CISA Domain 4: Systems Availability & Capacity Management

This episode is part of the CISA Domain 4 Deep-Dive Series, a structured curriculum that covers every subtopic in the 26% Information Systems Operations & Business Resilience domain. Each episode blends CISA exam reasoning with real-world audit leadership.

In Episode 28, we explore a scenario where a business-critical authentication server had perfect uptime — yet operated at dangerously high capacity for months. When demand spiked, it failed instantly. This episode reveals the difference between operational luck and resilience through proactive planning.

You’ll learn:

✔ What CISA really tests under Availability & Capacity Management

✔ Why uptime does NOT equal reliability

✔ How junior auditors view capacity vs. how audit leaders analyze trends and thresholds

✔ What evidence auditors must review: metrics, forecasting, threshold alerts, SLA performance

✔ How hidden capacity constraints create predictable failures

✔ How to evaluate operational maturity in capacity governance

This episode builds true capability in assessing operational resilience.

If you’re preparing for CISA or sharpening your audit judgment,

explore the CISA Gold Standard Series by M.G. Vance on Amazon.

📘 Amazon link: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FX526S3V⁠

We don’t just help you pass.

We prepare you to become formidable in the field.

CISA Domain 4: Shadow IT & End-User Computing

This episode is part of the CISA Domain 4 Deep-Dive Series, a structured curriculum that covers every subtopic in the 26% Information Systems Operations & Business Resilience domain. Each episode blends CISA exam reasoning with real-world audit leadership.

In Episode 27, we explore how a simple spreadsheet evolved into a critical, undocumented, untested system used for financial adjustments — invisible to IT, unsupported by change controls, and full of hidden logic. This scenario highlights the dangers of end-user tools becoming production systems without governance.

You’ll learn:

✔ What CISA really tests under Shadow IT & End-User Computing

✔ Why EUC tools become high-risk when they support critical processes

✔ How junior auditors think vs. how audit leaders assess governance maturity

✔ What evidence auditors must review: formulas, macros, access rights, documentation

✔ How to identify ungoverned systems that silently shape business decisions

✔ How to evaluate risk and recommend migration to supported platforms

This episode is foundational for mastering operational and governance risks in Domain 4.

If you’re preparing for CISA or sharpening your audit judgment,

explore the CISA Gold Standard Series by M.G. Vance on Amazon.

📘 Amazon link: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FX526S3V⁠

We don’t just help you pass.

We prepare you to become formidable in the field.

CISA Domain 4: System Interfaces

This episode is part of the CISA Domain 4 Deep-Dive Series, a structured curriculum that covers every subtopic in the 26% Information Systems Operations & Business Resilience domain. Each episode blends CISA exam reasoning with real-world audit leadership.

In Episode 26, we examine a scenario where a data interface ran “successfully” — yet silently dropped hundreds of transactions due to unmapped fields. The business believed the interface was healthy because no errors appeared, even though financial data was incomplete.

You’ll learn:

✔ What CISA really tests under System Interfaces

✔ Why interfaces can succeed technically but fail functionally

✔ How junior auditors think vs. how audit leaders analyze data flow integrity

✔ What evidence auditors must review: mapping, transformations, source–target reconciliation

✔ How missing mappings, stale master data, and weak exception handling cause silent errors

✔ How to evaluate interface governance and change coordination

This episode builds deep mastery in one of the most exam-tested areas of Domain 4.

If you’re preparing for CISA or sharpening your audit judgment,

explore the CISA Gold Standard Series by M.G. Vance on Amazon.

📘 Amazon link: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FX526S3V⁠

We don’t just help you pass.

We prepare you to become formidable in the field.

CISA Domain 4: Job Scheduling & Production Automation

This episode is part of the CISA Domain 4 Deep-Dive Series, a structured curriculum that covers every subtopic in the 26% Information Systems Operations & Business Resilience domain. Each episode blends CISA exam reasoning with real-world audit leadership.

In this episode, we investigate a scenario where a critical job ran successfully — but processed zero records for two weeks because its input file never arrived. The scheduler marked the run “successful,” yet the business experienced silent data failure. This episode exposes the difference between automation and governed automation.

You’ll learn:

✔ What CISA really tests for job scheduling and automation

✔ Why processing integrity matters more than “successful” job status

✔ How junior auditors interpret batch jobs vs. how audit leaders evaluate control design

✔ The evidence auditors must review: inputs, dependencies, reconciliation, exception logs

✔ How silent failures occur in automated workflows

✔ The operational, financial, and compliance risks of missing inputs

This episode builds mastery in one of the most heavily tested Domain 4 subtopics.

If you’re preparing for CISA or sharpening your audit judgment,

explore the CISA Gold Standard Series by M.G. Vance on Amazon.

📘 Amazon link: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FX526S3V⁠

We don’t just help you pass.

We prepare you to become formidable in the field.

CISA Domain 4: IT Asset Management

This episode is part of the CISA Domain 4 Deep-Dive Series, a structured curriculum that covers every subtopic in the 26% Information Systems Operations & Business Resilience domain. Each episode blends CISA exam reasoning with real-world audit leadership.

In Episode 24, we examine a scenario where dozens of production servers existed — but none were recorded in the official CMDB. These assets were unpatched, unmonitored, unowned, and unprotected. The result: massive hidden risk despite a “complete” inventory on paper.

You’ll learn:

✔ What CISA really tests under IT Asset Management

✔ Why unknown assets are more dangerous than broken systems

✔ How junior auditors interpret inventory vs. how audit leaders evaluate accuracy

✔ What evidence auditors must review in ITAM governance

✔ How inventory gaps impact patching, monitoring, backup, and change controls

✔ How to evaluate shadow IT and lifecycle management maturity

This episode elevates your ability to perform true IT operations audits.

If you’re preparing for CISA or sharpening your audit judgment,

explore the CISA Gold Standard Series by M.G. Vance on Amazon.

📘 Amazon link: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FX526S3V⁠

We don’t just help you pass.

We prepare you to become formidable in the field.

CISA Domain 4: IT Components Deep Dive

This episode is part of the CISA Domain 4 Deep-Dive Series, a structured curriculum designed to cover every subtopic in the 26% Information Systems Operations & Business Resilience domain. Each episode blends CISA exam reasoning with real-life audit judgment and operational leadership.

In Episode 23, we explore a system that everyone depended on — yet no one fully understood. This scenario highlights the risks of undocumented architecture, unclear ownership, hidden dependencies, outdated components, and unmanaged integrations.

You’ll learn:

✔ What CISA really tests under “IT Components”

✔ How junior auditors see outages vs. how audit leaders assess architecture

✔ Why undefined ownership and missing documentation are major audit findings

✔ What evidence auditors must review for IT component analysis

✔ How to identify risks hiding in dependencies, integrations, and technical debt

✔ How systems can appear stable while being structurally fragile

This episode builds true audit judgment — the capability CISA exams reward.

If you’re preparing for CISA or sharpening your audit judgment,

explore the CISA Gold Standard Series by M.G. Vance on Amazon.

📘 Amazon link: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FX526S3V⁠

We don’t just help you pass.

We prepare you to become formidable in the field.

CISA Domain 5: Security Testing & Coverage Assurance

This episode is part of the CISA Audit Judgment Series — a structured, scenario-based learning path focused on Domains 4 and 5, the most heavily weighted sections of the CISA exam.

In this episode, we examine a scenario where penetration testing was performed — but not against the actual production system.

The test returned zero findings, not because the environment was secure, but because the wrong system was tested.

This reveals one of the most common failures in security governance: false confidence caused by incorrect testing scope.

You’ll learn:

✔ Why CISA focuses heavily on test scope, not test results

✔ How junior auditors interpret clean reports vs. how audit leaders evaluate coverage

✔ What evidence auditors must review to verify security testing maturity

✔ How to assess scope approval, asset inventory accuracy, and representativeness

✔ How CISA designs exam questions around false assurance and missing coverage

✔ The operational and governance risks of testing the wrong system

This episode teaches CISA exam reasoning and real audit leadership judgment — the essence of the CyberLex Audit Judgment Series.

If you’re preparing for CISA or sharpening your audit judgment,

explore the CISA Gold Standard Series by M.G. Vance on Amazon.

📘 Amazon link: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FX526S3V⁠

We don’t just help you pass.

We prepare you to become formidable in the field.

CISA Domain 4: Business Continuity & DR Governance

This episode is part of the CISA Audit Judgment Series — a structured learning path focused on Domains 4 and 5, the heaviest-weighted areas of the CISA exam.

In this episode, we analyze a Disaster Recovery test that was declared “successful” — even though no real failover occurred, no production data was restored, and no business validation took place. The test passed on paper, but not in reality. This scenario exposes a major gap in operational resilience maturity.

You’ll learn:

✔ Why CISA focuses on DR test evidence, not documentation

✔ Why DR tests fail despite official reports showing success

✔ How junior auditors interpret DR vs. how audit leaders evaluate capability

✔ What evidence auditors must review for DR governance

✔ How to assess RTO/RPO validation, test scope, and business involvement

✔ What CISA is actually testing in continuity and recovery questions

✔ The risks when DR tests pass on paper but fail in practice

This episode teaches CISA exam judgment and real audit leadership — the core of the CyberLex Audit Judgment Series.

If you’re preparing for CISA or sharpening your audit judgment,

explore the CISA Gold Standard Series by M.G. Vance on Amazon.

📘 Amazon link: ⁠https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FX526S3V⁠

We don’t just help you pass.

We prepare you to become formidable in the field.