IT audit: what it is and why you need one

IT audit. Many companies, whatever their industry, are investing more and more resources in technology.

Whether it’s money, time or staff, the impact technology can have on a business is becoming clearer by the day.

One of the ways you can invest better in your company is by understanding the information technology audit, also known as an IT audit, whose purpose is to check that your data and network are safe from attack. After all, this can make all the difference between a successful company and one that fails because it has lost its data.

What is an IT audit?

In general, an IT audit is an examination of an existing system, process or entity. An IT audit is a review of an organization’s IT systems, management, applications, operations, data use and other related IT processes.

What does an IT audit do?

An IT audit determines whether IT controls and protects the company’s assets, while ensuring data integrity and alignment with the company’s overall goals.

Although every audit is different, the IT audit process usually consists of four stages: planning, fieldwork, reporting and follow-up.

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Types of IT audits

There are five main types of IT audits, which fall into two categories: the general IT audit of the infrastructure and the IT audit of the applications in use. The general IT audit applies to all of an organization’s equipment and procedures, while application controls concern the applications used in the company’s work.

To dig deeper, the five types are:

1. Systems and applications: checking that systems and applications are secure at every level of activity, as well as reliable, valid and efficient.
2. Information processing facilities: checking that all processes run correctly under normal conditions and comply with GDPR and information security rules.
3. Development of systems, applications or IT infrastructure: confirming that systems under development are being built in line with the organization’s standards.
4. IT management and enterprise architecture: examining whether IT management is structured and used efficiently in terms of performance and costs.
5. Telecommunications: investigating external connections, servers and network security, to make sure they’re protected against attacks from outside.

IT audit objectives

The main objectives of an IT audit include:

• Evaluating the systems and processes currently in place to secure the company’s data.
• Identifying potential risks to the company’s information assets and finding ways to minimize them.
• Checking the security and integrity of information.
• Protecting all IT assets.
• Checking that information management processes comply with IT-specific laws, policies and standards.
• Identifying inefficiencies in the IT systems and in how they are managed.

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Why you need an IT audit

There are many reasons why an IT audit is important and why you need one.

Because so many organizations spend large sums of money on information technology to benefit from better cybersecurity and data security, they need to make sure these IT systems are reliable, secure and not vulnerable to cyberattacks.

An IT audit is crucial for any business, because it shows you whether your IT systems are properly protected and managed.

Another reason to consider an IT audit is that it pays for itself, in the sense that it will reveal exactly which services you need and which ones your company can do without. What’s more, given how quickly the technology we use evolves, an IT audit can tell you which of your systems and tools are outdated.

Watch out for shadow IT

Another important reason your company needs an IT audit is the potential for shadow IT, meaning applications and equipment used without your knowledge. This can include hardware, software, web services or cloud applications.

For example, let’s say your company uses Teams for video conferencing, and a new employee downloads Zoom without the approval of their supervisor or of anyone in the IT department.

This creates security gaps, even though many applications are harmless. Features such as file sharing, storage and collaboration can put your company’s sensitive data at risk, especially since they aren’t monitored by the security and IT departments.

The same thing happens today with artificial intelligence tools: an employee who pastes a contract or a client list into a public chatbot takes the company’s data out of its control. An IT audit shows which applications of this kind are used in the company and what data ends up in them.

What does an IT audit check in 2026?

Besides the inventory, the network and the applications, an IT audit done in 2026 checks a few risks that have become urgent in recent years:

• Systems that are out of support. Windows 10 hasn’t received free security updates since October 14, 2025, and Office 2016 and 2019 and Exchange Server 2016 and 2019 went out of support on the same day. The audit shows which computers can move to Windows 11 for free and what needs to be replaced. Details in our article on end-of-life (EOL) technologies.
• Accounts and access. Whether email and administrator accounts are protected with two-step verification, whether employees who have left still have active accounts and whether shared passwords are in use.
• Backup. Whether there’s a copy of the data outside the company network, which a ransomware attack can’t encrypt, and whether a restore has been tested recently.
• Cloud applications and AI tools. Which services employees use without the company knowing, and what company data ends up in them.
• Compliance. GDPR and, for companies covered by the NIS2 Directive (in Romania, GEO 155/2024), the risk management measures required by law.

How often should you do an IT audit?

We recommend an IT audit at least once a year and whenever the company changes: an office move, a growing headcount, a change of IT provider, an important new application or a security incident. An audit done before the annual budget shows you early on which equipment and licenses need to be replaced, so you don’t end up making emergency purchases.

How RezolvIT can help

When you use IT services from RezolvIT, all the crucial stages of an IT audit come together in a single report. The audit report will contain a complete picture of your IT infrastructure, a hardware and software inventory, recommendations on IT vulnerabilities and recommendations for improving processes or equipment.

The first IT audit is free and doesn’t commit you to signing a contract: you receive an inventory of your equipment, a list of risks and a report with concrete recommendations. The audit also gives you the exact price of an IT plan.

In the IT audit report you’ll find:

• Which applications you use, how often, and how much you spend on each of them
• All your IT service providers, invoices, renewals and GDPR compliance status, in one place
• Duplicate subscriptions and applications that do the same job

With all this information managed transparently, it’s easier than ever to manage software spending, contracts, account usage, compliance and much more.

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How we carry out an IT audit

An IT audit is usually carried out in a few steps:

• We set the objectives of the IT audit
• We draw up an audit plan to meet those objectives
• We collect data and information about all the relevant IT systems and evaluate them
• We run tests, such as data extraction or a full software analysis

During the evaluation phase, the data collected in the IT audit shows whether the information systems protect assets, maintain data integrity and work efficiently toward the company’s goals and objectives.

It’s also important that whoever carries out the IT audit checks compliance with government policies, standards, and the laws and regulations that apply to information technology and related technologies.

Knowledge is power

A successful IT audit will give you the information and data you need to make sure your infrastructure, policies and operations are all exactly where they should be.

These audits are your way of knowing that the controls in place are working to protect the company’s assets and data integrity, and that they stay in line with the company’s goals. It’s one more way to keep all your sensitive data under lock and key.

RezolvIT is an IT outsourcing company with a track record of securing and protecting its clients’ infrastructure. Whether it’s laptops, desktops, servers or mobile devices, the company adopts and proposes innovative solutions to head off the security threats that may arise. Request a free IT audit!