SYNOPSIS:

Information Systems (IS) auditors' participation in the systems development process is claimed to result in a better planned, better controlled, and less costly system. To date, little empirical research has been conducted to confirm that these benefits exist. This study empirically examines the effectiveness of the internal IS auditors' review of the systems development process by investigating its impacts on software maintenance.

Software maintenance, which refers to all modifications after an application system becomes operational, is estimated to cost about seventy percent of the total software life cycle costs. Increasing and uncontrolled software maintenance costs are symptoms of systems development problems. IS auditors' reviews of systems development processes may identify various problems (such as unclear user requirements, poor design, lack of controls, lack of testing, poor documentation), which are identified as causes of software maintenance difficulties.

This study examined sixty-five information systems applications in organizations. Results confirmed the effectiveness of auditors' systems development review in reducing software maintenance efforts. Among the three systems development phases: definition, construction and implementation, audit efforts in the early development phase (i.e. the definition phase) showed the most significant impact on reducing software maintenance costs and time. A cost-benefit relationship is also discussed.