CISA Information System Auditing Process Practice Question
An IS auditor is reviewing the audit documentation from a prior year and finds that a material weakness was reported but not remediated. According to ISACA standards, which audit phase should address this?
⚠ Common exam trap
CISA often tests the phase where follow-up occurs; the trap is assuming that planning or fieldwork automatically addresses prior findings, but the dedicated follow-up phase is specifically for tracking remediation.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Follow-up
Follow-up is the audit phase specifically designed to address previously reported findings, including material weaknesses, to verify whether management has remediated them. ISACA standards require auditors to perform follow-up procedures to determine the status of prior findings. Therefore, the unremediated material weakness should be addressed during follow-up.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Reporting
Why it's wrong here
Reporting communicates findings to stakeholders; it does not track or remediate unresolved weaknesses. Follow-up is the phase that verifies whether prior-year findings were addressed. Reporting is tempting because the weakness appears in the report, but ISACA standards place remediation tracking in follow-up activity.
- ✗
Fieldwork
Why it's wrong here
Fieldwork gathers and tests evidence against the audit objectives; it cannot retroactively address a previously reported weakness. It is tempting because fieldwork is where control deficiencies are normally detected and documented, but remediation tracking belongs to follow-up, which evaluates whether prior findings were resolved.
- ✗
Planning
Why it's wrong here
Planning scopes the current engagement and sets objectives; it does not evaluate the status of a prior year's unremediated weakness. It is tempting because planning reviews prior audit reports to inform risk assessment, but ISACA standards place remediation verification in the follow-up phase, not planning.
- ✓
Follow-up
Why this is correct
Follow-up addresses previously reported findings to verify whether management has remediated the material weakness. This satisfies the stem's constraint because ISACA standards require auditors to determine whether corrective action was implemented, escalating unresolved issues when remediation remains outstanding beyond agreed timelines.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every CISA question from scratch — 934 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official ISACA exam blueprint
This CISA practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CISA exam.