During a review of an application system, an IS auditor identifies automated controls designed to prevent the entry of duplicate transactions.
What is the BEST way to verify that the controls work as designed?
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A. B. C. D.A.
The BEST way to verify that the automated controls designed to prevent the entry of duplicate transactions work as intended would be to use generalized audit software for seeking data corresponding to duplicate transactions (Option C).
Option A (Implement periodic reconciliations) may help to identify duplicates that have already been entered, but it does not verify the effectiveness of the controls designed to prevent duplicate entries. Additionally, reconciliations are typically performed after the fact, which means that the damage has already been done if the controls fail.
Option B (Review quality assurance (QA) test results) may provide some insight into the quality of the testing process, but it does not directly verify the effectiveness of the controls designed to prevent duplicate entries.
Option D (Enter duplicate transactions in a copy of the live system) is not an acceptable option as it may result in real data being duplicated and may impact the integrity of the system.
Therefore, Option C (Use generalized audit software for seeking data corresponding to duplicate transactions) is the BEST way to verify the effectiveness of the automated controls designed to prevent duplicate entries. This approach involves running scripts or queries against the application system's database using audit software specifically designed to detect duplicate transactions. The results can then be analyzed to determine whether the automated controls are functioning as intended.