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Title:

Making IT Governance Work in a Sarbanes-Oxley World

Review:

"Making IT Governance Work in a Sarbanes-Oxley World", by J. Bloem, M. van Doorm and P. Mittal, contains a wealth of information about governance of information technology in large corporations. If you are new to this topic and want a detailed discussion of the intricacies of IT governance, then this book may be for you. You will read an introduction to most of the commonly accepted frameworks for governance from KIMBIA to CoBIT to the managed scorecard. You will also read a brief overview of the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 (Sarbanes-Oxley). Despite the title, it doesn't touch much on the intricacies of Sarbanes-Oxley, but is primarily a discussion of IT governance. In this, it goes into great detail.

The preface to the book is excellent. It's a 22-page summary that will provide an insight into what constitutes good IT governance and the impact that Sarbanes-Oxley is making on corporations. In the preface, the authors introduce a theme that continues throughout the book: the role and importance that behaviour has on IT governance. This is particularly important post-Sarbanes-Oxley where a CFO and CEO can no longer rely on just 'trusting' financial accounts presented to them. Developing the right employee behaviours has a major influence on leadership and accountability within an organisation and thereby, on compliance with governance structures in the corporation.

The book is not light reading, however. It is well arranged in three inter-related sections: management, accountability and supervision. Within each section, the flow of topics is logical, but they're not well connected.

This book will also appeal more to a US audience. Some sections ('IT pushes production up but Europe lags far behind' and 'Europe does not have its statistical house in order', in particular) may even make European readers bristle.

Despite its detractions, "Making IT Governance Work" is still useful. Chapter 3, for example, includes a sound overview of some basic management principles. I like the three critical success factors for IT managers: (1) create the conditions in which IT managers can create value; (2) IT managers have to prove themselves; and (3) IT managers must deliver. Get these right and you are well on your way to successful IT governance. Chapter 7 includes a very useful description of leadership models, particularly in their relation to overseeing and managing change, an essential component of IT governance in today's world.

In a nutshell, this is a book with a great amount of valuable content, but its style detracts from its readability. Read the preface from start to finish and then dip into the rest from time to time when you have a spare 10 minutes. It's a good book for the reference shelf, if not something you'll read cover to cover.

Free Pint Reviewer:

Eldin Rammell is principal consultant and owner of Rammell Consulting, a management consulting firm specialising in records and information management. They provide a range of niche services to the business community based on the principle that the information and records that it creates, uses and retains are often critical to the efficient running of that business and its compliance with applicable regulations and legislation. As well as providing advice on business continuity and disaster recovery, Rammell Consulting advises on topics as diverse as filing and classification systems, managing email, document management systems and the development of information policies and procedures. Contact: ...

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