© John Beveridge
CobiT UpdateNSAA IT Conference
Richmond, VA
John W. BeveridgeSeptember 27, 2007
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• 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
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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
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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
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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
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• “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
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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?
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• 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
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• 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
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• 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
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• 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.
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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
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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
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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
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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?
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• 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?
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• 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
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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?
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• 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
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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
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• 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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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IT Governance Focus Areas• Strategic alignment• Value delivery• Resource
management• Risk management• Performance
measurement
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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COBIT’s View of the Definition of Control
• The Objectives and Risks become
Value Drivers and Risk Drivers in COBIT
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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.
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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.
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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
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Assurance Level
100%
Residual Risk
0%
Reasonable Assurance
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Relation to Other Control Models
CobiT is in alignment with other control models:
– COSO
– COCO
– Cadbury
– King
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Where is COBIT Today?
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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COBIT and Related Products
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Control Objectives
Framework
Control Objectives
Management Guidelines
Maturity Models
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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
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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
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Framework Update
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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
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Information Criteria -- The 1st Component
• Effectiveness
• Efficiency
• Confidentiality
• Integrity
• Availability
• Compliance
• Reliability
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IT Resources -- The 2nd Component
• Application Systems
• Information
• Infrastructure
• People
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IT Process Domains -- The 3rd Component
• Plan and Organize
• Acquire and Implement
• Deliver and Support
• Monitor and Evaluate
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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
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What Are the Main Changes?
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Plan andOrganize
Acquire andImplement
Deliver andSupport
Monitor and Evaluate
COBIT Domains: Information Processes (3rd Component)
Feedback
Feedback
Feedback
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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”
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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)
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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
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“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
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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
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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).
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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
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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
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Control Practices
Control Practices
Control Objectives
Value Drivers
Risk Drivers
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Control Design
• Necessary and sufficient steps
• Roles & responsibilities
• Characteristics
• Generic and specific practices
• Active and passive
• Input, outputs, activities
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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
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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
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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:
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IT Assurance Guide
Need for IT Governance and Assurance
The CobiT Framework
IT Assurance Approaches
How CobiT Supports IT Assurance Activities
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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
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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
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Using CobiT
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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
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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.
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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
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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?
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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?
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Interrelationships of CobiT Components
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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
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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:
Thank You