Chapter 10: Processing Integrity and Availability Controls Flashcards
turnaround document
a record of company data sent to an external party and then returned by the external par for subsequent input to the system
field check
an edit check that tests whether the characters in a field are of the correct field type (e.g., numeric data in numeric fields)
sign check
an edit check that verifies that the data in a field have the appropriate arithmetic sign
limit check
an edit check that tests a numerical amount against a fixed value
range check
an edit check that tests whether a data item falls within predetermined upper and lower limits
size check
an edit check that verifies that the data in a field has the appropriate arithmetic sign
completeness check (or test)
an edit check that verifies that all data required have been entered
validity check
an edit test that compares the ID code or account number in transaction data with similar data in the master file to verify that the account exists
reasonableness test
an edit check of the logical correctness of relationships among data items
check digit
ID numbers (such as employee number) can contain a check digit computed from the other digits
check digit verification
recalculating a check digit to verify that a data entry error has not been made
sequence check
an edit check that determines if a batch of input data is in the proper numerical or alphabetical sequence
batch totals
the sum of a numerical item for a batch of documents, calculated prior to processing the batch, when the data are entered, and subsequently compared with computer-generated totals after each processing step to verify that the data was processed correctly
financial total
a type of batch total that equals the sum of a field that contains monetary values
hash total
a type of batch total generated by summing values for a field that would not usually be totaled
record count
a type of batch total that equals the number of record processed at a given time
prompting
an online data entry completeness check that requests each required item of input data and then waits for an acceptable response before requesting the next required item
closed-loop verification
an input validation method that uses data entered into the system to retrieve and display other related information so that the data entry person can verify the accuracy of the input data
header record/label
type of internal label that appears at the beginning of each file and contains the file name, expiration date, and other file identification information
trailer record/label
type of internal label that appears at the end of a file; in transaction files, the trailer record contains the batch totals calculated during input
transposition error
an error that results when numbers in two adjacent columns are inadvertently exchanged (e.g., 64 is written as 46)
cross-footing balance test
a processing control which verifies accuracy by comparing two alternative ways of calculating the same total
zero-balance test
a processing control that verifies that the balance of a control account equals zero after all entries to it have been made
concurrent update controls
controls that lock out users to protect individual records from errors that could occur if multiple users attempted to update the same record simultaneously
checksum
a data transmission control that uses a hash of a file to verify accuracy
parity bit
an extra bit added to every character; used to check transmission accuracy
parity checking
a data transmission control in which the receiving device recalculates the parity bit to verify accuracy of transmitted data
fault tolerance
the capability of a system to continue performing when there is a hardwire failure
redundant arrays of independent drives (RAID)
a fault tolerance technique that records data on multiple disk drives instead of just one to reduce the risk of data loss
uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
an alternative power supply device that protects against the loss of power and fluctuations in the power level by using battery power to enable the system to operate long enough to back up critical data and safely shut down.
backup
a copy of a database, file, or software program
recovery point objective (RPO)
the amount of data the organization is willing to reenter or potentially lose
recovery time objective (RTO)
the maximum tolerable time to restore an organization’s information system following a disaster, representing the length of time that the organization is willing to attempt to function without its information system
real-time mirroring
maintaining complete copies of a database at two separate data centers and updating both copies in real-time as each transaction occurs
full backup
exact copy of an entire database
incremental backup
a type of partial backup that involves copying only the data items that have changed since the last partial backup. This produces a set of incremental backup files, each containing the results of one day’s transactions
differential backup
a type of partial backup that involves copying all changes made since the last full backup. Thus, each new differential backup file contains the cumulative effects of all activity sine the last full backup
archive
a copy of a database, master file, or software that is retained indefinitely as a historical record, usually to satisfy legal and regulatory requirements
disaster recovery plan (DRP)
a plan to restore an organization’s IT capability in the even that its data center is destroyed
cold site
a disaster recovery option that relies on access to an alternative facility that is prewired for necessary telephone and Internet access, but does not contain any computing equipment
hot site
a disaster recovery option that relies on access to a completely operational alternative data center that is not only prewired but also contains all necessary hardware and software
business continuity plan (BCP)
a plan that specifies how to resume not only IT operations but all business processes in the event of a major calamity
