How to Avoid High Resource Overhead for Compliance and IT Audits

How to Avoid High Resource Overhead for Compliance and IT Audits

How to Avoid High Resource Overhead for Compliance and IT Audits

Compliance and IT audits can seem like two double-edged swords because they are not only indispensable but can also be very expensive. If yours is an organization that is required to meet industry compliance standards and federal regulations, the cost would be even higher. Spending a lot on compliance and audits can hamper some of your organization’s primary missions and objectives.

Here are some tips on how to avoid high resource overhead for compliance and IT audits.

Pay heed to risk assessments

The resources you spend on IT audit and compliance can, and should, never be zero. However, if you spend your resources in the right direction, the incurred financial and resource overhead will be much lower. Think of your organization’s overall objective for the future and the security risks it may face in the long run. Spend money on information security risk assessment and policy design so that audits and compliance require fewer resources later.

Reduce the scope of the initial audit

Regular audits of your organization’s security posture and compliance necessary. Most organizations will have a layered information security infrastructure and may have several departments that must be audited. You can reduce the resource overhead demanded by such audits in the early stages by reducing the scope of the audits. Find out the areas in your IT framework that are the most susceptible to cyber-risk and focus only on them for your initial audits.

Automate your IT audits

IT audits are crucial, but they can be expensive and tedious. Automating your IT audits can save your organization from paying additional amounts of money to your employees or a third-party organization. It will improve the timeliness and efficiency of all audit-and compliance-related tasks. It will also ensure that your employees attend to the other important jobs at hand.

Spend on compliance now to minimize future expenditure

Believe it or not, spending substantially in your organization’s compliance policy, in the beginning, can save you immensely in the future. The truth is that non-compliance can be a lot costlier than compliance. If everyone in your organization is compliant as a habit, your IT audits will generate less resource overhead. Appoint a compliance officer who can work with the chief information security officer to define areas that need a special focus on compliance. This becomes even more important when your organization’s digital

assets are federally regulated. With the compliance framework carved out correctly, future resource expenditure will be minimal.

Design information security policies that inculcate compliance

Many times, your organization’s resources will have to be spent on compliance-training for your employees. While compliance-training is important, it can be dispensable if your security policies are designed well. Design your information security policies such that they are easy to understand and implement for all the stakeholders. This will minimize the resources expended on audits and compliance.

Conclusion

Ensuring compliance and conducting audits in your organization are both tough jobs that can prove to be highly expensive. However, these are jobs that cannot be ignored. Follow our tips and avoid high resource overhead for compliance and IT audits.