What action is taken during the stage 1 audit when evaluating materiality during the audit?

During the stage 1 audit, the focus is primarily on understanding the organization and its context, along with the scope of the audit. Identifying the key processes to be audited is critical as it sets the foundation for evaluating relevant aspects of the information security management system (ISMS). By pinpointing these key processes, auditors can better orient their efforts towards areas that hold the most significance or materiality to the audit objectives.

Materiality refers to the importance or relevance of a component or aspect within the audit scope, and identifying key processes ensures that auditors concentrate on those that could materially impact the organization’s information security posture. This preliminary evaluation helps in understanding the organization's operations, potential risks, and the necessary focus areas ensuring a more effective subsequent audit.

While determining the audit duration, adjusting the plan based on the materiality of processes or assets, and assessing overall system effectiveness are all integral parts of the audit process, they follow the identification of key processes. Each of these actions is guided by the understanding of the organization's critical processes that have been identified initially.