IT General Controls for Reliable Financial Reporting Using Business Intelligence Platforms

Organizations increasingly rely on business intelligence (BI) platforms like Power BI for management reporting, financial close processes, regulatory submissions, and strategic decision-making, but their outputs can only be trusted when supported by strong IT General Controls (ITGCs). From an Internal Audit perspective, key controls covering access management, change governance, data integrity, backup and recovery, security monitoring, and compliance ensure that BI reports are accurate, complete, secure, and auditable. Effective access and change management prevent unauthorized modifications, while validation, data lineage, and ETL controls maintain data integrity. Backup, disaster recovery, and continuous monitoring enhance operational resilience, and oversight ensures adherence to regulatory expectations and audit reliance. By proactively assessing ITGCs, Internal Audit strengthens confidence in analytics-driven reporting, supports informed decision-making, and enables organizations to leverage BI platforms with assurance and integrity.