Accounting Information Systems: The Processes and Controls, 2nd Edition

THE CRITICAL IMPORTANCE OF IT GOVERNANCE IN AN ORGANIZATION (STUDY OBJECTIVE 8)

The establishment and use of an IT governance committee and an SDLC are critically important for an organization to accomplish IT governance. Three major purposes are served by the continual and proper use of the IT governance committee and the SDLC:

1. The strategic management process of the organization
2. The internal control structure of the organization
3. The fulfillment of ethical obligations

The manner in which the SDLC accomplishes these three purposes is described in the sections that follow.

SDLC AS PART OF STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

As discussed in the introduction of this chapter, IT systems are an extremely important resource in most organizations. IT systems improve efficiency, effectiveness, and long-term success of operations. Each organization may approach IT governance in a slightly different manner, but each organization should establish procedures for IT governance. The models presented in this chapter of an IT governance committee and a systems development life cycle are typical of IT governance. An SDLC process serves as the mechanism to continually assess the fit of IT systems to long-term strategy and short-run goals of the organization. Once the IT governance committee has identified which types of IT systems are appropriate for the organization, the SDLC becomes the mechanism to properly manage the development, acquisition, and implementation of IT systems.

SDLC AS AN INTERNAL CONTROL ...