TASA ID: 1302
William Shedd, a noted American Presbyterian Theologian in the 1800s, once said, “A ship is safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are for.” Almost 150 years later, modern businesses are finding the principles behind this saying still hold true. In fact, this same line of thinking can effectively be applied to many information technology (IT) projects today.
IT investments comprise over half the capital budgets of U.S. organizations, but in spite of the obvious importance placed on IT, many projects are cancelled outright, completed late, over budget, or fail to deliver the promised business capabilities and financial ROI. Given the magnitude of the resources utilized, the opportunity costs, and the risks involved, IT projects are clearly an issue that deserves executive-level attention in addition to that afforded it by the chief information officer at your company.
The planning and management of IT project investments is a material concern for those dealing with requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70: Service Organizations (SAS 70), financial forecasts, SEC reports, and other regulatory and reporting requirements. Such concerns are not limited to U.S. companies and their foreign subsidiaries since these laws and standards potentially affect companies outside the U.S. as well.