End User Computing Audit Checklist

End user computing (EUC) applications, whether a spreadsheet, database or another system, are invaluable to businesses – yet can pose significant risk if they’re not managed responsibly.

Reducing EUC risks can be done easily by following this audit checklist template, which includes items like user queries and documentation of business capabilities.

1. Inventory of EUC Applications

End user applications often form the backbone of business operations – yet can also expose organizations to hidden operational risk, including data lineage discrepancies and incorrect calculations.

Spreadsheets, often used for creating models, performing calculations and simulating scenarios, can be vulnerable to error due to improper definition of cell ranges or omitting key data from spreadsheet models.

Although EUC applications provide many advantages to organizations, their lack of formal development methodologies and monitoring can create risks that put organisations at risk. Without sufficient input validation or scenario testing procedures in place, insecure code may develop that leads to errors in key business processes that lead to revenue losses or regulatory fines; an efficient EUC audit programme may help minimize such risks.

2. Access Controls

Physical access control does not suffice when it comes to security; digital access control requires digital management systems which monitor who has what access, who has what data or services permission, and ensuring these don’t change unexpectedly or become compromised through malware attacks.

Discretionary access control (DAC) grants access rights to people and systems based on a policy determined by the owners or administrators of a protected system, data or resource. Role-based access control (RBAC) implements key security principles like least privilege by restricting actions that people can perform to those required for their jobs roles. Attribute-based access control (ABAC) offers even finer-grained control by granting access based on almost any attribute associated with an action or subject within its context.

3. Data Loss Prevention

Data loss can occur as a result of human error, hardware or software malfunction, cyber attacks or theft – making the damage hard to assess and resulting in major disruption for any business.

An effective data protection strategy should include policies to secure data at rest, transit and usage stages – while also making sure sensitive information can only move between systems with adequate encryption protection.

Implementing systems that monitor and alert on file permission problems can help thwart insider attacks or ransomware attacks, while having systems in place to report technical difficulties to auditors is imperative in order to identify potential vulnerabilities before they escalate into full-fledged breaches.

4. Security Policies

An information security policy is a high-level document that describes how a company plans to safeguard their data, systems, and resources. It answers “what” and “why”, without specifying “how.”

Policies may be system-specific, including acceptable use, access control and change management policies; others could apply companywide such as security and disaster recovery policies.

A cross-functional team typically composes the best policies. This group typically comprises top managers, the information security team, IT staff and general employees. Many organizations also create standards, guidelines or procedures to facilitate this process of policy creation – helping reduce misinterpretations risk while increasing adherence.

5. Training

Experienced users expect full capabilities on any device and work-from-anywhere access to key applications, so IT organizations need an efficient virtual desktop infrastructure capable of meeting these expectations without risking intellectual property.

Professional end users possess technical training and typically work within IT roles within companies to oversee data and security systems. Such users require training so that they understand how their system operates and can report any potential issues back to IT teams.

Implementing employee training programs is the single best way to reduce security risks, boost productivity, and enhance customer satisfaction with IT services. For help creating a comprehensive EUC strategy, download the Embrace Business-Managed Apps blueprint; its templates will assist in documenting persona analysis results, creating standard offerings with governance structures around them and developing an implementation roadmap.