hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CISA Practice Question: An IS auditor is testing the effectiveness of a…
An IS auditor is testing the effectiveness of a preventive control that rejects invalid transactions. The auditor uses a computer-assisted audit technique (CAAT) to create a set of test transactions. What is the primary risk associated with this approach?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse the risk of test transactions being processed as real (option B) with the risk of CAATs corrupting production data (option D), but corruption is a consequence of the processing error, not the direct risk of the CAAT tool itself.
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
✓
Test transactions may be processed as real transactions
The primary risk is that test transactions may be processed as real transactions if the CAAT does not properly isolate them from the production environment. This could result in unintended data corruption, financial misstatements, or operational disruptions. The auditor must ensure that test data is clearly flagged or run in a separate test environment to avoid integration with live processing.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The audit may disrupt system performance
Why it's wrong here
Performance impact is possible but usually manageable.
- ✓
Test transactions may be processed as real transactions
Why this is correct
If test data is not properly isolated, it can be accepted as actual data, causing data integrity issues.
- ✗
Test transactions may not be representative
Why it's wrong here
Representativeness is a consideration but not the primary risk of using CAAT.
- ✗
The CAAT may corrupt production data
Why it's wrong here
While possible, careful design can mitigate this; it is not the primary risk.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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.