Effectiveness of Controls in an Accounting System for Financial Institutions: perceptions of analysts, developers and users

Abstract

Information security has become essential for the protection of information in institutions. In this sense, the objective of this research is to present the perceptions of analysts, developers and users about the effectiveness of the access controls present in an Accounting System for Financial Institutions, through interviews with key people of these groups and the analysis of the documentation of the system. As for the methodological procedures, the research is classified as qualitative, descriptive and case study. The sample included analysts and developers of a large multinational company that develops business management software and system users of three Financial Institutions of relevance in the market. The results show that in the perceptions of analysts, developers and users the controls present in the Accounting System are effective, since they limit access to the system's functionalities and reports only to authorized users. Regarding the importance of information security, it was found that although institutions adopt security policies and are concerned with protecting their information, in the perceptions of analysts and developers, most users recognize the relevance of access controls only when some type of incident involving information security. The results point out that it is imperative that users of information systems understand the value of information security to practice appropriate behavior in carrying out their activities. In addition, it was verified that user perceptions can help in the formulation of more effective security policies in organizations.