© John Beveridge CobiT Update NSAA IT Conference Richmond, VA John W. Beveridge September 27, 2007

© John Beveridge

CobiT UpdateNSAA IT Conference

Richmond, VA

John W. BeveridgeSeptember 27, 2007

2© John Beveridge

• Deputy State Auditor, Commonwealth of Massachusetts• Adjunct faculty at Bentley College• Co-Chair of Commonwealth’s Enterprise Security Board• Member of Information Systems Auditing Standards

Board and Assurance Board• Member of CobiT Steering Committee, 1993-2003• International President of ISACA/F, 1994-1995 • Served as member of IT Commission, Governor’s

Commission on Computer Crime, Governor’s Commission on Computer Technology and Law, & Governor’s Task Force on E-Commerce

e-mail: [email protected]

John Beveridge, CISA, CISM, CGFM, CFE, CQA

3© John Beveridge

Authoritative, up-to-date, international set of generally accepted IT control objectives and control practices for day-to-day use by business managers and auditors.

Structured and organized to provide a powerful control model and evaluative tool

4© John Beveridge

Focuses on information having integrity, being secure, and available.

Management-oriented Supports corporate and IT governance Process-oriented Controls-based Measurement-driven Based on a Strong Foundation and Sound

Principles of Internal Control

5© John Beveridge

COBIT

Promotes an improved focus on business information requirements

Helps ensure that IT processes are defined and that responsibilities are assigned

Supports management’s efforts to demonstrate due diligence

Serves as excellent criteria for evaluation Strengthens the understanding, design,

implementation, exercise, and evaluation of internal control

6© John Beveridge

• “Right” information, to only the “right” party, in the “right” format, at the “right” time, at the “right” cost.

• Information that is relevant, reliable, secure, and available.

• Information provided by systems that have integrity by means of a well-managed and properly controlled IT environment.

Focus on Information and IT Management

7© John Beveridge

To Those Individuals Who are Interested in and Responsible for the Management and Evaluation of Information Technology

Management IT & Business Users Auditors / Advisors Academics & Students of Management and IT Legislators, Regulators, Oversight Bodies Vendors

Who is COBIT aimed at?

8© John Beveridge

• Need for better operational controls

• Importance of technology

• Risks associated with an ever changing technology environment

• Demand for recognizable value

• Need to hold senior management accountable and strengthen governance

9© John Beveridge

• Achieving sufficient value from IT to support the entity’s mission within a complex, vulnerable and ever changing environment

• Adequately managing risk with increasing IT dependence

• Effectively dealing with the scale and cost of current and future IT investments

• Protecting operations and IT resources against increasing vulnerabilities and a wide spectrum of threats

10© John Beveridge

• Being able to adequately track and measure IT performance in support of business objectives

• Obtaining adequate assurance for the integrity, security and availability of IT systems

• Being able to demonstrate due diligence in meeting IT governance objectives

11© John Beveridge

• Today, we are no longer just automating an established business process.

• Instead, we are using technology to expand business process capabilities and management decision making -- It is about IT-enabled change.

• Poorly-managed IT places the integrity, security, and availability of data and systems at risk and increases the likelihood of unrealized benefit.

12© John Beveridge

Management Issues

Difficulty of obtaining adequate assurance that operational and control objectives are being addressed and will be met

Not being sufficiently aware of the impact of technology on control assessment

Not knowing who is really responsible for system integrity, security, and availability

Having cluttered or defused points of accountability for IT processes across the organization

13© John Beveridge

Management Issues

Not recognizing that we often manage IT as if it were separate from the enterprise when in fact it is highly integrated with business operations

Uncoordinated strategic planning between business and IT operations

Outsourcing without adequate monitoring and evaluation

14© John Beveridge

Management Issues• There are a whole host of folks who pose a

real danger to IT systems Meeting privacy requirements Failing to meet regulatory or legal

requirements Having a false sense of security Achieving adequate value to support the

entity’s mission

15© John Beveridge

Management Questions Is IT well managed?

– Are we doing the right things?

– Are we doing them the best way?

– Are they being done well?

– Are we achieving desired benefits?

Is IT properly controlled? Do we exercise and can we demonstrate due

diligence? Are the information technology drivers in sync

with the agency’s mandates and business goals?

16© John Beveridge

• How do responsible managers keep the ship on course? …… keep it afloat?

• How do we achieve satisfactory results for our citizens and stake-holders?

• How do we adapt in a timely manner to “best practices” for our organization’s environment?

17© John Beveridge

• To establish and maintain course . . . and afloat Strategic and tactical planning, monitoring and

evaluation – dashboards with indicators – Disaster recovery and BCP to keep it afloat

• To achieve satisfactory results for our customers and stake-holders Measurement processes, balanced scorecard, etc.

• To adapt in a timely manner to “best practices” for our organization’s environment Benchmarking, CMM comparisons

18© John Beveridge

IT Value How do we manage to achieve acceptable IT

value? What policies, practices and assurance

mechanisms do we apply to the “right” resources to achieve value?

What guidance is there to assist management in understanding IT processes and how to achieve IT process results?

What standards should be applied to our IT environment?

How do we address governance?

19© John Beveridge

• Many organizations recognize the potential benefits of technology

• The successful organizations: Understand that IT is more than an enabler Understand and manage the risks associated

with implementing new technologies Keep a keen eye on the mission and goals, and Know where they are through measured

progress and monitoring and evaluation

Need for IT Governance Control Framework

20© John Beveridge

Organizations require a structured approach for managing these and other challenges.

Need to ensure that IT objectives are agreed to, good management controls are in place, and there is effective monitoring of performance to keep on track and avoid unexpected outcomes.

The Need for IT Governance

Keeping IT Running

Security

Value/Cost

Managing Complexity

AligningIT with Business

Regulatory Compliance

21© John Beveridge

• CobiT underscores the importance to recognize:

Optimizing value, safeguarding, and ensuring the availability of technology is an entity or senior management issue, not just an IT management issue

Business and IT goals depend on our understanding of how to dynamically apply IT, measure results, and engage IT and business process management

Requires understanding of what we want the technology to do, and how we are going to measure success

Need for IT Governance Control Framework

22© John Beveridge

COBIT: Starts from business requirements

Is process-oriented, organizing IT activities into a generally accepted process model

Identifies the major IT resources to be leveraged

Defines the management control objectives to be considered

Incorporates major international standards

Has become the de facto standard for overall control of IT

COBIT helps bridge the gaps between business risks, control needs and technical issues. It provides good practices across a domain and process framework and presents activities in a manageable and logical structure.

IT resources need to be managed by a set of naturally grouped processes. COBIT provides a framework that

achieves this objective.

COBIT Provides a Framework for IT Governance

23© John Beveridge

How Does COBIT View IT Governance?

Consists of leadership, organizational structures, and processes that ensure that IT sustains and extends the enterprise’s strategies and objectives

IT governance is the responsibility of executives and the board of directors

24© John Beveridge

IT Governance Objectives

• IT is aligned with the business and enables the business to maximize benefit

• IT resources are safeguarded and used in a responsible and ethical manner

• IT-related risks are addressed through appropriate controls and managed to minimize risk and exposure

25© John Beveridge

IT Governance

• Integrates and institutionalizes good practices to ensure that IT supports the business objectives.

• Enables the enterprise to take

advantage of its information and IT resources to maximize benefit and capitalize on opportunities.

26© John Beveridge

COBIT IT Governance

• IT is aligned with the business• IT enables the business and

maximizes benefits• IT resources are used

responsibly• IT risks are managed

appropriately

27© John Beveridge

IT Governance Focus Areas• Strategic alignment• Value delivery• Resource

management• Risk management• Performance

measurement

28© John Beveridge

IT Governance Focus Areas

• Strategic Alignment focuses on ensuring the linkage of business and IT plans; defining, maintaining and validating the IT value proposition; and aligning IT operations with enterprise operations.

• Value Delivery is about executing the value proposition throughout the delivery cycle, ensuring that IT delivers the promised benefits against the strategy, concentrating on optimizing costs and proving the intrinsic value of IT.

29© John Beveridge

IT Governance Focus Areas• Resource Management is about the

optimal investment in, and the proper management of, critical IT resources: applications, information, infrastructure and people. Key issues relate to the optimization of knowledge and infrastructure.

• Risk Management requires risk awareness by senior corporate officers, a clear understanding of the enterprise’s appetite for risk, understanding of compliance requirements, transparency about the significant risks to the enterprise and embedding of risk management responsibilities into the organization.

30© John Beveridge

IT Governance Focus Areas

• Performance Measurement tracks and monitors strategy implementation, project completion, resource usage, process performance and service delivery, using, for example, balanced scorecards that translate strategy into action to achieve goals measurable beyond conventional accounting.

31© John Beveridge

What Should Management Do?

Inquire: Ask the right questions Focus on IT’s

Alignment with the agency objectives Value delivery Risk management

Adopt an IT governance framework Focus on important IT processes and core IT

competencies Embed responsibilities for IT security and

management in the organization Measure performance and results

32© John Beveridge

To Manage and Control IT, COBIT Recommends:

• Employing fundamentals of IT governance • Understanding strategic value of IT • Understanding and managing associated

risks• Exercising appropriate frameworks of

control• Having mechanisms to provide adequate

assurance that IT governance objectives are addressed

33© John Beveridge

Agencies Need Assurance That information and systems can be

relied upon That operations are adequately controlled That information has integrity, is

protected, and will be available That due diligence and compliance with

good business practices can be demonstrated.

CobiT provides the control criteria and evaluation methodology

34© John Beveridge

CobiT is an Authoritative Source

• Built on a sound framework of control and

IT-related control practices.• Aligned with de jure and de facto standards

and regulations.• Subject to extensive review and exposure.• Aligned with control models, standards and

best practices for IT management

35© John Beveridge

COBIT’s View of the Definition of Control

Why Control Information Systems? The answer lies in the realm of what the

business wants: to accomplish and avoid

It therefore falls to the spectrum of: objectives and risks

36© John Beveridge

COBIT’s View of the Definition of Control

• The Objectives and Risks become

Value Drivers and Risk Drivers in COBIT

37© John Beveridge

Control (as defined by COBIT)

The policies, procedures, practices and organizational structures designed to provide reasonable assurance that business objectives will be achieved and that undesired events will be prevented or detected and corrected.

38© John Beveridge

To Achieve Business Objectives

To Avoid Risks, Threats and Exposures

Control (as defined by COBIT)

The policies, procedures, practices and organizational structures designed to provide reasonable assurance that

business objectives will be achieved and that undesired events will be prevented or detected and corrected.

Source: COBIT Control Objectives. P. 12.

© John Beveridge

CobiT promotes a healthy understanding about “reasonable

assurance” and “residual risk”

Knowing the acceptable levels for reasonable assurance and residual risk is a critical success factor for

designing and managing an adequate framework of control

40© John Beveridge

Assurance Level

100%

Residual Risk

0%

Reasonable Assurance

41© John Beveridge

Relation to Other Control Models

CobiT is in alignment with other control models:

– COSO

– COCO

– Cadbury

– King

42© John Beveridge

Organizations will consider and use a variety of IT models, standards and best practices. They must be understood to consider how they can be used together, with COBIT acting as the consolidator (‘umbrella’).

COBIT

ISO 9000

ISO 17799

ITIL

COSO

WHAT HOW

COBIT and Other IT Management Frameworks

SCOPE OF COVERAGE

43© John Beveridge

COBIT Cube

The COBIT framework describes how IT processes deliver the information that the business needs to achieve its objectives.

For controlling this delivery, COBIT provides three key components, each forming a dimension of the COBIT cube.

Business Requirements for Information Criteria

IT Resources

IT Processes

44© John Beveridge

COBIT: Premise

►The COBIT framework is based on the premise that IT needs to deliver the information that an enterprise requires to achieve its objectives.

i

IT Resources and Processes

Information

Business Processes

Business Objectives

provide

to

for achieving

►The COBIT framework helps align IT with the business by focusing on business information requirements and organising IT resources. COBIT provides the framework and guidance to implement IT governance.

45© John Beveridge

IT Resource Management

CobiT underscores and demonstrates that IT resources need to be managed by naturally grouped processes to provide organizations with type and quality of information required to achieve organizational objectives.

© John Beveridge

COBIT COBIT is a valuable IT governance tool that helps in the understanding and management of risks and benefits associated with information integrity, security, and availability, and the management of related technology.

47© John Beveridge

48© John Beveridge

Addresses key attributes of information produced by IT.

Links recommended control practices for IT to business and control objectives.

Provides guidance in implementing and evaluating the appropriateness of IT-related management control practices.

© John Beveridge

Where is COBIT Today?

50© John Beveridge

How is CobiT Focused? IT Governance – better coverage with governance practices Business requirements – better business to IT linkages with

cascading goals and supporting metrics Harmonization – improved integration with key practices Value Creation – extended focus on IT investment Enterprise architecture - process structure and resources Process definitions and process flows – improved

descriptions, activities, inputs and output Language and presentation – more concise in presentation,

action-oriented, control model and management guidelines are consolidated into one document

51© John Beveridge

What are the key COBIT Documents?

• Control Objectives define what needs to be done to implement an effective control structure to improve IT performance and address IT solutions and service delivery risks.

• Control Practices provides guidance on the risks to be avoided and value to be gained from implementing a control objective, and instruction on how to implement the objective.

• IT Assurance Guide provides guidance for the assurance team with a structured assurance approach linked to the COBIT framework that is understandable for business and IT professionals

52© John Beveridge

COBIT and Related ProductsCOBIT 4.1 COBIT is an IT governance framework and supporting tool set that

allows managers to bridge the gap between control requirements, technical issues and business risks.

Board Briefing on IT Governance

To help executives understand why IT governance is important, what its issues are and what their responsibility is for managing it

Information Security

Governance

To help overcome these barriers by explaining information security in business terms. It comes complete with tools and techniques to help managers uncover security-related problems

IT Governance Implementation

Guide

Provides a generic road map for implementing IT governance using the COBIT and Val IT resources

Control Practices Provide guidance on why the control objectives are worth implementing and how to implement them

IT Assurance Guide

Provides guidance on how COBIT can be used to support a variety of assurance activities together with suggested testing steps for all the IT processes and control objectives

53© John Beveridge

COBIT and Related ProductsCOBIT

QuickstartTo summarized version of the COBIT resources, focusing on the most crucial IT processes, control objectives and metrics, all presented in an easy-to-follow format to help users gain the benefits of COBIT quickly.

COBIT Security Baseline

(available 3rd quarter

2007)

To focuses on IT security risk in a way that is simple to follow and implement for everyone, from the home user or small- to medium-sized enterprise to executives and board members of larger organizations.

Val IT To provides guidance for managing an organization’s portfolio ofIT-enabled business investments and for maximizing the quality of business cases for IT-enabled business investments.

IT Control Objectives

for Sarbanes-Oxley

To provides guidance on how to ensure compliance for the IT environment based on the COBIT control objectives related to financial reporting.

Aligning COBIT, ITIL

and ISO 17799

To explain to business users and senior management the value of IT best practices and how harmonization, implementation andintegration of best practices (COBIT, ITIL and ISO/IEC 17799) may be made easier.

COBIT Mapping Series

To overview and various mappings of COBIT to other internationalguidance have been published by ITGI, such as CMM, ISO17799.

54© John Beveridge

COBIT and Related Products

55© John Beveridge

© John Beveridge

Control Objectives

Framework

Control Objectives

Management Guidelines

Maturity Models

57© John Beveridge

Focus on IT Alignment by linking Information Criteria, IT Resources and IT Goals to Business Goals

Focus on Value Delivery by using value-oriented IT goals to focus on the IT processes that are critical to deliver effectively

Focus on Risk Management by using risk-oriented IT goals to focus on the IT processes that are needed to manage risk

Focus on Resource Management by using Maturity Models to ensure there is a capability to deliver

Focus on Performance Management by using metrics and scorecards to ensure plans are on track and deviations are identified and corrected

COBIT Objectives - IT Governance Topics

58© John Beveridge

59© John Beveridge

Concise Control Objectives

PO1.2 Business-IT Alignment

Establish processes of bi-directional education and

reciprocal involvement in strategic planning to achieve

business and IT alignment and integration. Mediate

between business and IT imperatives so priorities can be

mutually agreed.

PO1.2 Business-IT Alignment

Educate executives on current technology capabilities and

future directions, the opportunities that IT provides, and

what the business has to do to capitalize on those

opportunities. Make sure the business direction to which IT

is aligned is understood. The business and IT strategies

should be integrated, clearly linking enterprise goals and IT

goals and recognizing opportunities as well as current

capability limitations, and broadly communicated. Identify

where the business (strategy) is critically dependent on IT

and mediate between imperatives of the business and the

technology, so agreed priorities can be established.

PO5.1 Financial Management Framework

Establish and maintain a financial framework to manage the

investment and cost of IT assets and services through portfolios

of IT enabled investments, business cases and IT budgets.

PO5.1 Financial Management Framework

Establish a financial framework for IT that drives budgeting and

cost/benefit analysis, based on investment, service and asset

portfolios. Maintain the portfolios of IT-enabled investment

programmers, IT services and IT assets, which form the basis for

the current IT budget. Provide input to business cases for new

investments, taking into account current IT asset and service

portfolios.

New investments and maintenance to service and asset portfolios

will influence the future IT budget. Communicate the cost and

benefit aspects of these portfolios to the budget prioritization, cost

management and benefit management processes.

CobiT 4.1 CobiT 4.0

60© John Beveridge

61© John Beveridge

62© John Beveridge

Framework Update

63© John Beveridge

COBIT FrameworkDocuments relationships among

information criteria, IT resources, and IT processes

Links control objectives and control practices to business processes and business objectives

Assists in confirming that appropriate IT processes (and practices) are in place

Facilitates evaluation and assurance methods

64© John Beveridge

Information Criteria -- The 1st Component

• Effectiveness

• Efficiency

• Confidentiality

• Integrity

• Availability

• Compliance

• Reliability

65© John Beveridge

IT Resources -- The 2nd Component

• Application Systems

• Information

• Infrastructure

• People

66© John Beveridge

IT Process Domains -- The 3rd Component

• Plan and Organize

• Acquire and Implement

• Deliver and Support

• Monitor and Evaluate

67© John Beveridge

COBIT Process Model

• Subdivides IT into four domains • 34 processes in line with the

domains• Responsibility areas of plan, build,

run and monitor, providing an end-to-end

• Enterprise architecture concepts help identify the resources essential for process success

68© John Beveridge

What Are the Main Changes?

69© John Beveridge

Plan andOrganize

Acquire andImplement

Deliver andSupport

Monitor and Evaluate

COBIT Domains: Information Processes (3rd Component)

Feedback

Feedback

Feedback

70© John Beveridge

COBIT Framework

To provide the information that the enterprise requires to achieve its objectives, the enterprise needs to invest in and manage and control IT resources using a structured set of processes in order to provide the services that deliver the required enterprise information.

Basic COBIT Principle

71© John Beveridge

CobiT Framework Helps one understand the:

relationship of controls to control objectives,

importance of focusing on control objectives and their relationship to the business organization and its business processes, and

value of managed processes and resources to attain data integrity, security and availability.

72© John Beveridge

73© John Beveridge

CobiT is Business-focused

• Business orientation is the main theme of COBIT.

• Designed to be used by IT service providers, users and auditors, and to also provide comprehensive guidance for management and business process owners.

74© John Beveridge

Business Orientation of COBIT

• Links business goals to IT goals• Provides metrics and maturity

models to measure their achievement

• Identifies the associated responsibilities of business and IT process owners.

75© John Beveridge

Business Goals

• Financial Perspective Expand market share Increase revenue Return on Investment Optimize asset utilization Manage business risks

• Customer Perspective Improve customer orientation and service Offer competitive products and service Service availability Agility in responding to changing business requirements Cost optimization of service delivery

76© John Beveridge

Business Goals

• Internal Perspective Automate and integrate the business value chain Improve and maintain business process functionality Lower process costs Compliance with external laws and regulations Transparency Compliance with internal policies Improve and maintain operational and staff productivity

• Learning and Growth Perspective Product and business innovation Obtain reliable and useful information for strategic decision

making Acquire and maintain skilled and motivated personnel

77© John Beveridge

IT Goals1. Respond to business requirements in alignment with

business strategy2. Respond to governance requirements in line with board

direction3. Ensure the satisfaction of end users with service offerings

and service levels4. Optimize the use of information5. Create IT agility6. Define how business function and control requirements

are translated in effective and efficient automated solutions

7. Acquire and maintain integrated and standardized application systems

8. Acquire and maintain and integrated and standardized infrastructure

78© John Beveridge

IT Goals9. Acquire and maintain IT skills that respond to the IT

strategy10. Ensure mutual satisfaction of third-party relationships11. Seamlessly integrate applications and technology

solutions into business processes12. Ensure transparency and understanding of IT cost,

benefits, strategy, policies and service levels13. Ensure proper use and performance of the applications

and technology solutions14. Account for and protect all IT assets15. Optimize the IT infrastructure, resources and capabilities16. Reduce solution and service delivery defects and rework17. Protect the achievement of IT objectives18. Establish clarity of business impact of risks to IT

objectives and resources

79© John Beveridge

IT Goals19. Ensure critical and confidential information is withheld from those

who should not have access to it20. Ensure automated business transactions and information exchanges

can be trusted21. Ensure IT services and infrastructure can properly resist and recover

from failures due to error, deliberate attack or disaster22. Ensure minimum business impact in the event of an IT service

disruption or change23. Make sure that IT service are available as required24. Improve IT’s cost-efficiency and its contribution to business

profitability25. Deliver projects on time and on budget meeting quality standards26. Maintain the integrity of information and processing infrastructure27. Ensure IT compliance with laws and regulations28. Ensure that IT demonstrates cost-efficient service quality,

continuous improvement and readiness for future change

80© John Beveridge

81© John Beveridge

Linking Business Goals to IT Goals

An Example:

• The business goal of increasing revenue is linked to IT goals numbers 25 and 28, which are:

• “Deliver projects on time and on budget meeting quality standards” and

• “Ensure that IT demonstrates cost-efficient service quality, continuous improvement and readiness for future change”

82© John Beveridge

83© John Beveridge

Linking IT Goals to IT Processes

Example of linking IT goals to IT processes:

• The IT goal of optimizing the use of information is linked to IT processes PO2 and DS11 (information architecture and managing data)

84© John Beveridge

85

The WATERFALL Navigation Aid --High Level Control Objectives for Each Process

The control of

which satisfy

is focusing on

Is achieved by

IT Processes

BusinessRequirements

ControlStatements

ControlPractices

High-Level Control Objective

Users satisfaction

Is measured by

86© John Beveridge

87© John Beveridge

“RACI” Chart

Identifies who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and/or Informed

Addresses considerations for points of accountability

Addresses issues of communication and desired input (who would be consulted)

Rather than titles, think of positions in terms of roles

Depending on the size of the organization or the IT function, several roles may be combined

88© John Beveridge

Primary Inputs and Outputs

CobiT identifies from where primary inputs are obtained for each process

The inputs are identifies and where they came from

Also identifies to which IT processes the process provides output to

The outputs (from the process) are identified to where they would be directed

89© John Beveridge

90© John Beveridge

Metrics

• Performance measurement is essential for IT governance.

• Requires setting and monitoring measurable objectives of what the IT processes need to deliver (process outcome) and how they deliver it (process capability and performance).

91© John Beveridge

Metrics

• Activity Goals tells us how well the process is performing– Measured by KPIs

• Process Goals tell us what IT must deliver– Measured by Key Goal indicators

• IT Goals tell us what we expect from IT– Measured by Key Goal Indicators

92© John Beveridge

93© John Beveridge

94© John Beveridge

95© John Beveridge

Use of Maturity Models

• The assessment of process capability based on the COBIT maturity models is a key part of IT governance implementation.

• Enables gaps in capability to be identified and demonstrated to management.

• Action plans can then be developed

96© John Beveridge

© John Beveridge

Control Practices

Control Practices

Control Objectives

Value Drivers

Risk Drivers

98© John Beveridge

Control Design

• Necessary and sufficient steps

• Roles & responsibilities

• Characteristics

• Generic and specific practices

• Active and passive

• Input, outputs, activities

99© John Beveridge

IT Control Practices

• Provides guidance on risks to avoided and value to be gained

• Provides detailed guidance on specific controls needed to address high-level and detailed control objectives

• Provides guidance on how, why and what to implement to improve IT performance

• Includes key elements of value and risk statements and control practices

100© John Beveridge

IT Control Practices

• Describing the different necessary and sufficient steps to achieve a control objective

• Action-oriented, enabling timely execution and measurable

• Relevant to the purpose of the control objective

• Supporting clear roles and responsibility including segregation


The benefits listed under ‘why do it’ are tangible and motivate to implement controls

The set of control practices is completecomplete (e.g. key controls) and implementation satisfies the control objective

Control practices listed are generally accepted as good business good business practicepractice

Control practices suggest sustainablesustainable solutions

The control practices are effectiveeffective in addressing the risk linked to not achieving the detailed control objective

The control practices suggest efficientefficient solutions

The wording of the control practices is conciseconcise while providing clear and unambiguous guidance on what is expected for implementation

The control practices are realisticrealistic

Control Practices Characteristics:

© John Beveridge

IT Assurance Guide

Need for IT Governance and Assurance

The CobiT Framework

IT Assurance Approaches

How CobiT Supports IT Assurance Activities


Approach

• Testing of a control approach covering 4 assurance objectives

1. Existence2. Design effectiveness3. Operating effectiveness (implemented, consistent

application and proper use)4. Design and operating efficiency (cost/benefit and

possible use of automation)• Providing 3 types of assurance guidance

Testing the suggested control design Testing control objective achievement Documenting impact of control weaknesses

IT Assurance Steps


Approach

• Tests based on a documented taxonomy of relevant assurance methods

• Enquire and confirm (via different source)• Inspect (walk-through, search, compare,

review)• Observe (confirmation is inherent)• Re-perform or re-calculate and analyze

(often based on a sample)• Automated evidence collection (sample,

trace, extract) and analyze

IT Assurance Steps




© John Beveridge1

Using CobiT


Provide Direction

Compare

Measure Performance

IT Activities Increase automation

(make the business effective) Decrease cost (make the enterprise

efficient) Manage risks (security, reliability and

compliance)

IT is aligned with the business IT enables the business and maximizes benefits IT resources are used responsibly IT-related risks are managed appropriately

Set Objectives

CobiT provides the basis for IT Governance

CobiT Links business goals to IT Goals

CobiT Framework provides a common understanding of IT’s role

CobiT IT Processes and Maturity Models focus on IT capability

CobiT KGIs and KPIs enable measurement


Using CobiT

From an organizational perspective, entities should use control models such as COSO and CobiT along with generally accepted control practices to build and exercise appropriate controls to help manage their entities.


Strong Basis for Policy Development

• Use CobiT as a basis to develop or strengthen policies and control practices

• Compare existing policies and standard procedures against CobiT

• Conduct high-level and detailed policy reviews


Using CobiT Matrices to Focus on:

• IT Functions– Their importance?– Level of performance?– Control documentation?

• Responsible Parties of IT– Performed by?– Contracted services?– Primary responsible party?

• Risk Assessment– Importance, level of risk, control documentation?


CobiT’s Evaluation Focus

What is most critical to the business? What are the CSFs? What are the risks and threats? How robust and appropriate does the

internal control structure appear? What are management’s concerns?


Risks to the Entity?

Unaware of the risks Poor understanding of CSFs Absence of KPIs No “scorecard” or basis of measurement Absence of monitoring and evaluation Weak IT control environment Unknown loss of data or system integrity


COBIT Focuses on Risk-Based Approach

• Focuses on the entity from a management perspective

• Emphasis on knowledge of the business and the technology

• Focus on assessing the effectiveness of a “combination” of controls

• Linkage between risk assessment and testing focusing on control objectives


To Address Outsourced Services

Determine whether desired processes are in place and establish accountability

Agree on levels of control, measurement and evaluation

Use CobiT to help design service contracts by identifying deliverables and responsibilities

Use CobiT for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of providers and partners


Recap: CobiT Recognizes• IT is an integral part of the organization

• IT governance is an integral part of corporate governance

• Focus on control objectives can strengthen appropriateness and use of internal controls

• Measurement is crucial to internal control

• Monitoring and evaluation are integral to a system of internal control



Interrelationships of CobiT Components


COBIT Content Diagram

CobiT and Val IT frameworks

Control Objectives

Key Management Pratices

IT Governance Implementation Guide,

2nd Edition

CobiT Control Practices 2nd Edition

IT Assurance Guide


CobiT Update

• Freely downloadable from: www.isaca.org• For questions and assistance:

John W. Beveridge 617-727-6200 x 135

Best to email me at:

[email protected]

Thank You