How to Become an IT Lead Auditor?

IT audits are critical for analyzing the success of processes, products, and systems, whether existing or newly implemented, and are an essential aspect of compliance and regulatory obligations. It is essentially an evaluation of the controls that are integrated with and around IT systems, and their efficacy is assessed. Are they assessed to see if they are functioning correctly? Is it addressing the risk it was created to address, or is it just meeting the bare minimum of compliance requirements?

Table of Contents

What is an IT Lead Auditor?
IT Lead Auditor’s essential duties and responsibilities
IT Lead Auditor’s skills
How to become an IT Lead Auditor?

Therefore, there is a massive demand for IT Lead Auditors, and in this article, we will discuss how you can become one.

What is an IT Lead Auditor?

IT Lead Auditors evaluate an organization’s IT systems to see if there is sufficient compliance for operations such as gathering, storing, processing, disseminating, and using the information in such systems according to the organization’s goals. It gives reasonable assurance about the correctness and completeness of data in IT systems.

They are in charge of leading the audit team. Their major task is to conduct audits, which must be done daily. They arrange the audit, conduct meetings, and submit the audit report at the end of the quarter or year.

In simple words, an IT Lead Auditor conducts an audit, which is a systematic, impartial, and recorded procedure for gathering audit evidence and objectively evaluating it to determine whether audit criteria are met. They are familiar with business concepts, methods, procedures, and client products, processes, and organizations.

IT Lead Auditor’s essential duties and responsibilities:

• They undertake the planning phase and produce an overall audit strategy promptly.
• They cultivate and maintain positive relationships with customers, including external, independent parties’ management and people.
• They prepare audit reports that include the scope, methodology, findings, and recommendations of the audit; assess the importance of audit findings, draw conclusions, and offer practical suggestions for corrective action.
• They plan and carry out cross-functional audit programs, operational process evaluations, system implementations, applications, and other IT-related risk areas across the organization.
• They identify auditing processes to consider, draft planning documentation, identify key controls, select appropriate audit tests, execute test procedures, complete high-quality audit working papers, identify test exceptions and root causes, draft audit findings, and draft the audit report in accordance with departmental procedures.
• They oversee auditors on individual projects, providing tough duties within their capabilities and ensuring that they receive enough training and mentoring in auditing methodologies and processes.
• They use a risk-based strategy to examine internal controls.

IT Lead Auditor’s skills:

• Problem-solving skills
• Good communication skills
• Risk management skills
• Leadership skills
• Critical thinking
• Project management skills
• Audit management skills
• Product knowledge
• Regulatory knowledge
• Business knowledge
• Curiosity
• Time management
• Understanding of business management techniques

How to become an IT Lead Auditor?

• Get a bachelor’s degree: It is recommended to have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, or related domain to become a IT Lead Auditor.
• Gain the necessary experience required: You must have at least four years of experience in information technology, with at least two of those years spent working in a position involving information security, to advance to the position of IT Lead Auditor. You need to obtain experience in a job where you will be responsible for comprehending IT management processes. If you are going to conduct process audits, you must understand how processes work. Process audits look at the full process rather than just the written documents.
• Gain necessary knowledge and skills: To become an IT Lead Auditor, you must gain IT industry-specific knowledge. IT Lead Auditors should also be able to communicate effectively with others and be comfortable speaking in public. You will need to write reports, so knowing how to communicate in writing will come in handy. If audit plans do not go as planned, IT Lead Auditors should be prepared to go outside the box to solve problems.
• Get certification: The IT Lead Auditor course is generally five days long, with the written test on the last day. As a result, you must put out significant effort in studying for the exam and attending the entire 5-day course. Although some training will vary, most Lead Auditor training is scheduled for five full days. Passing this course is a requirement for certifying bodies to consider you for a position as an auditor.
• Look for a certification body: You must locate a certification body that requires an ISO certification auditor. You should look for a certification body that requires certified auditors. Each certification body will have training requirements, such as observing audits before becoming a part of the audit team. Before you can lead a team of auditors, you must obtain expertise as a certification auditor.
• Enroll in a IT Lead Auditor training course: The goal of the IT Lead Auditor training course is to equip participants with the necessary knowledge and abilities to plan, conduct, and report a QMS audit using the appropriate audit principles, procedures, and techniques. The course will give you the knowledge and abilities to conduct audits using generally accepted audit concepts, processes, and methodologies. During this program, you will get the information and abilities needed to plan and conduct internal and external audits in accordance with ISO standards. You will be able to use that knowledge during your audit.
• Get necessary audit experience: To become an IT Lead Auditor, you must have completed at least three complete ISMS audits and be able to lead a team of auditors executing ISO audits.

How can InfosecTrain help?

InfosecTrain is a prominent provider of IT security and cybersecurity training all around the world. We provide a variety of ISO Lead Auditor training courses, which are five-day intensive courses that teach participants how to audit an organization’s IT systems. These certification training courses will help you obtain a competitive advantage by providing you with a comprehensive grasp of how to design and conduct internal and external audits in accordance with the most widely accepted ISO certification process. You will get the skills you will need to audit an organization’s IT systems and lead a team of IT Auditors.

TRAINING CALENDAR of Upcoming Batches For ISO 27001 : 2022 LA

ISO Lead Auditor certification training courses offered by InfosecTrain are:

• ISO 9001 Lead Auditor
• ISO 22301 Lead Auditor
• ISO 37001 Lead Auditor
• ISO/IEC 20000 Lead Auditor
• ISO/IEC 27001:2013 Lead Auditor

AUTHOR
Monika Kukreti ( )
Infosec Train

“ Monika Kukreti holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering. She is a voracious reader and a keen learner. She is passionate about writing technical blogs and articles. Currently, she is working as a content writer with InfosecTrain. “