Surgent's IT Systems and Data Management

Overview

Explore the critical intersections between information technology (IT) systems and data management through this specialized CPE course for accounting professionals. This session covers business resiliency and disaster recovery strategies, change management processes, and much more. Through interactive discussions and hands-on activities, participants will learn how to enhance their organization’s IT framework while ensuring robust data collection and storage. Equip yourself to oversee IT systems with confidence and reinforce data integrity and system availability.

Prerequisites

None

Objectives

• Explain internal control concepts within accounting information systems, drawing on frameworks such as COSO and COBIT, to ensure accuracy in financial reporting, and protect against unauthorized access
• Describe the key components of IT architecture and cloud computing models and deployments
• Recognize the components and functions of enterprise resource planning (ERP) and accounting information systems and describe how these systems integrate and interact within an organization
• Summarize key considerations for business resiliency, disaster recovery, continuity plans, system replication, impact analysis, and availability
• Explain the purpose of change management for internal hardware and software applications, including the associated risks and necessary documentation
• Understand data management processes, including data collection methods, storage types (data warehouse, data lake, data mart), and the data life cycle
• Analyze and utilize data for financial and operational decision-making, including examining relational databases for integrity, integrating data from various sources, and investigating business process models for improvements

Highlights

• Key components of IT architecture
• Cloud computing models and deployments
• Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems
• Business resiliency and disaster recovery planning
• Business continuity plans
• Business impact analysis
• System availability measures
• Change management for hardware and software applications
• Risks and documentation in change management
• Testing environments and conversion approaches for new information systems
• Patch management and change control policies
• Data management processes and lifecycle
• Data collection methods and storage types
• Utilizing data for financial and operational decision-making
• Examining relational databases for integrity
• Investigating business process models for improvements