Database Systems for IT Auditors and Compliance Training Course

Course overview

IT auditors and compliance professionals are increasingly expected to test controls within complex database environments rather than rely on screenshots, policy statements, or system-owner assurances. They must determine who can access sensitive tables, whether privileged activity is logged, whether changes can bypass approval, and whether backups, encryption, retention, and recovery controls operate as designed. This course equips participants to translate database architecture and configuration evidence into defensible audit findings, risk ratings, and remediation recommendations.

Participants examine relational database components, data flows, schemas, accounts, roles, stored procedures, transaction logs, backups, replication, and interfaces with applications. They learn to scope a database audit; map data assets to regulatory obligations; inspect role-based access control; test segregation of duties; review database audit logging; assess patching, encryption, backup, and recovery controls; and use SQL queries to obtain and validate audit evidence. Coverage applies across Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle Database, and PostgreSQL environments while distinguishing platform-specific evidence sources.

The course is delivered through instructor-led demonstrations, guided SQL labs, audit workpaper reviews, and scenario-based investigations. Participants work through a simulated audit of a customer-data database, from planning and evidence requests through control testing and reporting. They leave with a reusable database audit workpaper pack containing a scoping checklist, evidence request list, control test procedures, sample SQL evidence queries, risk-and-control matrix, and a prioritised remediation report suitable for adaptation to their organisation.

It is designed for experienced IT audit, risk, compliance, and assurance practitioners who need enough technical depth to challenge database administrators and application owners constructively, without training to become full-time database administrators.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Scope a database audit using a system inventory, data classification map, and risk-based audit objective set
• Interpret database schemas, tables, views, stored procedures, transaction logs, and replication paths as audit evidence sources
• Test role-based access control and privileged access using account, role, and permission extracts
• Assess segregation-of-duties conflicts by mapping database privileges to business processes and approval controls
• Execute SQL queries to identify excessive permissions, dormant accounts, failed logins, and unapproved data changes
• Evaluate audit logging, monitoring, retention, and alerting controls against traceability requirements
• Test backup, recovery, encryption, patching, and change-management controls using documented evidence procedures
• Produce a risk-rated database audit report with findings, evidence references, root causes, and practical remediation actions

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• IT Auditors — who need to test database controls and form evidence-based audit conclusions
• IT Compliance Managers — who must demonstrate that database controls meet regulatory and internal policy obligations
• Information Security Auditors — who assess privileged access, logging, encryption, and monitoring of data stores
• GRC Analysts — who map database risks and controls to frameworks, policies, and assurance reporting
• Internal Audit Managers — who review audit quality and need consistent database testing workpapers across engagements
• Risk and Controls Specialists — who validate control design and operating effectiveness in data-intensive business systems

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience in IT audit, information security, risk, compliance, or controls testing, plus a working understanding of access control, change management, backup, and audit evidence concepts. Familiarity with relational database terms such as tables, records, primary keys, schemas, users, roles, and SQL SELECT statements is assumed. Participants should be comfortable reading simple SQL queries, but they do not need to write advanced code before attending. Database administration experience, programming experience, and prior certification in SQL Server, Oracle, PostgreSQL, or ISO/IEC 27001 are not required.

Training methodology

Instructor-led sessions explain each control domain through database diagrams, configuration examples, and audit evidence samples. Participants then use guided labs in SQL Server Management Studio, Oracle SQL Developer, and pgAdmin 4 to inspect users, permissions, logs, and backup evidence. Case studies require small groups to define audit objectives, challenge incomplete evidence, rate findings, and agree remediation actions with a simulated database owner. Each day closes with a structured workpaper activity, culminating in an individual application plan that adapts the course audit pack to a live or planned assignment.

Course outline

Day 1: Database architecture and audit scoping

• Relational database architecture: instances, databases, schemas, tables, views, and indexes
• Data flows between applications, APIs, ETL processes, warehouses, and reporting databases
• Database asset inventories and classification of personal, financial, and confidential data
• Audit objectives for confidentiality, integrity, availability, traceability, and regulatory compliance
• Risk-based scoping using critical data stores, interfaces, privileged functions, and business impact
• Database audit evidence sources including configuration exports, logs, tickets, and system catalogues
• Risk-and-control matrix construction for database environments

Workshop: Participants build a scoping memo and initial risk-and-control matrix for a simulated customer-data platform.

Day 2: Access, privileges, and segregation of duties

• Database authentication methods, service accounts, shared accounts, and external directory integration
• Users, roles, groups, grants, revokes, ownership chains, and inherited permissions
• Privileged database roles and high-risk permissions such as SYSADMIN, DBA, and superuser access
• Role-based access control testing using account and privilege extracts
• Segregation-of-duties analysis across developers, database administrators, operators, and business users
• Joiner, mover, leaver controls and periodic access recertification evidence
• SQL queries for dormant accounts, orphaned users, excessive privileges, and direct object grants

Workshop: Participants analyse account and permission extracts, run evidence queries, and document access-control exceptions in an audit workpaper.

Day 3: Logging, monitoring, and change integrity

• Database audit trails, transaction logs, error logs, and security event records
• Native auditing features in SQL Server, Oracle Database, and PostgreSQL
• Audit log completeness, timestamp integrity, retention periods, protection, and review responsibilities
• Monitoring privileged activity, failed authentication, schema changes, and bulk data extraction
• Change-management controls for database objects, stored procedures, triggers, and scheduled jobs
• Version control, deployment approvals, emergency changes, and rollback evidence
• SQL techniques for reconciling change records with database metadata and execution history

Workshop: Participants investigate an unauthorised table change by correlating database log evidence, a change ticket, and object metadata.

Day 4: Data protection, resilience, and operational controls

• Encryption at rest, encryption in transit, key management, and certificate lifecycle evidence
• Sensitive-data masking, tokenisation, row-level security, and non-production data controls
• Backup types, recovery point objectives, recovery time objectives, and restore-test evidence
• High availability, replication, failover, and their implications for audit trails and data consistency
• Database patching, vulnerability management, hardening baselines, and exception management
• Capacity, job scheduling, batch failure handling, and operational monitoring controls
• Control mapping to ISO/IEC 27001 and relevant internal data-protection requirements

Workshop: Participants assess a backup-and-encryption evidence pack, identify control gaps, and draft risk-rated recommendations.

Day 5: Integrated database audit and reporting

• Planning evidence requests and audit interviews for database administrators and application owners
• Sampling strategies for access reviews, change records, audit logs, and restore tests
• Testing control design versus operating effectiveness in database environments
• Evaluating compensating controls where native database controls are unavailable or impractical
• Writing findings with condition, criteria, cause, consequence, and corrective action
• Risk rating and remediation prioritisation for database control deficiencies
• Building a reusable database audit programme and stakeholder reporting pack

Workshop: Participants complete an end-to-end database audit case and produce an executive finding summary, detailed workpapers, and a 90-day remediation plan.

Tools & standards covered

Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio, Oracle SQL Developer, pgAdmin 4, ISO/IEC 27001

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions