Correct : B
Audit trail or audit log comes under detective controls. Detective controls are the audit controls that are not needed to be restricted. Any
control that performs a monitoring activity can likely be defined as a Detective Control. For example, it is possible that mistakes, either
intentional or unintentional, can be made. Therefore, an additional Protective control is that these companies must have their financial results
audited by an independent Certified Public Accountant. The role of this accountant is to act as an auditor. In fact, any auditor acts as a
Detective control. If the organization in question has not properly followed the rules, a diligent auditor should be able to detect the deficiency
which indicates that some control somewhere has failed.
Answer A is incorrect. Reactive or corrective controls typically work in response to a detective control, responding in such a way as to
alert or otherwise correct an unacceptable condition. Using the example of account rules, either the internal Audit Committee or the SEC itself,
based on the report generated by the external auditor, will take some corrective action. In this way, they are acting as a Corrective or
Reactive control.
Answer C and D are incorrect. Protective or preventative controls serve to proactively define and possibly enforce acceptable
behaviors. As an example, a set of common accounting rules are defined and must be followed by any publicly traded company. Each quarter,
any particular company must publicly state its current financial standing and accounting as reflected by an application of these rules. These
accounting rules and the SEC requirements serve as protective or preventative controls.
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