for me.

I really like your simplified and easily understandable difference between COBIT being the “what” to implement and ITIL being the “how” to implement. Would that suggest that they should both be used simultaneously to optimize the business’s IT deployment, or would it be more ideal to start with “what” to do and then move onto “how” to do it?

Can you explain what the difference is between COBIT’s “mapping IT processes” and ITIL’s “mapping IT service level management?” When I was reading about both I was having trouble really understand the difference.

I’ve been inundated with so many different readings between all the classes I am taking. Was that chart in a reading/video, or is it something you learned working in the field?

I just found the slides you had this in, but I don’t think we made it that far the first meeting. I took these steps from the class textbook, but think I should have combined it with answering question 2 to save space like other students had.

Why do we need control framework to guide IT auditing?

A control framework is the very basis for a business’s internal controls. Without this framework in place there would be no formalized control structure or standardization in the business. With a control framework in place, IT auditors know how what processes have controls built into them,…[Read more]

Comparing ITIL and COBIT: list some key similarities and difference based on your understanding

COBIT was created by ISACA and is a collection of “best practices” in IT governance and control. ITIL was created by the UK government and is a set of standards for IT infrastructure management and service delivery. COBIT defines how all of a…[Read more]

What are the key activities within each phase?

1. Planning
– Determine the objectives and scope of the audit
– Determine what you hope to accomplish
– Develop the steps necessary to conduct the audit

2. Fieldwork and Documentation
– Audit steps are conducted by audit team
– Work documentation
– Data collection and…[Read more]

Explain the key IT audit phases

1. Planning
2. Fieldwork and Documentation
3. Issue Discovery and Validation
4. Solution Development
5. Report Drafting and Issuance
6. Issue Tracking