When evaluating the help desk services provided by a third-party service provider which of the...

An internal auditor's primary concern in evaluating third-party help desk services is ensuring that the provider meets Service-Level Agreement (SLA) requirements, particularly regarding response times, issue resolution, and service quality.

Correct Answer (D - Whether the provider's responses and resolutions were well defined according to the SLA)

The SLA defines expected service levels, including:

Response and resolution times.

Performance metrics (e.g., first-call resolution rate).

Escalation procedures.

Compliance with contractual obligations.

The IIA Practice Guide: Auditing Third-Party Relationships states that internal auditors must assess SLA compliance as a key control in outsourcing arrangements.

Why Other Options Are Incorrect:

Option A (Whether every call was logged):

While logging all calls is good practice, the focus should be on meeting SLA requirements, not just documentation.

The IIA GTAG 7: Continuous Auditing emphasizes measuring performance, not just recording activities.

Option B (Whether a unique ID was assigned to each issue):

Issue tracking is important, but an ID alone does not guarantee service quality or SLA compliance.

Option C (Whether the provider used its own facilities):

The location of the service provider’s facilities does not impact SLA compliance.

IIA Practice Guide: Auditing Third-Party Relationships – Outlines how auditors should evaluate SLAs and vendor performance.

IIA GTAG 7: Continuous Auditing – Highlights the importance of performance measurement in outsourced services.

Step-by-Step Explanation:IIA References for Validation:Thus, ensuring the provider meets SLA-defined response and resolution times (D) is the internal auditor's greatest concern.