What term describes a control designed to detect and report when errors, omissions and unauthorized uses or entries occur?

• A. Detective control
• B. Corrective control
• C. Control risk self-assessment
• D. Frequency analysis

Answer: (A)

Detective controls are designed to identify and report errors, omissions, and unauthorized uses or entries after they occur, providing visibility so you can respond quickly. They don’t prevent the incident itself, but they reveal it and often generate alerts or logs for investigation. Examples include reconciliations, exception reports, and system log monitoring. This contrasts with preventive controls, which aim to stop problems before they happen, and corrective controls, which fix issues after detection. The other options aren’t about a control type used to detect and report events—control risk self-assessment is a management activity, frequency analysis is an auditing technique, and corrective controls focus on remediation after detection.