For Business Process & Applications Professionals

TechRadar™ For BP&A Professionals: Financial Management Applications, Q2 2009

Essential Business Needs Drive High Levels Of Value And Adoption

by Paul D. Hamerman, June 30, 2009

Financial management applications range from essential and ubiquitous tools for accounting and financial reporting to specialized solutions for optimizing process efficiency and cash flow. Compliance is a major requirement underlying several of the solutions, . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Topic Overview: Governance, Risk, And Compliance

by Chris McClean, April 29, 2009

Successful businesses universally strive to achieve better corporate governance, more effective measurement and management of risk, and greater assurance that compliance requirements are met. Whether or not these efforts bear the governance, risk, and . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

Look To Network Access Control (NAC) To Streamline IT Compliance

Maximize Your NAC Deployment To Aid In GLBA, HIPAA, PCI DSS, And SOX Efforts

by Robert Whiteley, February 24, 2009

Did your organization just fail an audit test, and were you, the IT manager, blamed for not keeping your infrastructure or IT operations up to snuff? The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Controls To Mitigate Spreadsheet Risk

by Scott Tiazkun, December 22, 2008

Financial business processes run on spreadsheets. The widespread usage of spreadsheets should cause concern for all enterprises. The ability to discover, assess, and control spreadsheets, however, greatly mitigates their risk and drives enterprises to . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

XBRL: Finding Purpose Beyond Regulatory Reporting

by Scott Tiazkun, November 10, 2008

In the US, eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is promoted largely through the efforts of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is currently pending guidelines for reporting of annual and quarterly financial statements. But once . . .

For Infrastructure & Operations Professionals

How To Stay Compliant When Times Are Tough

Best Practices: IT Control Testing, Reporting, And Integration

by Simon Yates, October 24, 2008

In the midst of an economic downturn that seems at least partly caused by inadequate enforcement of regulations, the demand for IT controls is increasing. IT professionals must monitor an ever-expanding array of IT assets and track their compliance to . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Preparing For New SEC Reporting Guidelines

Financial Reporting Goes Interactive

by Scott Tiazkun, October 23, 2008

Corporate finance and IT need to prepare now for new financial reporting guidelines. In tandem, they need to devise how the enterprise will create interactive data reports that satisfy the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Acting as an enforcer, . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Best Practices: IT Control Testing, Reporting, And Integration

by Marc Othersen, October 2, 2008

Control testing and reporting are the foundations of IT compliance, while integration is critical for sustainability. To uncover best practices for IT control testing, reporting, and integration, Forrester spoke with companies from a variety of industries . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Case Study: North American Manufacturer Links IT Controls To Business Impacts

by Marc Othersen, August 28, 2008

A North American manufacturer struggled with meeting an executive mandate for quarterly IT controls testing in a financially responsible manner. Its solution was to categorize IT controls based on business impact and use the categorizations to set IT . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Tax Risk Management: An Inconvenient Truth

Making The Connection Between Tax Processes And Risk Management

by Scott Tiazkun, July 16, 2008

Most enterprises face a growing tax burden and audit risk, yet many are not stepping up efforts to automate tax processes and reduce tax risk factors. Finance and risk professionals must pursue risk management and enterprise tax automation concurrently . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Best Practices: Maintaining An IT Control Framework

by Marc Othersen, April 9, 2008

Properly maintaining an IT control framework is the first step toward achieving a sustainable IT compliance program. To uncover best practices for maintaining an IT control framework, Forrester spoke with companies from a variety of industries having . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Case Study: A North American Financial Institution Centralizes Global IT Controls

by Marc Othersen, April 9, 2008

A North American financial institution struggled to maintain consistency of IT controls and their implementation within a globally distributed IT environment. Its solution was to create a central IT control library whose contents are derived from six . . .

For Security & Risk Professionals

Case Study: A North American Manufacturer Leads The IT Governance Charge

by Marc Othersen, April 9, 2008

A North American manufacturer struggled to establish a governance structure that would provide the necessary input to maintain an IT control framework. Its solution was to create a cross-function committee with representation from IT, legal, internal . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Software 2006: Momentum Will Shift To Controls Optimization

by Paul D. Hamerman, March 9, 2006

Although Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance software was underutilized in the initial crisis-driven compliance cycle for Section 404, today many large companies are investing in it to make the process more sustainable and efficient. The market for SOX-related . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance 2006: Taking Internal Controls To The Next Level

by Paul D. Hamerman, March 9, 2006

The initial Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance cycle was a fire drill that exposed many opportunities for improvement. In 2006, companies are putting the many lessons learned into practice by adopting a more refined approach to SOX compliance. To take controls . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Controls Monitoring Solutions Gaining Momentum

Companies Seek Better Automated Capabilities For SOX Compliance

by Paul D. Hamerman, August 29, 2005

Following the wave of adoption of solutions for documenting and assessing internal controls as required by Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 and OMB Circular A-123 in the US, software for ongoing monitoring and optimization of internal controls is rapidly emerging. . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

SEC Establishes Control Of SOX 404 Requirements

by Michael Rasmussen, Paul D. Hamerman, May 26, 2005

Organizations have been under significant pressure to establish proper internal controls to meet Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) 404 requirements. The effort in response to this pressure has led many organizations to stray from the purpose and intent of SOX, which . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Governance Guidance: The Electronic Controls Library

by Jennifer Chew, Laurie M. Orlov, Liz Herbert, September 9, 2003

To respond to regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley and take control of financial performance, firms should augment manual controls and implement an electronic controls library. But which vendors can provide the best alternatives for this new app?

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Characteristics of Internal Control Software Packages for Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance

by Paul D. Hamerman, June 17, 2003

It is a good time to consider investing in internal control software for SOX 404 compliance, and the selection of this software should be aligned with compliance planning, internal control frameworks and technical infrastructure.