The global interest in cybersecurity is growing. As we move into the cyber age, technology has become a huge part of both our everyday lives and today’s business environment, as more and more businesses increase their online presence and digital exposure by leveraging technology for almost every aspect of their business. But just as technology presents opportunities to many businesses, it also presents threats and challenges. Over the years, cyber attacks have continued to occur, escalating in frequency, severity and impact. These incidents have impacted every industry from financial services to retailers, entertainment and healthcare providers.

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Perhaps due to its constantly evolving nature, cybersecurity risk remains complex and abstract to many. There may also be a perception that cybersecurity risk is not relevant to small businesses, hence, cybersecurity risk may not have been considered and addressed in all financial statements audits. But let us think about this: risk assessment is a crucial part of audit planning and auditors are required under the auditing standards to obtain an understanding of business risks that may result in risks of material misstatement of the financial statements. Just as auditors would consider an entity’s business risks in a financial statements audit, cybersecurity risk is an equally important risk area that cannot be ignored. Perhaps even more so, given the broad extent to which cyber attacks can cause fundamental enterprise-wide damage to organisations, and for some attacks, even a huge impact to the financial statements. Cybersecurity risk is hence an essential consideration in any financial statements audit.

Adapted from : https://charteredaccountantsworldwide.com/cybersecurity-risktime-for-auditors-to-take-heed/