Independent IT audit
A clear assessment. Not a blame game.
An independent IT audit is a structured assessment of your IT infrastructure, cybersecurity posture, and governance practices. Conducted by a CISA-certified consultant using NIST-CSF, COBIT, and ISO 27001 frameworks, it delivers an executive summary and technical detail with prioritized recommendations. Factero works with your IT team, not instead of them. Environments we commonly audit: Microsoft 365, Azure, Entra ID, Google Workspace, AWS, Fortinet, SonicWall, Cisco Meraki, VMware, Hyper-V, Proxmox, Veeam, Acronis, Datto.
Who is it for?
Management teams (CEO, CFO, board) that need to make decisions without a clear picture.
Growing SMEs whose IT has never been audited.
Organizations that want to know the real health of their IT infrastructure — without waiting for an incident to find out.
Municipalities, MRCs, townships and public bodies that want an independent picture before renewing a contract or after an incident. Factero Advisory Services is registered on the SEAO (Quebec) and the Ontario Tenders Portal (Ontario).
When does it help?
If you recognize yourself in any of these situations, this service is designed for you.
- You've never had a complete picture of your IT environment — you don't know exactly what's in place or whether it's healthy.
- IT costs are rising and you want to understand why — not just what you're paying, but what you actually have and whether it matches your needs.
- You've come out of an incident and want to know if your entire environment is healthy — not just whether the immediate fixes were applied.
- You're approaching a major renewal and want a complete picture of your environment — not just an analysis of the provider.
- You're in an acquisition, merger, or divestiture process and need an independent IT picture for due diligence.
- You have a new CEO or CFO who wants to understand the IT environment before making decisions.
- Your cyber insurer is requesting an independent validation of your IT or security posture.
- A key employee left without leaving documentation and you're navigating in the dark — accesses, configurations, past decisions.
What will you receive?
Factual findings: what we observed, and what we couldn't confirm.
Prioritized risks.
Action options, in logical order.
Report format adapted to your governance — executive summary or technical detail depending on the audience, or both.
Positive findings are documented alongside gaps — a complete audit is an honest picture, not a list of problems. What's working well is part of the result.
Not a good fit?
- An audit rests on the collaboration of the teams in place — IT, management, providers. We understand that's not always easy to orchestrate, and that some internal situations are delicate. If resistance is anticipated, we don't leave you to navigate that alone — we address the situation together and discuss solutions that work for you. If your need is more targeted — a specific question, a quote to validate, a defined problem — the SME offer may be the right starting point, without having to mobilize the whole organization. If the audit is primarily meant to meet an insurer's requirement, we discuss it during the discovery call — to make sure our approach matches exactly what's being asked of you.
How does the process work?
A rigorous and transparent approach, step by step.
Information gathering
We collect relevant information from your team, providers, and systems.
On-site verification
We verify what can be verified. We work with your IT team, not instead of them.
Analysis and prioritization
We structure analysis using recognized industry frameworks — NIST-CSF first, complemented by COBIT and ISO 27001 depending on scope. Prioritization is based on actual impact to your organization, not a generic template. The principal associate is certified CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) — ISACA.
Report and presentation
We produce an executive summary and technical detail. The IT team reviews the report before the final version.
Post-report follow-up
We remain available after the assessment to support implementation with your team or provider.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions our clients ask before reaching out.
Will it disrupt our operations?
No, an IT audit conducted by Factero is designed to minimize disruption to your daily operations. We plan each step with your IT team, coordinate access in advance, and avoid any risky actions on production systems. The process follows NIST-CSF and COBIT best practices, and most of the work — document collection, interviews, configuration analysis — runs in parallel with your regular activities. Any hands-on technical checks are scheduled outside critical business hours. In practice, most teams experience no noticeable interruption throughout the entire engagement.
How will our provider react?
It depends on the provider, but in most cases the reaction is positive. Factero's role is not to disqualify your provider — it is to objectively validate the situation using NIST-CSF and COBIT frameworks. If the relationship is healthy and practices are solid, the audit confirms it in writing. If adjustments are needed, we document them with facts, without judgment. Most good providers have no problem with an independent outside review — it gives them credibility too. Our charter of independence guarantees that every assessment is neutral and fact-based.
Is it confidential?
Yes, every audit mandate conducted by Factero is governed by a formal confidentiality agreement in favor of the client, signed before any work begins. No information — findings, analyzed documents, or access obtained — is shared with any third party, provider, or partner without your explicit written authorization, in accordance with our privacy protection policy and Law 25 requirements. The final report is delivered exclusively to the designated contact, and you decide who else may see it afterward. This standard of confidentiality applies across all our engagements, without exception.
Does the audit always conclude that we need to change providers?
No. In the majority of audit mandates completed by Factero, the existing provider is retained. Often, the real issue is not the provider itself but the framing of the relationship, the documentation of roles and responsibilities, and the formalization of service levels. The audit identifies specific gaps — for example an MSP contract without a formal service-level agreement or backups that have never been validated — and recommends targeted corrections. Our charter of independence guarantees that every recommendation is based on facts and recognized frameworks, not commercial preference.
Will the internal IT team see the report?
Yes. In an audit conducted by Factero, the internal IT team participates actively in the process and reviews the report before the final version. If a finding is factually inaccurate, we correct it. The approach, structured according to NIST-CSF and COBIT frameworks, is designed to reflect operational reality accurately — not to impose a one-sided verdict. The report separates technical findings from strategic recommendations, giving the IT team a concrete lever they can use internally. A well-run audit often helps the IT team secure budget for projects they have been requesting for a long time, backed by objective data.
Does an audit commit us to ongoing work?
No. An IT audit performed by Factero is a one-time mandate that creates no obligation of continuity or recurring engagement. If the picture is clear and you do not need follow-up, the mandate ends there. The final report includes recommendations prioritized by risk level according to NIST-CSF and COBIT frameworks, which your IT team or providers can implement independently. Our charter of independence prohibits creating artificial dependency — we never recommend follow-up you do not need, and we never resell products.
What methodology do you use?
Factero uses three internationally recognized frameworks: the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (NIST-CSF) to structure risk assessment and prioritize recommendations, COBIT for IT governance and alignment of technology investments with business objectives, and ISO 27001 for information security components. The principal associate holds the CISA certification (Certified Information Systems Auditor) issued by ISACA — the international standard for information systems auditing. In practice, the approach is tailored to each organization's size and reality. We don't apply a generic 200-control checklist to a 15-employee SME. Controls are selected based on your context, your actual risks, and your investment capacity. The final report translates each finding into a concrete, prioritized action ranked by risk level.
What's the difference between an internal audit and an independent external audit?
An internal audit is performed by your own team or your IT provider — useful for day-to-day operational monitoring, but with a structural limitation: the auditor often has a direct interest in the outcome. An MSP provider auditing its own service will never conclude that it should be replaced. An independent external audit like Factero's has no connection to your providers, your operations, or your technology purchases. Our charter of independence guarantees the absence of conflict of interest: we never resell products, never accept supplier commissions, and maintain no commercial partnerships. That's what gives the report its value — management, the board of directors, or a financial partner can rely on it as an objective reference document. This independence is particularly important in due diligence contexts, procurement processes, or accountability reporting.
Can we audit just one component — for example security or budget?
Yes, an audit can be scoped to a specific component — cybersecurity, infrastructure, IT budget, business continuity, or vendor management. Factero adapts the scope to your actual need: if your priority is validating your cybersecurity posture before an MSP contract renewal, the audit focuses on that perimeter without charging you for a comprehensive assessment you don't need. In practice, the approach uses the same frameworks (NIST-CSF, COBIT, ISO 27001) as a full audit, but applied to the selected component. If during the mandate we identify concerning signals in an adjacent area — for example a backup gap discovered during a network audit — we flag it without including it in the report, unless you ask us to. The goal is to stay within your defined scope while remaining transparent about what we observe.
Who receives the report — and who can see it?
The report belongs exclusively to the client who commissioned the audit — you decide who sees it. Factero produces two versions adapted to your governance structure: an executive summary for the CEO, CFO, or board of directors, synthesizing key findings and prioritized recommendations in business language; and a detailed technical section for the internal or external IT team, with granular observations and remediation paths. If you want to share only one version depending on the recipient, that's possible — for example, delivering the technical section to your MSP without giving them access to the strategic summary. The confidentiality agreement covers the entire mandate in accordance with our privacy protection policy. No information is shared with any third party, provider, or partner without your explicit written authorization.
Can the audit be used in a transaction context — acquisition, merger, financing?
Yes, an independent IT audit is a tool commonly used in due diligence during acquisitions, mergers, or financing rounds. It allows the buyer, investor, or lender to validate the actual state of the technology infrastructure before committing — accumulated technical debt, unmitigated cybersecurity risks, critical vendor dependencies, foreseeable upgrade costs, and regulatory compliance (including Quebec's Law 25). Factero has completed IT due diligence mandates for financial firms and acquirers in merger and acquisition contexts. When the mandate is intended for due diligence, the report structure is adapted to meet third-party expectations: quantified risk summary, remediation cost estimates, and a criticality matrix. The report can be presented directly to the audit committee, legal advisors, or the investors involved.
Do you audit organizations that already have an internal IT department?
Yes — and that's often where an audit brings the most value. A competent internal IT team excels at day-to-day operations, but doesn't always have the distance needed to evaluate its own architectural decisions, or the external credibility to defend them to management or the board of directors. An independent audit by Factero confirms what's solid, identifies what deserves improvement, and gives the IT team external validation they can present to leadership. In practice, we work with the team in place, not in their place — their on-the-ground knowledge is essential for building an honest picture of the environment. Findings are shared with them before the final report is delivered to ensure operational context is faithfully reflected. The goal is never to discredit the internal team, but to offer them a structured external perspective grounded in NIST-CSF and COBIT frameworks.
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