Internal and External Tech Audits: What Are They and Why Are They Important?

Close examinations are what we regularly experience in our life—be it a health check or vehicle inspection. Just like a car, any software product also needs to be thoroughly examined to make sure it is well-functioning and secure for its user. Such an inspection is called an IT audit. In this post, we explain what it means, how it should be conducted, and why it matters. Keep on reading to find valuable insights from Mad Devs.

Tech audits enhance business efficiency through software optimisation. That sounds impressive, but what particular benefits stand behind this definition? Let's consider the exact values of this procedure:

✔ Getting your software in order: Audits reveal optimization areas that improve functionality, reduce risk, and support scalable growth.

✔ Anticipating problems: An IT assessment can pinpoint weaknesses and help to anticipate and solve problems before they happen.

✔ Digging at the roots: The roots of some issues can be quite unobvious, while an auditor can provide an in-depth analysis of the project and get to the heart of the problem.

✔ Highlighting risks: Tech audits can expose a variety of risks in different parts of your software project, and knowing risks well means managing them effectively.

✔ Getting a fresh eye: By taking a fresh look at the software project, a third-party expert can identify bottlenecks that may not be visible from within.

✔ Saving time and money: Regular and timely tech audits can stave off a lot of future problems, saving you time and costs in the long run.

✔ Improving customer retention: Through a tech audit, you can enhance the quality of your software, thereby increasing customer loyalty and retention.

There are two perspectives that you can use for your system's checkup. The first option is you can perform an audit in-house (internal audit), and alternatively, you can hire a third-party reviewer (external audit). Needless to say, it should be an acknowledged expert in the field.

External tech audits come in handy when you lack in-house expertise or need an unbiased opinion and a fresh eye. In addition, engaging an external auditor may be necessary when you lack your own resources, for example, when your team is unavailable due to a high workload.

For Mad Devs, an internal tech audit is a must-have activity that we carry out on a regular basis. Normally, our internal audit team includes the CTO, tech leads, software architects, and senior developers. Additionally, we engage external specialists whenever we require an expert opinion or audit in an area that exceeds our competence.

A tech audit is a comprehensive review of a software project or product, involving a thorough analysis of its components, processes, and other key aspects. This procedure can be geared toward examining either a specific part of the project or a number of aspects taken together. In a tech audit, the areas of assessment can include:

A software code audit aims to check the quality, maintainability, scalability, and other key parameters of the frontend or backend code. It's essential not to confuse a code audit with a code review. Code review is a peer activity performed mainly for a certain pull/merge request. A code audit, on the other hand, involves a broader analysis that relates to the entire software project or product.

A code and maintainability audit offers a comprehensive analysis of your software’s current state, assessing not just the code itself but also how easily and cost-effectively it can be maintained, updated, and scaled over time.

This type of audit covers:

• Code structure, clarity, and maintainability
• Use of outdated or inefficient technologies and dependencies
• Scalability, extensibility, and adherence to best practices
• Existing bugs or hidden technical debt
• Opportunities for improvement that reduce long-term costs

While some fixes may require upfront investment, the audit delivers actionable recommendations that improve long-term product health, reduce future risks, and support sustainable growth.

A code review typically focuses on a specific pull or merge request. For a closer look at code review workflows, check our article "Code Review: How to Do It Properly and Reap the Benefits."

A code audit takes a broader, deeper look at the entire project or product.

An infrastructure audit is designed to assess the performance of a server, whether physical or cloud-based, that is critical to software development, deployment, and system management. Specialists examine areas such as:

• Cost-effectiveness and resource utilization
• Service availability and reliability
• Infrastructure documentation completeness
• Optimization potential of servers and associated services

For instance, Mad Devs frequently conducts detailed audits of AWS cloud infrastructure, recommending optimizations that reduce costs and enhance overall infrastructure efficiency.

Within this procedure, an auditor can examine the components of a software system and assess how well they interact with one another. It evaluates the flexibility, scalability, and efficiency of the overall software architecture, including:

• Databases and cache systems
• Services architecture (SOA and/or microservices)
• API integrations
• System components interoperability

This audit helps identify architectural bottlenecks, potential points of failure, and areas for performance enhancement.

Software integration audits assess the interactions between the software and third-party services or APIs. While a broad integration audit can evaluate multiple integrations simultaneously, specific audits can focus on a single critical integration.

For example, Mad Devs has repeatedly audited Stripe integrations, delivering valuable insights to business stakeholders, improving payment processing reliability and customer satisfaction.

A security audit aims to identify vulnerabilities and mitigate security risks such as unauthorized access, malware threats, data breaches, and cyberattacks. The audit process includes:

• Evaluating the current security measures and practices
• Identifying gaps in security controls
• Reviewing the external attack surface and tracking changes over time
• Recommending enhancements like malware protection tools, firewalls, SSL-encrypted communications

Preventive auditing helps companies avoid financial and reputational damage caused by security incidents.

At Mad Devs, we take a holistic approach to security auditing. We provide:

• Perimeter assessments to identify exposed services and misconfigurations visible from outside
• Infrastructure reviews to ensure secure configurations and up-to-date components
• Penetration testing to simulate real-world attack scenarios and evaluate system resilience

From single assessments to ongoing audits, we help you stay ahead of threats and build long-term resilience.

The success of software significantly hinges on user experience. A usability and accessibility audit ensures software is intuitive and accessible to the target user base. Common issues identified include:

• Complex or confusing onboarding processes
• Poor UI/UX design that negatively impacts user engagement
• Accessibility barriers for users with disabilities

The goal is to enhance user retention, engagement, and satisfaction.

An SEO audit evaluates how well your software or website is optimized for search engines — a key factor in attracting and converting users organically. It helps uncover technical, structural, and content-related issues that limit search visibility.

The process typically identifies:

• Broken links, missing metadata, and slow page load times
• Poor keyword usage or content structure
• Crawlability and indexing issues impacting search performance

The goal is to improve visibility in search results, increase organic traffic, and support sustainable user acquisition.

An audit can shed light on the practices, activities, and approaches established within the company regarding product delivery processes. An auditor might be asked to answer the following questions:

• Are all the required processes in place? 
• Does everyone on the team adhere to the processes? 
• Is the documentation sufficient? 
• Does the team do the reporting and time tracking properly and effectively?

Depending on the company's needs, the scope of a tech audit can be much broader. Thus, compliance audits allow companies to check the conformity of their software to all applicable licenses, standards, and regulations.

Regardless of the assessment area, the primary goal of a tech audit is to analyze a project, identify weaknesses, and determine improvements that can enhance the business's efficiency.

Tech audits may vary depending on their scope, however, they still take time and effort and should be planned well in advance. So, there are certain cases when you might need to conduct a tech audit. 

Project onboarding: The first tech audit use case is onboarding a new team in a project. When starting a project, it's important to get a complete grasp of the current project state with its ins and outs. This is not necessarily an in-depth investigation comprising such project aspects as licensing or regulatory compliance. However, all in all, an tech assessment is an essential part of the onboarding process that provides a comprehensive picture of the project under development. Additionally, an IT evaluation is essential for a project that was previously developed by a different team and had unresolved issues at the time of its transfer to a new team.

Things go wrong: Another significant reason to perform a tech audit relates to the problems that are currently occurring in the project. For example, some features are still not working, the team is missing the deadline, or the client is unhappy with the intermediate results. In such cases, an internal tech audit can remedy the situation. By auditing a project, the team can identify and eliminate roadblocks that hinder the development process.

Regular checkups: An tech audit can be carried out on a regular basis, thus becoming a company's routine. Such audits can take place once or twice a year. For example, a delivery or project manager can initiate an internal audit to evaluate the current state of the project and make sure everything is running smoothly. 

However, it is impossible to be an expert in everything, so there are cases when a company may need assistance from outside professionals. Thus, external tech auditors can conduct an information security audit or verify compliance with laws, regulations, and industry standards.

Companies often face internal challenges or limitations that indicate it's time to bring in external expertise. Here are clear signals that you may benefit from external audit services:

1. Lack of specialized expertise

Your in-house team may be highly skilled but lacks specific knowledge or experience in particular technologies, standards, or compliance frameworks required for a comprehensive audit.

2. Limited team capacity

Your internal team is already occupied with critical tasks, and there's simply not enough capacity or time to perform an extensive audit without disrupting day-to-day operations.

3. Need for an unbiased perspective

Internal teams often become too familiar with their processes and codebases. An external auditor provides a fresh, unbiased viewpoint, spotting overlooked issues or opportunities for improvement.

4. Objective evaluation required for stakeholders

Investors, executives, or other stakeholders might request an independent evaluation to objectively assess software quality, risks, and compliance.

5. Recurring issues despite internal audits

If the same problems consistently reappear despite your internal reviews, external experts can dig deeper, identify root causes, and suggest practical solutions.

As part of our consulting services at Mad Devs, we leverage our expertise to help clients thoroughly audit their code, optimize infrastructure, assess software architecture, evaluate app integrations, and streamline internal processes.

To conduct an effective tech audit, you should know the mechanics. Here are the crucial steps of the tech audit process that can help you achieve the desired result.

Clearly outline the audit's objectives and expected outcomes. Establish precisely what the audit team will examine, such as security, maintainability, performance, cost-effectiveness, compliance with legal requirements, or other critical factors. Document all intentions and expectations in a formal audit agreement to ensure alignment between auditors and the auditee.

Based on defined goals, plan out the tech audit comprehensively. Prioritize critical areas that demand attention, list the components (hardware, software, virtual technology, data assets) to be audited, and outline the methodology. Divide the audit into manageable phases, each focusing on a specific technology or aspect. Ensure past audit documentation is reviewed and attached to inform current processes.

Then, a company that's being audited should provide related documentation. Provide auditors access to all relevant materials, including:

• Source code repositories
• Infrastructure documentation
• Architectural diagrams
• API and integration specifications
• Process documentation
• Any historical audit reports

Arrange meetings between auditors and stakeholders who have a deep understanding of the software product. The objective here is to ensure the auditors have full context to conduct an accurate and meaningful evaluation.

Perform detailed analysis according to prepared checklists or criteria. This includes evaluating:

• Code quality, maintainability, and scalability
• Infrastructure efficiency and resource utilization
• Architectural coherence and flexibility
• Integration reliability and compatibility
• Security protocols and potential threats
• Compliance with internal processes and industry standards

The audit team thoroughly examines these aspects, identifies weaknesses, and notes down critical observations.

Upon completing the procedure, an auditor must produce a certain artifact that meets all the expectations set at the very beginning of the audit, such as:

• Detailed technical reports
• Issue lists with prioritization
• Improvement recommendations
• Comprehensive test results
• Strategic roadmaps for future actions

Artifacts must align with initial expectations and should clearly articulate issues, their root causes, impacts, and proposed solutions. Once the artifact is prepared, the audit team presents it to the company.

Utilize the finalized audit reports to implement positive changes within your organization. This includes:

• Upgrading or replacing ineffective tools or infrastructure components
• Providing additional training for your teams
• Enhancing internal procedures or introducing new best practices
• Improving user experience, security standards, and maintainability

Continuous follow-up ensures audit findings translate into tangible improvements, driving business efficiency and operational resilience.

These additional audit activities might be necessary depending on your audit's objectives and scope:

Option 1: Hardware and virtualization inventory

Audit and document the details of hardware used by the team, including physical servers, workstations, and network devices. Assess hardware models, performance levels, and maintenance status, noting which components require upgrades or replacements.

Additionally, evaluate virtualization resources such as virtual machines, servers, and cloud environments to ensure they’re efficient, reliable, and secure.

Option 2: Software inventory

Create a comprehensive inventory of all software tools, applications, systems, and third-party libraries utilized by your organization. Record details such as:

• Vendor/provider name
• Product name
• Version and edition
• Licensing information

This step ensures compliance, helps manage licensing costs, and identifies potential redundancies or unsupported software.

Option 3: Data audit

Assess how securely your data is managed within your software systems. Conduct a thorough evaluation of data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Identify vulnerabilities and ensure compliance with industry standards and regulations.

Review your vendors' published data protection policies to verify data privacy and security adherence, minimizing risks of breaches or data loss.

You can incorporate these additional steps as needed based on the specific requirements and focus areas of your audit.

A tech audit is a close checkup of a software project, which can embrace the whole spectrum of its elements—from the source code to the processes involved in the development and management of the project. 

During a tech audit, reviewers can detect trouble spots and hidden problems that may threaten your business efficiency. Thus, regular audits enable companies to leverage their opportunities and deliver high-quality products to their customers and end-users.

At Mad Devs, we provide in-depth tech audit services designed to uncover hidden risks, improve performance, and strengthen your product's foundation. As auditors, we always aim not just to find current issues but to identify all potential risks and solve problems proactively.

Schedule a free consultation today — let's build a stronger foundation for your tech.