7.30 AM
I like to get into our office in the Brisbane CBD bright and early so that I can set myself up well for the day. I use this time to plan what I will be working on and my focus for different clients. Coming into the office is a great opportunity to talk to my teammates and ask any questions I may have, but I also like to take advantage of the early start and plan my day. I usually sit in the office’s collaboration zones because it allows me to ask my managers more direct, quick questions about anything without disrupting the others around me.
7.45 AM
I’m currently working on 2 clients – the Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) and CITEC. DTMR is responsible for the driver’s license system, car registrations, and traffic fines. CITEC is the Queensland Government's primary information and communication technology (ICT) services provider and delivers whole-of-government and agency-specific services. I generally only work with a maximum of 2 different clients at once because this is a level that I am comfortable with. Each of the audits has something unique about them, and this always makes my work interesting. Due to the size of the information systems (IS) audit team, there is always something engaging to do.
I spend my morning documenting the operational side of DTMR, such as how it performs disaster recovery. I managed to complete most of this before my first meeting of the day.
9.00 AM
I have a meeting scheduled with DTMR to discuss the high-level network design of its systems. I find that having regular meetings helps to build rapport with clients and make sure we’re communicating at the same level. Today I learned about how it has designed its network architecture to limit access from other systems. I really enjoy finding out more about all the clients and their systems, because I have a passion for learning and a natural curiosity as to how things work.
9.30 AM
After the meeting, I head back to my desk to start working on planning documentation for how we will approach our IS audit. I start by examining some of DTMR’s operational policies, such as how it performs disaster recovery.
11.15 AM
Now I have my weekly meeting with one of my managers to discuss where I’m up to and what I intend to work on for the following week. These are a great opportunity to touch base, ask any questions I have, and get any guidance I might need on issues.
We have a few managers in the IS audit team, who all have their own strengths and interests. They manage the different audits and help the junior staff (like myself) to understand the significance of our findings. All the managers are super supportive and willing to help build your knowledge of how the systems work.
11.30 AM
Yesterday one of my managers provided feedback on a draft IS audit report I had written, so I started actioning it. As I’m the person completing the client work, I often draft the reports and ask for them to be reviewed. This feedback helps me improve my work for the next client I’m on and ensures I align my writing style to the manager’s. In this round of feedback, I note advice on how to simplify technical jargon into plain language, which I always appreciate because it allows my writing to be more aligned with the target audience of the report.
12.00 PM
Time for lunch! It’s important to take a break. I usually either bring in lunch from home, buy it from one of the several places nearby, or eat out with my team.
We are spoilt with options around the office, so I ended up buying a Japanese curry from a restaurant that’s a 5-minute walk. It’s my go-to when I don’t bring my lunch in.
12.30 PM
After lunch, I get to work preparing for a client meeting I have on Monday. In this meeting, I’ll ask the client what its processes are surrounding terminating users in the system, why some settings are set the way they are, and other queries to help with understanding its processes.
It’s important to be well prepared so that I can ask follow-up questions and not miss any information. I generally lead these meetings because I have done the work and know exactly what needs to be asked, but a manager also attends to ask questions and clarify information. This helps indicate to me where I have made some assumptions about the information provided to us.
I started leading most of my meetings after about a month of working at QAO. While this was daunting at first, I found it to be an effective way to learn and understand the audit, what we need to be asked, and how it fits in with the audit work.
1.30 PM
Time for another meeting! This time it’s a review meeting, where I have 30 minutes booked in with another manager to discuss the audit work I’ve completed. We’ll talk about and highlight any major issues with the system and check if there is anything I should explore further at this time.
Meetings don’t often go long, but this one did as there was a lot more to talk about than I expected. We discussed some of the issues I identified in the client’s system and the manager gave me suggestions for how to approach the audit testing and what I needed from the client to complete it.
3.00 PM
After meeting with my manager, I am left with a lot of threads to pull on and further questions I could look into. So, I spent an hour getting a high-level understanding of what we raised. This gives me a good outline of areas that I want to explore to see what I can find out and any documents or information I might need from the client.
That’s what I really like about being in the IS audit team at QAO. One, the managers are very supportive and encourage growth. If you have any questions for them about how or why you are doing something, they are more than happy to answer them. Two, there is always something new to learn and investigate. I personally have a passion for learning new things and this job helps me do that.
4.15 PM
Time to log off for the day! One of the great things about working at QAO is the flexibility. Because I start early, I get to finish early. This is a great way to balance work with everything else in your life, like tonight when I’m catching up with some friends for an online games night. It has been a long day, but I feel that I have completed a lot of work and am on track to complete the audit deadlines on time.
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