Thursday, January 18th, 2007
Reinforce your security solutions with effective processes
Over the last several years, regulatory requirements and increased public awareness of data theft or loss have motivated executive managers to take a more serious look at protecting information assets. Now that you’ve installed security technology, it might be time to review what’s been accomplished and determine how to make the most of installed solutions.
Automating PC Data Backup and Recovery - A Guided Tour
During this self-paced automated demo, you’ll learn how Iron Mountain Digital’s Connected? Backup/PC automatic PC data protection and restoration solution eliminates the risk of PC data loss through automatic PC backup for desktops and laptops.
At what price would you abandon your boss’s loyalty?
The British have come up with a monetary incentive for reporting the illegal use of software, as described in this story from News.com: “Rat on your pirate boss, win $36,000.”
EU Looks to Smooth Global Audit Vetting - Spurred by worries about overregulation that echo those of U.S. companies, the European Union is looking for ideas about how to streamline the inspection and registration of non-EU auditors working for companies listed on European exchanges.
Legal community expects Sarbanes-Oxley, executive pay reviews in coming year - The federal government may ease some of its regulations on corporate boardrooms in 2007, turning its focus instead to hedge funds, according to legal analysts.
Shareholders should hope Congress leaves teeth in Sarbox - Critics trying to build support for a rollback of corporate reform laws argue that they’re way too costly and have taken all the fun out of doing business in America. Those are lame excuses.
Citing Sarbanes-Oxley Reins, Chairman Leaves Shutterfly - Shutterfly, an online photo service, said Monday that the chairman, Jim Clark, co-founder of Web pioneer Netscape Communications, had resigned. In explaining his departure, Mr. Clark said securities regulations, and more specifically the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, had “gone too far.”
Jim Clark - Clipped Wings at Shutterfly - BusinessWeek.com talks to the famously outspoken founder of Netscape and Silicon Graphics about the burdens of Sarbanes-Oxley.
SOX Gets a Makeover - Top 10 Predictions for 2007: Law will be fixed to make IPOs less costly.
Could you produce old e-mails and IMs in the event of a lawsuit? - While the data management implications of new criminal regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 have captured a great deal of attention, recent changes to the (U.S.) Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) impose their own requirements on management of archived e-mail and other electronic transmissions.
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Tuesday, January 16th, 2007
| The Sarbox changes recommended by the Securities and Exchange Commission last month are a good start, according to many observers, but they don’t do enough. Funny that very few of those complaining go as far as to suggest additional changes. |
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Say goodbye to Sarbanes-Oxley
When the new Congress began its session last week, two familiar faces were not present: Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes and Rep. Michael G. Oxley, who are both retiring. Sarbanes, a Maryland Democrat, has served for 30 years; Oxley, an Ohio Repub-lican, for 26 — and their main legacy will be their joint attack on corporate corruption, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
The act, which was passed hastily in the wake of the Enron scandal, was surely well-intentioned. But it has proven counterproductive in the extreme, and Congress would best honor the departing lawmakers by repealing it.
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Rollback of Sarbanes-Oxley law would hurt U.S. investors Critics trying to build support for a rollback of corporate reform laws argue that they’re way too costly and have taken all the fun out of doing business in America. Those are lame excuses.
The latest rant comes from Shutterfly Inc. chairman Jim Clark. He said he is leaving the online photo company because the Sarbanes-Oxley law has taken reform “too far” and was crimping his ability to lead the way he wanted.
Next time he reads about another company swept up in the stock-options backdating scandal or hears of increased fraud in foreign financial markets, then maybe he’ll wake up to the benefits of reform.
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ALL BUSINESS: Sarbanes-Oxley Is a Must (AP via Yahoo! Asia News)
Critics trying to build support for a rollback of corporate reform laws argue that they’re way too costly and have taken all the fun out of doing business in America.
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Friday, January 12th, 2007
01/11/2007 - ITA Chicago - 12:00 p.m.
Supporting Corporate Compliance Roundtable Series
What every IT Professional Needs to Know: Alignment of a Disaster Recovery plan to the Compliance requirement
It is my hope that our attendees found value at the latest Compliance Management Roundtable session. Special thanks to Lisa DuBrock for leading our January group though the complex issues of Aligning current IT contingency plans to Compliance requirements. Her candid and honest discussion on IT goals, Finance concerns, benefits of leveraging CobiT, what SOX really means to the CIO, etc… were “eye-opening” to many IT Professionals in attendance. Lisa has graciously provided us with a copy of her Slide Presentation
It is our goal to facilitate these ITA sessions to discover the common Compliance Management issues, problems, solutions and related news for the membership. The February 2007 Roundtable session will provide a wider overview to the Sarbanes Oxley Act, plus how your IT Department may already be 80% compliant – allowing IT to lead the rest of the Corporation forward towards successful and cost-effective Compliance Management for the SMB market. Stay tuned to the blog and the ITA website for more details.
Our interactive Roundtable format is always a great way for you to participate by sharing your ideas and being able to ask the experts! Please see the meeting notes below, and feel free to add your comments about last Thursdays session to our blog.
- LF Gibson
ABOUT JANUARY’s SESSION: A detailed, tested disaster recovery plan is becoming an increasingly important component for a company to demonstrate regulatory compliance. Being able to prove that your company not only can show that they have a back-up plan, but tested restoration plans is integral to the demonstration of compliance. We will discuss using the CobiT framework and how disaster recovery relates to your compliance requirements as well as potential pitfalls. The Radian Group presents a free industry discussion for IT Management professionals and those dealing with the issues of Compliance Management for SMBs – both those companies that are publicly held and those considering IPO strategies in the future.
Many ideas and experiences will be shared from industry experts to help turn these challenges into opportunities. IT departments continue to be under pressure to support more and more of the ever growing Corporate Compliance requirements being placed on their organizations – this session offers a way for them to get control over the audit and be a hero to the boardroom when meeting those challenges.
The Radian Group is a Naperville based IT Services firm specializing in Information Technology Solutions.
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