Certified Information Systems Auditor Practice Exam 2025 – All-in-One Guide to Master Your CISA Certification!

Automated code comparison is a highly effective audit technique for detecting unauthorized program changes since the last authorized update. This method uses tools that can perform a detailed comparison between the current version of code and the last approved version, allowing auditors to quickly identify any discrepancies. By automating this process, the auditor achieves a comprehensive analysis that is both efficient and accurate.

Automated code comparison can track changes at a granular level, detecting even minor alterations that could indicate unauthorized modifications. This level of scrutiny is essential in environments where security and compliance are critical, enabling auditors to assess whether changes were properly authorized or if they pose a risk to the system's integrity.

Other techniques, while useful in different contexts, do not provide the same level of precision or efficiency in identifying unauthorized changes as automated code comparison does. Manual code review is labor-intensive and may overlook subtle changes, client interview sessions may not reveal specific code-level alterations, and visual inspection of code can be subjective and prone to human error. Hence, automated code comparison stands out as the best choice for identifying unauthorized program changes effectively.