easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
CISA Practice Question: Is planning to replace its legacy accounting…
An organization is planning to replace its legacy accounting system with a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software package. Which of the following is the PRIMARY risk of using a COTS solution?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is that candidates often focus on security or vendor support as the primary risk, but the CISA exam emphasizes that the most immediate and impactful risk in COTS acquisition is the mismatch between the software's capabilities and the organization's business processes.
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
✓
The software may not fully align with the organization's business processes
The primary risk of a COTS solution is that it is designed for a broad market and may not fully align with the organization's specific business processes. This misalignment can force the organization to change its workflows or perform costly customizations, which can negate the benefits of a packaged solution and introduce project delays or failures.
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 total cost of ownership is likely to be higher than custom development
Why it's wrong here
COTS is usually cheaper than custom development.
- ✓
The software may not fully align with the organization's business processes
Why this is correct
COTS is generic; customization may be limited or costly.
- ✗
The software may have inherent security vulnerabilities
Why it's wrong here
All software has vulnerabilities; this is not unique to COTS.
- ✗
Vendor support may be discontinued after a few years
Why it's wrong here
This is a risk but not the primary one; it can be mitigated.
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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.