Savers Surety is a large investment house that provides a wide range of investment services for its clients. For some years, Savers has been a pioneering and innovative user of a high-level programming language that has allowed its staff to interact directly with the company's centralized database. For example, investment managers have used the language to prepare various types of analyses on client portfolios or market trends.

In spite of the encouragement given to end users by management in their use of the high-level language, management has restricted use of the language in two important ways. First, users have not been permitted to download copies of the database (or sections of the database), perform update and retrieval operations and then upload the database with the data on which they have been working. Second, users have not been permitted to define new data items and store them in the database without the express permission of the data administrator.

Savers has now embarked upon a policy of providing its staff with powerful microcomputers in an attempt to improve productivity. As a consequence, top management has been under substantial pressure to relax the restrictions on downloading/uploading data and defining data because many users are now arguing the real payoffs will occur if they can work on localized copies of data and establish and maintain their own specialized, localized databases.

Required. Top management has asked Saver's DA to prepare a report outlining the costs and benefits of allowing users to upload data to and download data from the centralized database. The issue is to be considered at a forthcoming meeting of the information systems steering committee. As the internal audit manager for Savers, the DA approaches you to seek your assistance. He asks you to advise him on any concerns you have if uploading and downloading activities are permitted to go ahead. Prepare brief notes outlining the matters you will address in your report to the DA.