IT Governance - section of corporate governance , dedicated to information technology: information systems, IT projects, IT processes and IT risk. Improving corporate governance can receive an additional premium to the share price, makes it easier to attract funding.
Public companies and companies planning IPO, can reap significant benefits by using the recommendations of ITGI (IT Governance Institute) for improving its corporate governance of IT. ITGI standards often seen only as tools for IT audit, while in fact the standards CoibiT and VAL IT - are powerful instruments of corporate IT management and audit - this is just one area of ​​their possible use.

ITGI developed a set of practical guidelines and standards, including:

• Cobit 4.1 Framework - a description of control objectives, grouped into 34 IT processes, maturity models, the description of processes with inputs, outputs, objectives and implementing the process.
• VAL IT Framework - Management of results from IT investments. Planning and monitoring of investments.
• Board Briefing on IT Governance-describes the duties and responsibilities of senior management, board members and executive managers.
• IT Governance Implementation Guide using CobiT and VAL IT - structured description of the process of improving the practice of IT Governance.
• COBIT Control Practices: Guidance to Achieve Control Objectives for Successful IT Governance - Recommendations to improve the management and description of control objectives.
• IT Assurance Guide Using COBIT - a practical guide for the IT audit
• Security BaselineTM and IT Control Objectives for Sarbanes-Oxley - control objectives for the act Sorbeynsa-Oxley Act.

High-quality corporate governance of IT is more significant for the growth of shareholder value than the introduction of any information system.
Assess the level of IT governance can answer the following questions:

• Wondered whether the Board of Directors periodically issues of IT?
• Informed whether the Council regularly on IT initiatives and their status and the difficulties encountered?
• Does the Council approves the IT strategy?
• Does the Council Committee on Information Technology, which includes experts in business and IT?

Objectives for top management and members of the Board of Directors in the management of IT:

• Harnessing the power of IT to take advantage of new business models. Change existing business practices
• Managing IT costs in the context of increasing the value of information to obtain the required return on IT investment
• Risk Management global business using IT.
• Management units without the possibility of direct control.
• Business Continuity Management - the impact of IT
• The development of IT capabilities for creating and managing knowledge essential to the development of business, its growth
• Minimizing the potential damage of the company and its reputation of IT problems

Need to improve the practice of IT Governance is due to the significance of the problems faced by companies due to imperfection of IT management:

• Losses due to loss of competitiveness, damage to reputation
• Inability to assess the return on IT investment
• The failure of IT initiatives aimed at getting the benefits of innovation
• Use of discrepancies, and (or) outdated technologies
• Failure to take advantage of new technologies
• Failure of IT projects on time, over budget

Recommendations for ITGI IT Governance include the following requirements:

• Top management should participate in the committee for the development of IT strategy and related committees
• CEOs must create an organizational structure that supports the implementation of IT strategy
• CIOs must focus on business needs and be the link between IT and business
• All leaders should be involved in committees and control IT

Learn more about IT Governance can be at our seminar CobiT for managers .

On this topic

• The new version of the standard five Cobit Design (Exposure Draft)
• The new workshop, "Introduction to Cobit 4.1" for managers
• CobiT 4.0: complete Russian translation
• Portfolio management of IT projects in large companies
• CobiT online