Essay on database auditing and monitoring fit within a SOX compliance framework.

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Running head: DATABASE AUDITING AND MONITORING 1

DATABASE AUDITORING AND MONITORING 2

Database Auditing and Monitoring

Student’s Name: Dinesh Babu Somala

Institutional Affiliation: New England College

Database Auditing and Monitoring

The accounting scandals that rocked the United States before 2002 prompted the government to come up with legislation that would protect consumers and hold companies and individuals accountable. “The United States Congress enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002 as response to the numerous accounting scandals that had brought down corporations and made investors lose their money (Petters, 2020).” The main aim of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation was to increase transpar- ency in the way that corporations presented their financial information. Each company was required to adhere to a formalized system of checks and balances to en- sure that the information that they released was accurate. The advancement of technology has also forced the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to evolve and accommodate the new methods of reporting financial information. Since most companies have adopted electronic methods of recording, analyzing and presenting financial informa- tion, it was important for the law to adopt database compliance and monitoring. The adoption of SOX was aimed at reducing financial fraud and conflict of interest while at the same time increasing the public’s interests in the market through improved transparency. SOX creates a framework that makes it difficult to company ex- ecutives to claim that they are not aware of the misrepresentation of the financial information released by their companies (“Natan,” n.d.). The act requires companies to stick to proven auditing practices. Companies are also expected to ensure the integrity and timeliness of their information while using digital platforms to record and present such information. Sheldon (2018) states that although the stipulations made by SOX appear straightforward, most companies face a difficult time achiev- ing them. Currently, most companies store information in relational databases where access is mostly restricted to authorized individuals who use different applica- tions like ERP and SCM to access the relational database repositories (“Natan,” n.d.). Although the digital platforms to handle financial information may seem secure, there are many challenges and threats to data integrity. An inadvent mistake made to the records cannot be easily detected by auditing and financial teams which are tasked with verifying the information. There could also be a worse scenario where a malicious activity carried out by an individual who has knowledge on how to by- pass the perimeter firewall affects the integrity of the information hence leading to serious repercussions to the organization and its executives (“Natan,” n.d.). It is, therefore, evident why database auditing and monitoring to identify such malicious activities and prevent them from affecting the integrity and accuracy of the final presentation. “Internal auditors facing these issues need application access visibility and effective controls to support compliance initiatives, because, in addition

to monitoring and securing financial systems, SOX requirements necessitate comprehensive tracking and management of systems that handle critical corporate data (“Natan,” n.d.).” It is, therefore, evident that companies need to carry out consistent database auditing and monitoring because they are critical in ensuring compliance to SOX. IT professionals within corporations need to constantly identify and implement strategies that protect the integrity, credibility, and transparency to financial information that is required by SOX. Sheldon (2018) also states that “The database team should start by defining specifications that describe how the database

environment will be protected and how the internal control structure will be implemented and assessed.” The risks that come with the use of technology in financial reporting demonstrate why it is important to have regular database auditing and monitoring. Frequent database auditing and monitoring is important because data stored in relational database can easily be compromised hence affecting its credibility. Database monitoring and auditing helps in identifying the threats.

References

Natan, B. R. (n.d.). Sarbanes-Oxley Database Compliance. Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal. Retrieved from http://www.s-

ox.com/dsp_getFeaturesDetails.cfm?CID=448

Petters, J. (2020 September, 23). What is SOX compliance? Everything you need to know in 2019. Varonis. Retrieved from https://www.varonis.com/blog/sox-

compliance/ Sheldon, R. (2018 October 24). SOX and Database Administartion-Part 3. Red Gate. Retrieved from https://www.red-gate.com/simple-

talk/sysadmin/data-protection-and-privacy/sox-and-database-administration-part-3/

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Database Auditing and Monitoring

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Database Auditing and Monitoring using SOX Compliance

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New England College

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New England College

4/9/2021 Originality Report

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Database Auditing and Monitoring

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Database Auditing and Monitoring using SOX Compliance

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“Internal auditors facing these issues need application access visibility and ef- fective controls to support compliance initiatives, because, in addition to monit- oring and securing financial systems, SOX requirements necessitate comprehensive tracking and management of systems that handle critical corporate data (“Natan,” n.d.).” It is, therefore, evident that companies need to carry out con- sistent database auditing and monitoring because they are critical in ensuring com- pliance to SOX.

Original source

“Internal auditors facing these issues need application access visibility and ef- fective controls to support compliance initiatives, because, in addition to monit- oring and securing financial systems, SOX requirements necessitate comprehensive tracking and management of systems that handle critical corporate data” [ Natan, n.d]

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Sheldon (2018) also states that “The data- base team should start by defining spe- cifications that describe how the data- base environment will be protected and how the internal control structure will be implemented and assessed.” The risks that come with the use of technology in financial reporting demonstrate why it is important to have regular database auditing and monitoring.

Original source

“The database team should start by de- fining specifications that describe how the database environment will be protec- ted and how the internal control struc- ture will be implemented and assessed” [ Sheldon, 2018]

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Sarbanes-Oxley Database Compliance.

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Sarbanes-Oxley Database Compliance

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Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal.

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Retrieved from Sarbanes-Oxley Compli- ance Journal

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Retrieved from http://www.s- ox.com/dsp_getFeaturesDetails.cfm? CID=448

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Retrieved from http://www.s- ox.com/dsp_getFeaturesDetails.cfm? CID=448

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What is SOX compliance? Everything you need to know in 2019.

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What is SOX Compliance Everything You Need to Know in 2019

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Retrieved from https://www.varonis.com/blog/sox-com- pliance/ Sheldon, R.

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Retrieved from https://www.varonis.com/blog/sox-com- pliance/ Sheldon, R

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(2018 October 24).

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(2018, October 24)

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SOX and Database Administartion-Part 3.

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SOX and Database Administration – Part 3

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Retrieved from https://www.red- gate.com/simple-talk/sysadmin/data-pro- tection-and-privacy/sox-and-database- administration-part-3/

Original source

Retrieved from https://www.red- gate.com/simple-talk/sysadmin/data-pro- tection-and-privacy/sox-and-database- administration-part-3/