Today's Information Systems Audits: Opportunities and Challenges An as educator with deep interest in information systems audits, I have just completed an eight-month sabbatical leave as a faculty resource in corporate audit departments. Although I worked with four Fortune 500 corporations, my major immersion was in two of these companies. Both are very large and represent complex information systems environments. Opinions expressed here are formed in large measures from the experiences with these companies and conversations I have had with information Systems audit professionals. Since this is not a systematic study, my assertions may not be representative on a larger scale. However, it is my hope that they will prompt further thoughts and possibly proactive actions. During the sabbatical, I worked as if I was a member of the audit department. Included among the projects I was assigned were Year 2000 compliance project interim audit, risk analysis of offshore software development initiatives, microcomputer software licensing, and Internet and intranet security. Throughout this time, I had a chance to observe the organization, processes, people, and culture of the information systems audit function at these corporations. I have based my observations mainly on the qualitative evidence during my sabbatical, although some of the conclusions can be quantitatively supported as well. NATURE AND RATE OF CHANGE IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Two observations have been made by many experts and both are vividly clear: non-linear change in information technology, and increasing rate of change in technology. Each is discussed in the following paragraphs. First, the change in information technology is no more liner. Increments of value produced by new technology arise from very different technologies, and not by the old ways of improving processing speed, increasing storage, or reducing unit costs. This means that even small but enterprising businesses can create value, as is...