Information Technology Audit: IT Asset Management across Government Ministries and Departments

The Auditor General, Mr. Charles Deguara, today presented to the Speaker of the House of Representatives the National Audit Office (NAO) report entitled “IT Asset Management across Government Ministries and Departments”. The Report sought to analyse the processes and procedures regulating the management of IT assets across the public service. The review was carried across three Ministries and two departments which included the Ministry for Economy and Industry, the Ministry for Health, the Ministry for Justice, Equality and Governance, the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and the Government Printing Press. Feedback was also sought from the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Ministry for Finance and Employment, the CIO of the Office of the Prime Minister, the Treasury and MITA.

The key recommendations made by the NAO in in this audit report, essentially were the following:

• use of a single integrated asset management system, accessible to all key stakeholders of the process, rather than placing the data on different systems which are not integrated.

• setting up of a Task Force in order to, amongst others:

• draw up an IT asset management strategy in line with current or proposed asset management framework;
• investigate the possibility of integrating the functionality of the present MITA Asset Management Solution (AMS) within the new AMS to be selected. This would ensure that the new system retains, and of course improves upon, the current functionality of the one presently in use;
• consider the viability of importing data from IT management and software licensing tools used by MITA into the proposed new Asset Management System;
• evaluate the possibility and feasibility of extending the current CFMS functionality which caters for accrual accounting requirements to include IT operational needs; and
• ensure the integration between the CFMS and any IT asset management solution which Government may opt for.

• updating of the MF circular 14/1999 which covers inventory management for Government owned assets, to ensure alignment with the definitions listed in the draft International Public Sector Accounting System (IPSAS) documents and the Government of Malta Information and Communications Technology (GMICT) Information Security policy.

• adoption of one unique asset identification number to be used by all stakeholders, as opposed to the current situation where an IT asset may be given different asset numbers depending on the inventory it is registered in.

• regular physical stock takes to reduce the possibility of discrepancies found in some of the audited sites.

• periodic asset verification by asset custodians.