Making IT Governance Work in a Sarbanes-Oxley World

Book excerpt: This book discusses a dilemma common to many corporation’s IT departments--the tension between top-down governance directives and the challenge to get everything properly functioning on a bottom-up basis. Making IT governance work does not simply mean adherence to an ABC of (a) going more deeply into rules, (b) implementing a framework, and (c) registering good results. Neither is this book a guide to frameworks and compliance. Its goal is to describe an entire repertoire of resources that can assist in arriving at better IT governance. Among these resources are CobiT, bottom-up governance principles such as distributed leadership constitute another, and portfolio management. This book provides a realistic governance of information and IT in corporations. The authors' view is that "new technology" can only achieve its optimum impact when it is properly managed. Money and behavior are key factors: the money that information and IT must generate and the activity and latitude of people in the organization from top to bottom. This book: Presents a clear view on the relationship of corporate governance and IT governance. Provides recent Sarbanes-Oxley history and the compliance consequences for organizations. Offers in-depth insight into IT portfolio management. Provides an overview of various IT governance opinions from such groups as Gartner, Forrester, and IT Governance Institute. Energetic, thoughtful and highly informative, this book provides a valuable and timely guide to IT governance and the complexities of IT management in an increasingly regulated world. The authors are great at focusing on the things that really matter for practitioners. The book is also very readable. Leslie P. Willcocks Professor of Technology, Work and Globalization London School of Economics