Information Technology (IT) Governance

IT Governance and How it Helps Sustain and Extends an Organization's Strategies And Goals

IT governance refers to the accountability frameworks and decision rights used to encourage desirable conduct relating to the use of information technology. It is viewed as a system used to ensure information technology decisions take into consideration the objectives and strategies of an organization (Moeller, 2013). This aids the company to ensure that key decisions conform to corporate strategy, vision, and values. In the end, this guarantees that decisions related to information technology match organization wide objectives and strategies.

The desire to have a clear strategy of managing organizational risk and safeguarding shareholder value guides practices related to IT governance. When accountability frameworks and decision rights are emphasized, the strategic importance of IT becomes clear. This helps the company in sustaining and applying the policies that will foster its competitive advantage at all times. Therefore, IT governance ensures that the expectations are achieved and that the company mitigates the risks. IT governance is integrated in a business framework, which guides various IT initiatives (Moeller, 2013).

The role of IT auditing in meeting IT governance needs

As a critical component of a solid IT governance structure, IT auditing aids the governance functions of foresight, insight, and oversight. Since IT governance's success is measured through its ability to carry out programs appropriately and deliver services successfully, IT auditing activities must have the competency and authority to evaluate financial and program integrity, efficiency and effectiveness (Van, 2009).

Foresight: IT auditors help IT managers and the company look ahead through identifying trends and calling attention to emerging risks and challenges before they develop into crises. IT activities might highlight future challenges like from economic conditions and demographic trends. It also identifies opportunities and risks emerging from rapidly changing technology and science and changes in the economic climate. These issues tend to be the primary sources of long-term risks likely to receive low priority in terms of attention. This is because scarce resources tend to drive short-term focus on urgent issues within an organization (Van, 2009).

Oversight: IT auditors help decision-makers within a company to practice oversight by evaluating whether the company is engaged in what it is supposed to do, spending money on the right purpose and adhering to laws and regulations. Oversight-based audits ensure that policies are implemented as intended and managers implement effective controls for minimizing risks. IT auditors support the IT governance structure through verifying programs' and the company's reports of programmatic and financial performance (Van, 2009). This is achieved by testing their adherence to the company's aims and rules. In addition, audits focusing on oversight contribute towards company accountability by permitting access to performance information to relevant authorities outside and within the company.