Statutory Audit and IT Governance

Copyright © 2003 Information Systems Audit and Control Association. All rights reserved. www.isaca.org.Statutory Audit and IT Governance“The IT audit profession, with its capabilities and standards, is part of the solution.”Erik Guldentops, CISA, CISMThere are some immediate relations one can draw withen years ago there was frankly not much talk aboutstatutory audit requirements when we look at some of thecorporate governance. Neither, to be truthful, was audit1major drivers for IT governance (see figure 1) , including:T discussed much. Today the reverse is true. The reason• Trust—With investors willing to pay significantly more foris because we tend to operate in a “plugging holes” mode,shares of well-governed enterprisesas the recent flurry of emerging audit and governance• Value—When considering the majority of enterprise marketstandards illustrates. value is in intangible assetsThese recent developments (IAASB, COSO II, Sarbanes-• Survival—When trust can vanish overnight when based onOxley, etc.) focus strongly on the system of internal control inintangibles and governance practicesresponse to recent scandals that have damaged the public trust• Assurance—With its increasing requirements for riskin financial information and corporate disclosure. It is nowtransparency and increasing focus on internal controlsmandatory for the CEOs of public corporations quoted eitherThe enormous value of information for most enterprisesin New York or London to perform a ...