Ultoco Services is a subsidiary of Universal Leaf Tobacco Co. Inc., one of the world’s leading leaf tobacco merchants and processors. Ultoco Services SA, with 20 employees, provides its African subsidiaries with financial, legal, trading and shipping services, with help from Mrs Conte, in charge of administration and human resources.

Ultoco Services SA having merged with one other Universal Leaf Tobacco Co. Inc. subsidiary, it became necessary to get an accurate snapshot on the information systems infrastructure, especially about security, and to identify potential weaknesses.
Users needed to be reassured on their IT system’s integrity and also to gain access and be able to manage reporting files which had accumulated years of history.

The method has been rigorous: interviews with executives and key users, meetings with outside partners, internal documents study and a final thorough report.

The consultant “quickly understood our processes and how our business was run, he could then very easily orientate his searches, recalls F. Conte. He did his job really well, and discreetly, taking all aspects into consideration.”

The audit’s results have been presented to Ultoco Services SA management and transmitted to Universal Leaf Tobacco Co. Inc. headquarters in the USA. Later on, a new IT Security Policy Procedures was released, and most of the recommendations have been implemented while following the general head office’s policy.

“The audit’s progress has been very smooth, concludes Mrs Conte, that’s what made its success!”