The Sarbanes-Oxley
Act (SOX) has ushered in sweeping changes to
corporate governance, putting compliance issues
at the forefront for U.S. public companies. When
SOX was adopted in 2002, the congressional
record indicated that it was not intended to
apply to any organization other than public
companies. What initially seemed only to affect
public companies is now also having far
researching implication on corporate America as
a whole.
Our Project Team Leaders
will undertake many activities while on
assignment. Our assignments cross all business
activities and business units and require
specific technical expertise. Successful
completion of an assignment requires the right
combination of skill sets among team members.
There are three common elements that exist
within all organizations: information
technology, business processes and executive
management practices.
Information technology services and solutions
Today, these shared
services are often required by more than one
department, or process, and are delivered as a
common, or a shared solution—sometimes reaching
globally. With such a widespread reliance on IT
systems, Internal Controls are needed over all
such systems—large or small. IT Internal
Controls commonly include controls over the IT
environment, computer operations, access to
programs and data, program development, and
program changes. These Internal Controls apply
to all systems from mainframe through
client-server environments, to touchpoints like
wireless laptops and PDAs.
Business processes
Business processes are the
organization’s activities involved in creating
and delivering value to its community of
stakeholders. Inputs, processing, and outputs,
are functions of business processes.
Increasingly, businesses processes are being
automated and integrated with complex and highly
efficient IT systems and subsystems. As the
organization grows, more likely than not,
enhancements to IT systems and processes will be
required most notably in the design,
documentation, retention of control evidence and
evaluation of IT controls.
Executive management practices
Executive management
establishes and incorporates strategy into
business activities. At the enterprise or entity
level, business objectives are set, policies are
established, and decisions are made on how to
deploy and manage the resources of the
organization. As a defining point in the
evolution of a growth company, such as the
initial public offering, or even working with a
public company, process carries with it a
substantial cultural impact that is difficult
for executives to control. For example to meet
the demands of Sarbanes-Oxley Act requirements,
organizations will require a new approach to
business strategy, a new approach to technology,
and most will require a change in culture.
