easyMultiple Choice
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 licences typically cost less than bespoke development, since the vendor amortises build costs across many customers; the real cost driver is configuration and integration effort. It is tempting because customisation, training and integration can inflate spend, and would be the primary risk if extensive bespoke tailoring were required.
- ✓
The software may not fully align with the organization's business processes
Why this is correct
COTS packages are built for a broad market, so their embedded workflows rarely match an organisation's specific processes. This misalignment forces costly customisation or process change, making functional fit the primary risk when replacing a bespoke legacy system.
- ✗
The software may have inherent security vulnerabilities
Why it's wrong here
Inherent vulnerabilities exist in all software, including custom-built code, and vendors usually patch faster than internal teams; the primary COTS risk is that the product cannot be modified to fit unique business processes. It is tempting because third-party code is a genuine supply-chain exposure, and would be primary if the vendor had no secure development programme.
- ✗
Vendor support may be discontinued after a few years
Why it's wrong here
Discontinued vendor support is a lifecycle concern affecting any product eventually, not a risk inherent to choosing COTS over bespoke development. It is tempting because end-of-life software genuinely creates patching and compliance exposure, and would be the primary risk if the vendor were already signalling retirement of that specific package.
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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.