Is your IT asset management truly audit-ready on pen compliance?
The growing pressure has built up as digital transformation speeds up with asset sprawl continuing into cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments.
ISO/IEC 19770-1 provides an internationally recognized framework for establishing a standards-based IT Asset Management System (ITAMS ), which in turn would ensure that controls, accountability, and alignment with risk, cost, and compliance objectives are maintained.
But here's the catch: many organizations fail their ISO/IEC 19770-1 audits not for intentional lack but because of missing documentation, unmonitored assets, badly defined roles, and no management through life cycle processes.
This guide was developed using insights from over 100 ISO/IEC 19770-1 Lead Auditors and ITAM experts, including those affiliated with recognized certification bodies such as the Global Skill Development Council (GSDC)
📌 Clause: 5.1 – Leadership and Commitment
What’s Going Wrong:
Organizations operate with informal practices but lack a documented IT Asset Management (ITAM) policy that defines purpose, scope, and leadership intent.
Why It Matters During an Audit:
A formal policy is required by the ISO/IEC 19770-1 framework to demonstrate top management commitment and system direction. Auditors see its absence as a critical governance failure.
How to Fix It:
Real-World Result:
Provides a clear foundation for audit scope and ensures strategic alignment across all ITAM activities.
📌 Clause: 5.3 – Organizational Roles, Responsibilities, and Authorities
What’s Going Wrong:
ITAM responsibilities are vaguely shared across IT, procurement, and finance teams with no clear ownership or accountability.
Why It Matters During an Audit:
ISO/IEC 19770-1 requires defined roles for asset lifecycle, risk, inventory, and license management. Without clarity, auditors cannot verify control coverage.
How to Fix It:
Real-World Result:
Stronger accountability, faster audits, and reduced risk of asset mismanagement.
📌 Clause: 8.1 – Planning and Control of Asset Management Processes
What’s Going Wrong:
No up-to-date inventory exists for hardware or software assets. Discovery tools may be in place but unmonitored or misconfigured.
Why It Matters During an Audit:
ISO/IEC 19770-1 requires a complete, accurate inventory as the backbone of the ITAM system. Incomplete records are a major non-conformity.
How to Fix It:
Real-World Result:
Improved audit traceability, licensing accuracy, and faster incident or cost analysis.
📌 Clause: 8.2 – Lifecycle Processes
What’s Going Wrong:
Procured assets are not automatically added to the asset register, leading to untracked hardware and software.
Why It Matters During an Audit:
The ISO/IEC 19770-1 checklist expects full lifecycle traceability from acquisition to retirement. Gaps raise red flags on asset control.
How to Fix It:
Real-World Result:
Tighter compliance with contract terms and reduced software audit risk.
📌 Clause: 8.3 – Software Asset Management Controls
What’s Going Wrong:
Organizations cannot show if deployed software aligns with purchased entitlements. Shadow IT
and over-installation are common.
Why It Matters During an Audit:
License compliance is a high-risk area. Auditors assess how software use is monitored, restricted, and reconciled with contractual rights.
How to Fix It:
Real-World Result:
Reduced financial exposure from vendor audits and better control over software spending.
📌 Clause: 6.1 – Actions to Address Risks and Opportunities
What’s Going Wrong:
All assets are treated equally regardless of their business impact, value, or security posture.
Why It Matters During an Audit:
The ISO/IEC 19770-1 framework mandates risk-based prioritization. Auditors will check if critical assets receive appropriate controls.
How to Fix It:
Real-World Result:
More efficient asset protection and alignment with IT risk management practices.
📌 Clause: 8.2 – Lifecycle Processes
What’s Going Wrong:
Assets are tracked reactively with no strategy for refresh, redeployment, or secure disposal.
Why It Matters During an Audit:
ISO/IEC 19770-1 requires planned processes from acquisition through retirement. Ad hoc decisions indicate immature asset governance.
How to Fix It:
Real-World Result:
Fewer surprises, lower support costs, and improved ROI on asset investments.
📌 Clause: 7.5 – Documented Information
What’s Going Wrong:
CMDB and ITAM systems operate in silos, leading to duplicate, conflicting, or missing records.
Why It Matters During an Audit:
ISO/IEC 19770-1 encourages integration with ITSM. Unlinked data affects change, incident, and security response accuracy.
How to Fix It:
Real-World Result:
Faster incident resolution and a unified view of asset health and configuration.
📌 Clause: 9.2 – Internal Audit
What’s Going Wrong:
ITAM controls are not independently reviewed, leaving performance gaps and non-conformities unidentified.
Why It Matters During an Audit:
ISO/IEC 19770-1 certification depends on self-monitoring. A missing audit trail is seen as a breakdown in continual improvement.
How to Fix It:
Real-World Result:
Early detection of system weaknesses and improved audit preparedness.
📌 Clause: 8.2.6 – Retirement and Disposal
What’s Going Wrong:
Old devices are discarded or reused without documentation, data wiping, or chain of custody controls.
Why It Matters During an Audit:
Auditors require evidence of secure, compliant, and traceable disposal to reduce the risk of data leakage or financial loss.
How to Fix It:
Real-World Result:
Greater assurance around data protection and reduced legal or reputational exposure.
This blog covered only the first 10 of the top 100 audit failures.
To dive deeper, download the complete list of clause-based non-conformities, including:
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For organizations, it will translate compliance with ISO/IEC 19770-1 into a checkmark in IT, but from strategic compliance into responsible, accountable, and risk-informed asset management IT.
As organizations grow and change with their technology estates, the need for a proper, auditable system will go beyond certification to, ultimately, resilience and cost security, etc.
This guide took you through the more popular ISO/IEC 19770-1 Lead Auditor audit pitfalls-from policy and role omissions through inventory holes to license exposure.
Each of these nonconformities also delivers a larger message: Strong asset management is built on governance, integration, and continual validation.
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