Audit On Online Booking System
Audit On Online Booking System
Audit On Online Booking System
I CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS
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M/s RTA & CO. I CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS
Certificate
Project Report of DISA 3.0 Course
This is to certify that we have successfully completed the DISA 3.0 course training conducted on online
from 28th October, 2020 to 18th November, 2020 and we have the required attendance. We are submitting
the Project titled “AUDIT ON ONLINE BOOKING SYSTEM”.
We hereby confirm that we have adhered to guidelines issued by Digital Accounting and Assurance Board
(DAAB), ICAI for the project. We also certify that this project report is the original work of our group and
each one of us have actively participated and contribution in preparing this project. We have not shared
the project details or taken help in preparing project report from anyone except members of group
DATE: 08-11-2020
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Table of Contents
SL.NO CONTENTS PAGE NO.
1 Introduction 4-5
3 Background 8
4 Situation 9
8 Documents reviewed 14
9 References 15
10 Deliverables 16
12. Summary 22
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1. INTRODUCTION
Client Introduction
Arrange My Trip Limited (AMT) has been providing services to its customers through online booking system
using Information Technology as its key enabler. The system being used is huge enough to handle many
simultaneous operations like that of
1. Arranging data according to the client’s requirements related to the budget, facility demanded etc.
2. Suggesting the destinations based on real time reviews and accordingly listing the destinations in
demand.
3. Suggesting the best means to travel throughout the whole destination planned.
4. Locating the prioritized hotels to stay and the nearby places to visit in relation to
shopping/food/fun/leisure activities.
5. Last but not the least arranging various documentation required to visiting the finalized locations
like that of visa etc.
The top management of the company had laid down the directions for the overall functioning of the whole
system and deployed the information systems for managing the activities required so that the client’s
search operations are optimized and handy system support along with the customer care facilities are
made available to the clients.
The Information Technology processes required in implementing such practices have been custom
developed by AMT Limited and are fully integrated with the backend processes involved in providing the
clients the various services mentioned above. Now that the company has been dealing with large volumes
of data with extensive procedures over it being applied through the information systems AMT limited
proposes to have a comprehensive audit of the online booking system of the company. The objective of
the IS audit is to identify potential areas for improvement of controls and the identification of all risk
factors present in the system so as to mitigate them by implementing controls etc so that the whole IT
environment particularly that of online booking system is secure and safe and as such to provide assurance
to the senior management of AMT Limited.
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M/s RTA & Co. is a chartered accountants firm consisting of 3 full time partners who are qualified
chartered accountants with specializations in Information systems audit. The firm has large experience in
handling risk based internal audits, assurance functions, accounting and other taxation matters. The offices
of the firm are equipped with high end software technologies which can be integrated with the client’s
systems so as to perform the audits etc in a more professional manner. The team of the firm consists of 20
Articled Assistants and 5 paid staff who have hands on experience of working in customized software
environments and have adequate in depth knowledge of the auditing function.
The details of the partners of M/s RTA & Co. are listed below:
The team comprising of 10 members would be deployed for the referred audit which will be led by Mr. R
who has experience in the relevant field of 10 years. The project’s completion time frame will be of 25 man
days.
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2. AUDITEE ENVIRONMENT
The primary objective of the assignment is to conduct Information Systems Audit of Online Booking
System and to develop a set of related IS Audit Checklists for future use so that it can be used by
external auditors for verifying the accuracy of the whole online booking process.
The enterprise viz., AMT Limited is a multi-national company with its business revolving around
procuring data about the destinations, hotels, transportation facilities and the like so as to provide the
data in a meaningful way to the company’s customers so that the customers make informed decisions
about where to travel, how to travel etc in a most efficient way while also availing the best facilities
throughout the travel and stays at the location.
The company’s organization structure is well built with a top to down approach and robust IT systems
have been deployed for the overall functioning of the whole system. The auditee environment along
with the information about system software, database, regulatory requirements, internal policies and
security policies in place is being outlined in the following paras:
a. The whole auditee environment consists of the custom developed application software known as Online
Booking System (OBS), the hardware including the networking devices, the database wherein whole of
the data including that of the internal and external users is being maintained and the system software.
b. The application software being maintained by the enterprise is OBS (Online Booking System) with an
appropriate database wherein all the details related to the information about destinations, transport
agencies, hotels, motels, restaurants, theme planners etc have been stored for client’s usage and
retrieval and further in which all the client level details have been stored in relation to his/her name,
age, identification number, wishlist, previous destinations visited history etc. The system being
maintained is a real time system wherein all the details related to present status of bookings, travel,
climate etc is updated on real time basis. The application system has also been connected with the
payment gateway named paytime so as to complete the user payment transactions in real time and in
the most secured way.
c. The database being maintained is that of RDBMS wherein whole lot of data can be searched with the
help of some key elements only and no time is wasted while searching for particular destinations etc.
The database is in complete control of a Data Base Administrator (DBA) who has been managing the
data structures, data updation and data control tasks.
d. The company has an internal security policy outlining the roles and responsibilities of the system
security, networking security and other hardware security required in the organization.
e. Windows 10 based operating systems have been installed in system software for appropriate
functioning of the application software applied in the organization. The operating system provides an
interface between the user and the hardware through GUI and also manages and allocates memory
space for applications. The operating system is also responsible for security management of files and
applications.
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f. Application level gateway firewall has been installed in the networking system which is serving as proxy
firewall and is operating at the application layer to filter incoming traffic between the network and the
traffic source.
h. Legal regulations applicable to the organization specifically pertaining to the Information System Audit
are Adherence to the Information Technology Act, 2000 amended 2008 and the e-Governance policy
issued in March 2020 by the Government of Jammu & Kashmir (GoJk) provided for maintaining online
record of hardware and software inventory (H&SI).
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3. BACKGROUND
AMT Limited proposes to have a comprehensive IS Audit of the whole IT Environment of the company.
An information systems audit comprises of audit of the application system installed in the company
along with the audit of system software, hardware, networking devices, system security and other
interconnected mechanisms including the adherence of the regulations applicable to the organization.
The proposed IS Audit is further subjected to applicable auditing standards of ICAI.
The objective of the organization’s plan to go for IS Audit is to identify the areas for improvement of
controls by benchmarking against global practices and further to ensure that the risks identified are
expected to be mitigated by controls designed by the organization so as to ensure that the application
software installed is secure and safe. IS Auditors are also expected to provide IS Audit Checklist for
future use by the company.
The Information Security Audit planned is also to be focused on data privacy that will cover technology
controls that enforce confidentiality controls on ay database, file system, or application server that
provides access to personally identifiable data.
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4. SITUATION
AMT Limited has for the first time integrated all the business units located in different areas in India by
adopting OBS-ERP system. With the integration of the new OBS-ERP system with their traditional OBS
system there has arisen a need to effectively implement some control factors so as to mitigate the risk
involved in such integration along with the risk of data loss. Some more areas of operation that need to
be addressed are data storage access, migration of data, maintenance of centralized servers, AMC
contracts. The company has been functioning effectively with its OBS system prior to such integration
with the OBS-ERP system but there were issues related to data access and data retrieval with the
branches of the company which are being resolved by implementation of OBS-ERP system.
Now that the company has integrated with the OBS-ERP system it becomes utmost necessary for the
company to implement various control mechanisms for controlling the whole IT Environment of the
company as the company is dealing directly with the public at large and it altogether becomes very
important to maintain the confidentiality of the data of the public shared win the systems of the
organization. The network technology is also required to be robust and secure enough along with the
payment gateways so as to provide a user-friendly scenario to the ultimate users of the organization.
The organization i.e., AMT Limited has taken all these factors into consideration while deciding upon the
reasons to take up IS audit and the problems which have been identified and control weaknesses which
are to be looked into have been summarized as follows:
Problematic Areas:
a. Risk of data duplication and unauthorized data retrieval.
b. Unauthorized changes to the data entered in the system regarding the information to be shared with
the prospective customers.
c. Frequent failure of the system.
d. Lack of proper BCP and DRP.
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Hardware:
c. Scanners.
d. Storage media.
System Software:
The auditor has to select the system software according to the IT environment in AMT Ltd and
accordingly the auditor will use windows 10 as the system software for performing the audit.
Application Software:
The auditor will be using CAAT tools as CAAT are significant tools for auditors to gather evidence and it
also provides a means to gain access to the systems and analyse data for a predetermined audit
objective and finally supports in reporting the findings with evidence. IDEA audit software will be used
by the auditor as a CAAT tool for performing audit on the company’s IT system.
Apart from this the auditor will use the application software implemented in the organization i.e., OBS-
ERP for checking the calculations and data access and data retrieval methods. Test Data packets will also
be logged into the system for thorough checking and Integrated Test Facility method will also be
simultaneously used.
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The objectives and scope of audit were explained to the management in the initial meetings held with
them seeking their co-operation. The samples were collected using sampling techniques. Four Divisions
were selected each from sixteen regions and the data was stratified in terms of the highest revenue
generated with highest traffic load.
b. Undertake an in-depth study and analysis of all aspects of the security and control procedures related to
IT and environmental aspects. We will take steps to identify way in which the system actually operates.
In doing so, the following objective would be kept in mind while setting overall goals.
c. Review the user agreement along with terms of service forms the terms and conditions for the use of
services and products of AMT Ltd. And review the terms and conditions of contract between AMT Ltd
and OBC – ERP system developer.
d. Verify the general controls were adequate and OBC – ERP system was operated in an adequate
controlled environment and the application controls were adequate and the system was in compliance
with laid down business rules and adequately secured from possibilities of frauds.
e. Verify the accounting agreements and control mechanism for monetary transactions were adequate.
f. Review all the physical access to computing equipment as well as facilities housing the IS computing
equipment and supplies.
g. Review procedures used by management to ensure that individual having access to sensitive facilities
and adequately restricted and possess physical access authorisation.
h. Review security policies and procedures at the enterprise level, system level and process level are
aligned with business stated objectives.
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i. Review of emergency procedures adopted by the organisation, whether it is clearly documented and
readily accessible.
j. Review of necessary logical access controls framework in the form of logical access security policies and
standards are in place and effectively communicated.
k. Evaluation of various logical security techniques and mechanisms for their effective implementation,
operation and administration.
l. Determination of the level of effectiveness of logical security by determining compliance with procedure
manuals, such as administrator manuals and user manuals.
n. Visual examination of presence of water and smoke detectors, examine power supply arrangements to
such services, testing logs, etc. In the server room for not losing any data.
o. Examination of location of fire extinguishers, fire-fighting equipment, refilling date of fire extinguisher
and ensure they are adequate and appropriate.
p. Examination of complaint logs and maintenance logs to assess if Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF)
and Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) are within acceptable levels.
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8. DOCUMENTS REVIEWED
The following documents were verified/reviewed during the audit assignment:
d. Documents related to the SOP and the technology used during the process of conversion from OBS
model to OBS-ERP model.
e. Documentation related to the security control framework framed for the organization and the
implementation status.
f. Training programs conducted for smooth implementation of the whole process and for continuous
updation of the staff working on the systems.
j. Documentation of security Policies and Procedures and verified whether the entity has any Business
Continuity Plan and Disaster Recovery Plan
k. Down time report and documentation of online bookings during down time.
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9. REFERENCES
The following references have been taken for the completion of the assignment:
a. Standards, Guidelines and Techniques for Information Systems Audit and Assurance as issued by DAAB
and available in its website.
IS Audit Phases
CAAT Tools
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10. DELIVERABLES
The deliverables of the audit of online booking system i.e., the assignment taken up are as follows:
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Screensavers Unauthorised Open telnet sessions Session locks and Agree and will
with access can be easily screensavers shall be follow
passwords or accessed by password protected.
session locks unauthorised user if Password policy shall be
with the original user is maintained.
passwords not at his/her desk Educating users is a critical
and if the component about passwords,
screensavers are not and making them responsible
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On line Access denied Result in Integrity Maintain a storage database Agree and will
Booking ID’s and completeness of for storing all the data of users implemented
are missing data being missed. and password and user id
So, maintain a recovery procedures are
storage database for implemented
storing Online
Booking ID’s and
Passwords.
Concessional Unauthorised For some persons For concessional people Agreed and will
persons data access discount is given for separate storage database is follow.
is missed online booking in maintained for storing data.
Hotels or mall’s like
senior citizens,
Award winners etc.,
If data is missing
access is denied to
these people and
Unauthorized
people may access
and get concessions
in booking by using
missed data
Lack of Specific Resumption and Loss of Business, Develop and Establish Agreed to Develop
Disaster Recovery Recovery to normal goodwill, profit etc., a specific and detailed and establish DRP
Plan/Procedure conditions in the Disaster Recovery Plan
event of disaster is
not possible as
required as per
policies and
objectives
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Non availability of Recovery of the Loss of data Purchase Backup Agreed to purchase
Backup Systems for Systems is not Systems and provide Backup
the systems supplied possible systems
No Alternative There will be huge Delay and damage Arrange alternative Agreed and try to
Processing business/process to organization in processing capabilities made arrangements
capabilities interruption till the form of data soon
resumption to loss, reputation loss
normal conditions etc.,
from the event of
disaster happen
No Disaster There will be a great Implementing of Establish disaster Agreed and
Recovery Teams at confusion to DRP may not recovery teams with identified Teams
All implement DRP in possible specific
the event of disaster responsibilities
Not following ABC Compromise for Non-availability of Recommended to Agreed and made
Conventions for protection and data Data follow the ABC arrangements to
protection and back backup may arise conventions follow the same
up of data Conventions as per
the ABC
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Not maintaining Required data may Data leakage and Recommended to Agreed to retain the
storage of data, not be available for information gap follow the SLA data etc., as per SLA
work product or required purposes period
deliverables off-site
for the period
mentioned in Service
level agreement
(SLA)
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12. SUMMARY
The company should keep addressing the following risks to security in particular to ensure continuity of
business systems:
A. Information Security-Top Level Management should consider the ease with which systems could be
compromised by referring to the case studies and should ensure good security practices are
implemented, up-to-date and regularly tested and enforced for key computer systems. They should
also conduct ongoing reviews of user access to systems to ensure they are appropriate at all times.
B. Business continuity- The Company should have a business continuity plan, a disaster recovery plan
and an incident response plan. These plans should be tested on a periodic basis.
C. Management of IT risks- The Company needs to ensure that IT risks are identified, assessed and
treated within appropriate timeframes and that these practices become a core part of business
activities and executive oversight.
D. IT operations- The Company should ensure that they have appropriate policies and procedures in
place for key areas such as IT risk management, information security, business continuity and
change control. IT strategic plans and objectives support the business strategies and objectives.
E. Change Control-Change control processes should be well developed and consistently followed for
changes to computer systems. All changes should be subject to thorough planning and impact
assessment to minimize the likelihood of problems. Change control documentation should be
current and approved changes formally tracked
F. Physical security- The Company should develop and implement physical and environmental control
mechanisms to prevent unauthorised access or accidental damage to computing infrastructure and
systems.
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