IIA IIA-CIA-PART3 Online Practice Questions and Exam Preparation

IIA IIA-CIA-PART3 Online Questions & Answers

• Question 261:

  Operational management in the IT department has introduced performance evaluation policies that are linked to employees achieving continuing education hours. This activity is designed to prevent which of the following conditions?

  A. Knowledge/skills gap
  B. Monitoring gap
  C. Accountability/reward failure.
  D. Communication failure.
  A. Knowledge/skills gap

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  Explanation

• Question 262:

  Which of the following is a disadvantage in a centralized organizational structure?

  A. Communication conflicts.
  B. Slower decision making.
  C. Loss of economies of scale.
  D. Vulnerabilities in sharing knowledge.
  B. Slower decision making.

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  Explanation

  https://smallbusiness.chron.com/disadvantages-centralized-control-business-20670.html

• Question 263:

  A significant project is nearing its development stage end, and line management intends to apply for a final investment decision from senior management at an upcoming meeting. The internal audit function is at the fieldwork stage of an assurance engagement related to this project and discovers that tenders conducted for the project were not carried out transparently by line management. The audit report will not be ready by the upcoming senior management meeting.

  Which of the following actions is the most appropriate next step for the chief audit executive?

  A. Escalate the issue to the chief risk officer
  B. Raise the issue with senior management
  C. Continue with the assurance engagement as planned
  D. Place the assurance engagement on hold due to inappropriate timing
  B. Raise the issue with senior management

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  Explanation

  Since senior management is about to make a final investment decision, they must be made aware of the transparency issue with tenders before approving the project. The CAE should raise the issue with senior management immediately,

  even if the full report is not yet complete, to ensure that governance decisions are based on accurate risk information.

  Option A (risk officer) may be informed later but does not replace informing decision-makers. Option C ignores urgent risk exposure. Option D is incorrect because halting the audit would suppress critical information.

  IIA Standards - Standard 2060: Reporting to Senior Management and the Board.

• Question 264:

  The chief audit executive is attempting to standardize the engagement procedures used throughout the organization. Many of the internal auditors are employed at distant locations. The CAE wants to select a process that will encourage input from a cross section of internal auditors, facilitate differing perspectives, and encourage acceptance of changes that might result from the standardization. The decision-making process that will most effectively achieve the CAE's goals is

  A. A decision-making model.
  B. Group-aided decision making.
  C. The contingency approach.
  D. Programmed decision making.
  B. Group-aided decision making.

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  Explanation

  The advantages of group decision making are that the group will have broader experience, greater expertise, a wider range of perspectives, and a greater capacity for absorbing facts than an individual. The exchange of viewpoints within the group may provide more illumination of the problem than could be achieved by one person. Group- aided decision making facilitates analyzing problems and estimating needed actions. It encourages participation and acceptance of decisions.

• Question 265:

  Which of the following steps should an internal auditor take during an audit of an organization's business continuity plans?

  1. Evaluate the business continuity plans for adequacy and currency.

  2. Prepare a business impact analysis regarding the loss of critical business.

  3. Identify key personnel who will be required to implement the plans.

  4. Identify and prioritize the resources required to support critical business processes.

  A. 1 only
  B. 2 and 4 only
  C. 1, 3, and 4 only
  D. 1, 2, 3, and 4
  A. 1 only

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  Explanation

• Question 266:

  An internal auditor has finalized an engagement of the vendor master file. The results of the current engagement do not differ significantly from that of last year, in which several significant weaknesses in internal controls were reported. The internal auditor states in the final communication that the internal controls are as effective as that of the previous year.

  Which of the following elements of quality of communication could be improved?

  A. Conciseness
  B. Constructiveness
  C. Objectivity
  D. Accuracy
  D. Accuracy

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  Explanation

  According to the IIA Standards, audit communications must be accurate, objective, clear, concise, constructive, and timely. In this case, the auditor's statement that "controls are as effective as last year" is inaccurate, because the prior year's

  report identified significant weaknesses. Equating ineffective controls with effectiveness misrepresents the actual condition, thereby compromising accuracy.

  Objectivity (Option C), conciseness (Option A), and constructiveness (Option B) are not the main issue here.

  The primary weakness is accuracy (Option D).

  IIA Standards - Standard 2420: Quality of Communications.

• Question 267:

  Which of the following best describes meaningful recommendations for corrective actions?

  A. Recommendations that address the gap between the condition and consequence and provide at least short-term fixes
  B. Recommendations that address the gap between the criteria and condition and provide at least short- term fixes
  C. Recommendations that address the gap between the criteria and consequence and provide long-term solutions
  D. Recommendations that address the gap between the criteria and condition and provide long-term solutions
  D. Recommendations that address the gap between the criteria and condition and provide long-term solutions

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  Explanation

  Meaningful recommendations are those that address the root cause of the condition by comparing it to the established criteria and propose sustainable, long-term solutions. This ensures that the identified issue will not recur and strengthens

  the control environment.

  Option A relates to symptoms (condition vs. consequence), not root causes. Option B identifies the correct gap (criteria vs. condition) but offers only short-term fixes. Option C incorrectly compares criteria to consequence, which is not a valid

  basis for audit recommendations.

  Thus, Option D is correct.

  IIA Practice Guide - Audit Findings: Condition, Criteria, Cause, Effect, and Recommendation.

• Question 268:

  An IT auditor is evaluating IT controls of a newly purchased information system. The auditor discovers that logging is not configured at database and application levels. Operational management explains that they do not have enough personnel to manage the logs and they see no benefit in keeping logs. Which of the following responses best explains risks associated with insufficient or absent logging practices?

  A. The organization will be unable to develop preventative actions based on analytics.
  B. The organization will not be able to trace and monitor the activities of database administrators.
  C. The organization will be unable to determine why intrusions and cyber incidents took place.
  D. The organization will be unable to upgrade the system to newer versions.
  C. The organization will be unable to determine why intrusions and cyber incidents took place.

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  Explanation

• Question 269:

  Which of the following best describes a cyberattack in which an organization faces a denial-of-service threat created through malicious data encryption?

  A. Phishing
  B. Ransomware
  C. Hacking
  D. Malware
  B. Ransomware

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  Explanation

• Question 270:

  Which of the following application-based controls is an example of a programmed edit check?

  A. Reasonableness check.
  B. Transaction log.
  C. Input error correction.
  D. Authorization for access.
  A. Reasonableness check.

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  Explanation