Exam CISA topic 1 question 1409 discussion

Answer is A.

Including a provision for an independent audit of the contractor's operations ensures that the contracting organization can verify compliance with agreed standards, security measures, and performance metrics. This helps maintain accountability and transparency, ensuring that the outsourced functions meet the required quality and security standards. While the other options (B, C, and D) are also important and may be included in a comprehensive outsourcing contract, the ability to conduct an independent audit is crucial for ongoing oversight and risk management.

While an independent audit of the contractor's operations (Option A) is essential for ensuring accountability and transparency, providing full details of security procedures (Option D) is crucial for safeguarding sensitive data, maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of information systems, and mitigating cybersecurity risks. Clear, comprehensive security procedures are essential for protecting the interests of both parties involved in the outsourcing arrangement. They establish a framework for ensuring the security and reliability of the outsourced IS functions, making Option D the best choice.

Q keyword: A contract should always include Answer: D

While option D is important as well, it does not always need to be documented in detail in the contract. The specific security procedures a contractor uses may be proprietary information that they are not willing or able to share in full - but they should be able to demonstrate that their security procedures meet certain standards. On the other hand, a provision for an independent audit of the contractor's operations is non-negotiable and should always be included in the contract. This allows the company outsourcing their IS functions to ensure that contractual obligations related to data privacy, service level agreements, etc., are being met by the contractor.