IT Audit


Axcension applies its IT expertise to deliver tailored expertise in IT infrastructure disciplines, application development, technology quality assurance, disaster recovery, and IT audits. Axcension analyzes IT processes, identifies critical business risks, implements corrective actions and builds controls that will provide you a more secure, compliant and efficient IT operation.

Based on Axcension’s thorough analysis of IT risks for business processes, Axcension will work with your IT staff to create and implement plans to correct weak controls and build new controls where needed. Axcension will recommend hardware and software that is suited to your business needs. Axcension will oversee the purchase and implementation of the new IT infrastructure. Once implemented, Axcension will deliver support for your applications.

Axcension’s IT audit and advisory practice ensures that you put in place appropriate IT general and application controls. Axcension IT audit team analyzes whether your information systems on which the business is heavily dependent will be available for the business at all times when required? Are the systems well protected against all types of losses and disasters? Will the information in the systems be disclosed only to those who have a need to see and use it and not to anyone else? Will the information delivered by the systems always be accurate, reliable and timely? What ensures that no unauthorized modification will be made to the data or the software in the systems?

Axcension IT audit team analyzes the security of the operating systems, database management systems, all system administration procedures and compliance. Axcension IT audit team analyzes the business application could be payroll, invoicing, a web-based customer order processing system or an enterprise resource planning system that actually runs the business. Axcension IT audit team analyzes the internal and external connections to the system, perimeter security, firewall review, router access control lists, port scanning and intrusion detection are some typical areas of coverage. Axcension IT audit team analyzes The existence and maintenance of fault tolerant and redundant hardware, backup procedures and storage, and documented and tested disaster recovery/business continuity plan. Axcension IT audit team analyzes the adequacy of controls and impact of weaknesses, as noticed from any of the above reviews. Such substantive testing is able to be done using generalized audit software.

 

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IT Assessment

Axcension will examine your IT operations by assessing business processes and identifying IT risks. Axcension will design appropriate audit steps and plan, execute and wrap up audits. Axcension will give you a report on the state of the IT controls for these business processes. Axcension will also work with you to implement the changes as a result of complying with the policy document. Ultimately, Axcension will ensure that your IT expenditure is aligned with your business strategy.

Axcension will give you a clear assessment of your IT system and identify security breaches.  For example, application software may be well designed and implemented with all the security features, but the default super-user password in the operating system used on the server may not have been changed, thereby allowing someone to access the data files directly. Such a situation negates whatever security is built into the application. Likewise, firewalls and technical system security may have been implemented very well, but the role definitions and access controls within the application software may have been so poorly designed and implemented that by using their user IDs, employees may get to see critical and sensitive information far beyond their roles.

Axcension will ensure that your IT system is secure to enable your officers to attest to the state of your internal controls and the reliability of your financial statements in compliance with laws like Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). Almost all company transactions involve use of a computer system, Axcension will ensure that there are adequate systems controls in place to assure regulators that the attestation by your management is reliable.

 

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Electronic Evidence Discovery

Litigation

Axcension’s litigation support services include data recovery and investigation and detailed analysis of electronic evidence, expert witness service and witness preparation. Axcension helps attorneys find electronic evidence in every form of electronic media including email messages, word processing documents, spreadsheets, and other computer files produced, created and stored electronically.  Axcension will extract, organize, analyze and present electronic evidence in a useful and convenient format. Axcension can scan and code documents to forensic analysis, transparent chain of custody and effective web-based management of your electronic evidence.

Axcension works closely with your IT staff to ensure the integrity of the extracted data. Axcension’s professionals use state of the art technology and forensically sound procedures and tools, including maintaining the appropriate chain of custody. Axcension’s custom search algorithms enable us to narrow document searches quickly, saving you time and money. Axcension also minimize your legal team's review time by eliminating exact duplicates of documents, e-mails and other data.

Corporate Investigations

Axcension investigates and documents the misuse of corporate information resources and technologies, protecting your intellectual property and your trade secrets, and ensuring the security of mission- and business-critical data can be a complex, even overwhelming responsibility. Axcension can assist you by providing Axcension’s examiners to investigate employee misconduct, IP fraud and theft, and other computer related forensic concerns.

 

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Computer Forensics

Axcension recovers, authenticates, and analyzes electronic data to reconstruct computer usage. Axcension knows that the success of your litigation may hinge on a single e-mail or document. Axcension’s computer forensics experts will help locate such critical evidence.

Axcension is an IT company. Our IT experts have in-depth, real world experience in most computer hardware, peripherals and operating systems and a vast spectrum of applications. Axcension’s computer forensics experts understand IT systems. Our experts will use this expertise to recover, preserve, identify, extract and document crucial evidence from electronic media to help you prove your case.

 

 
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IT Expert Testimony

Axcension’s team of IT experts has practical experience in systems, signals and algorithms utilized by technology. Axcension applies this real-world expertise to computer research and analysis of patent claims, software disputes and litigation involving IT systems.  Axcension’s team of IT experts delivers IT expert testimony services including analysis of technical information, preparation of findings, and counseling lawyers on technical matters involved in your case.

Axcension examines and develops information critical to your case including a comparison of:

• The initial project requirements compared to the final requirements

• The agreed upon deliverables compared to the actual deliverables

• The actual staff abilities compared to the marketed abilities

• The actual skill levels compared to the marketed skill levels

• The proposed software development methodology compared to the methodology actually used.

Axcension collects data to support our analysis including:

• Staff Assessments

• Project Size

• Productivity Rates

• Hours Expended

• Proposed Size

• Project Plans

• Total Costs Expended

• Defect Management

• Quality Management

• Documentation Management

 

 

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