ISO 27001 Information Security Audit Practice Training Course

Course overview

Finance and accounting teams process payment files, payroll data, bank details, management accounts, tax records and investor information that must remain accurate, available and restricted to authorised users. When an ISO 27001 audit is planned, internal auditors and control owners need more than familiarity with the standard: they must be able to test whether access controls, reconciliations, change approvals, supplier arrangements and incident records operate as stated. This course addresses the practical gap between reading an information security management system (ISMS) and producing evidence-based audit conclusions that management can act on.

Participants learn to plan, perform, document and report ISO 27001 internal audits using ISO 19011 audit principles and the ISO/IEC 27001:2022 clause structure. The course focuses on audit trails relevant to finance and accounting, including segregation of duties, privileged access, payment-system interfaces, data retention, spreadsheet controls, third-party processors and business continuity arrangements. Participants practise building audit criteria, sampling evidence, interviewing process owners, testing control design and operation, grading nonconformities, and writing findings that distinguish isolated errors from systemic weaknesses.

Delivery combines instructor-led explanation with a running finance-sector case study, working papers, evidence packs and structured audit simulations. Teams conduct a mock audit of a finance operations process, review records in Excel, complete an audit checklist, and present findings at a closing meeting. Each participant leaves with an adaptable ISO 27001 audit pack containing an audit programme, process-based checklist, evidence log, sampling plan, nonconformity report and corrective-action follow-up tracker.

The course suits professionals moving into ISMS internal auditing as well as experienced finance, risk and compliance staff who need a disciplined method for examining information security controls in financially sensitive processes.

Course objectives

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

• Interpret ISO/IEC 27001:2022 clauses and Annex A controls as auditable criteria for finance and accounting processes
• Build a risk-based ISO 27001 internal audit programme covering payment, payroll, close and reporting activities
• Create process-based audit checklists that test access control, segregation of duties, data handling and supplier controls
• Plan evidence sampling using populations, sample rationale, traceability and exception documentation
• Conduct structured audit interviews and corroborate statements against system records, approvals and retained evidence
• Evaluate control design and operating effectiveness using walkthroughs, reperformance and evidence triangulation
• Write objective nonconformity reports with requirement references, evidence statements, grading and corrective-action expectations
• Produce a complete audit file containing an audit plan, checklist, evidence log, findings register and follow-up tracker

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Internal Auditors — who need to test ISO 27001 controls across finance and accounting processes
• Finance Managers — who own sensitive financial data and must prepare teams for ISMS audits
• Risk and Compliance Analysts — who map regulatory, control and ISMS requirements into auditable evidence
• Information Security Analysts — who support control testing and remediate audit findings in finance systems
• Financial Controllers — who oversee close, reporting and access-control practices affecting financial information
• External Audit and Assurance Associates — who need a structured method for evaluating information-security evidence

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand the purpose of internal controls and be familiar with at least one finance or accounting process, such as accounts payable, payroll, financial close, treasury or management reporting. Basic awareness of information-security concepts—confidentiality, integrity, availability, access control, risk and incident management—is helpful. Participants should be comfortable reading policies, procedures, system reports and spreadsheet-based evidence. No prior ISO 27001 certification, lead auditor qualification, coding skill or specialist security-tool experience is required. Complete beginners should expect to spend time learning the ISO clause structure and audit terminology before progressing to evidence testing.

Training methodology

The instructor uses short clause-by-clause teaching segments followed by audit working sessions built around a finance operations case. Participants inspect policies, access extracts, approval records, supplier documents, incident logs and spreadsheet evidence; then decide what is sufficient, reliable and relevant. Small groups plan audit scopes, conduct role-play interviews, test selected controls and calibrate findings against ISO/IEC 27001:2022 criteria. Daily debriefs compare audit judgements, while the final session converts the case method into a 90-day application plan for each participant’s own audit environment.

Course outline

Day 1: ISO 27001 audit foundations for financial information

• ISMS purpose, scope and interested parties in finance operations
• ISO/IEC 27001:2022 clause structure and mandatory documented information
• Annex A control themes affecting accounting and payment environments
• Confidentiality, integrity and availability risks in financial data flows
• ISO 19011 audit principles, auditor conduct and evidence-based judgement
• First-party, second-party and certification audit distinctions
• Audit criteria, scope, objectives and process boundaries

Workshop: Participants map a procure-to-pay process, define its ISMS audit scope and identify the evidence needed to test three control objectives.

Day 2: Risk-based audit planning and evidence design

• Risk-based annual audit programme construction
• Audit universe mapping for payroll, treasury, close and reporting processes
• Linking risk treatment plans to audit priorities
• Process-based audit checklist design
• Evidence reliability, relevance, sufficiency and traceability
• Sampling methods for user access, payment approvals and change records
• Opening meeting agendas, audit plans and communication protocols

Workshop: Teams prepare an audit plan, sampling rationale and process-based checklist for a finance application access-control audit.

Day 3: Fieldwork: testing finance and accounting controls

• Walkthrough testing from transaction initiation to financial posting
• User access recertification and privileged-account evidence review
• Segregation-of-duties testing in payment and journal processes
• Spreadsheet control testing for financial reporting workbooks
• Supplier and cloud-service assurance evidence
• Change-management testing for finance-system configurations
• Interview techniques and evidence triangulation

Workshop: Participants conduct a simulated audit interview and test an evidence pack containing access reports, approval logs, spreadsheets and supplier records.

Day 4: Audit findings, reporting and corrective action

• Control design versus operating-effectiveness conclusions
• Classification of conformities, observations and nonconformities
• Writing factual evidence statements without unsupported judgement
• Referencing ISO clauses, Annex A controls and internal procedures
• Root-cause analysis using five whys and fishbone diagrams
• Corrective-action plans, ownership and target dates
• Closing meeting presentation and challenge handling

Workshop: Participants draft, peer-review and present nonconformity reports for deficiencies found in the finance case study.

Day 5: Audit follow-up and workplace application

• Corrective-action verification and closure criteria
• Tracking repeat findings and systemic control weaknesses
• Audit metrics for management review and ISMS improvement
• Reporting themes to finance leadership and information-security governance forums
• Audit-file quality review and working-paper retention
• Integrating ISO 27001 audits with internal control and financial audit cycles
• Personal 90-day ISO 27001 audit application planning

Workshop: Participants assemble a complete audit file and create a 90-day plan for applying the audit method to a live or proposed workplace process.

Tools & standards covered

ISO/IEC 27001:2022, ISO 19011:2018, Microsoft Excel, Jira

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