IT Compliance and Controls

To my colleagues in the technology, audit, and security field:
The Association of Certified Fraud Examiner conference in July this year was a huge success.  For anyone in the business of attesting, securing, or managing the integrity of an organization this conference is for you.  Bottom line - the conference is a constant learning environment.  I [...]

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July 30th marked the anniversary, and among the numerous dissertations on the legislation and its one year review I caught this short news release.  The release highlights three very important points that every Executive and Practitioner should be aware of -

The Upcoming Case on the Constitutionality of SOX
The Lack of Compliance by Audit Firms
The continued [...]

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A recent article raised the point that SOX expense by companies was declining (as it should with the full adoption of AS5 across all filers and it being in place for over 6 years!), and that according to analysts that Governance expenses were on the rise and the new focus of enterprises.  Yes and not [...]

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The need for organizations to define and communicate effective policies and procedures resonates around the globe, and is strongly supported by such governance organizations to include the WTO, The World Bank, OCEG, and the OECD, to name but a few. A first, but essential, step to ensuring appropriate controls and operational efficiency is the [...]

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There are three conditions (that are in line with the ACFE Fraud Triangle) that are present where fraud exists - incentives, opportunities, and rationalizations.  These breakdown as:

Incentives - Perpetrator is under pressure or receives a benefit from action (ex: default mortgage)
Opportunity - Capability to execute fraud (ex: low possibility of detection, no controls, no monitoring)
Rationalize [...]

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