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QuikStudy 101: IT Asset Management And Sarbanes-Oxley

I. What is Sarbanes-Oxley?
II. Why is Sarbanes-Oxley important to IT people, departments, and organizations?
III. Steps to take for compliance

Sarbanes-Oxley defined:

The Public Companies Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002, also known as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was signed into law by Congress on July 30, 2002. It was devised and introduced in response to the Enron disaster. Its purpose is to protect employees, investors, and a community from accounting errors and fraudulent practices due to inaccurate and unreliable corporate disclosures by Management and the Boards of Directors of organizations.

Sarbanes-Oxley introduced legislative changes to financial practices and corporate governance in publicly traded organizations in the United States. It defines which records are to be stored and for how long. New financial reporting has been introduced as a result of the Act, and publicly traded organizations must now hold financial certifications from outside auditing firms to be in compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley. There may be huge corporate fines placed upon non-compliant organizations and personal fines assessed upon management.

Bottom line, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act puts Corporate Officers and their Boards of Directors in a position of accountability to employees, shareholders, stakeholders, and the public. All Corporate Officers and members of the Boards of Directors of publicly traded companies must attest to the authenticity of their organization's financial and other records. And by July, 2005, private and foreign companies will also be held responsible for upholding the policies set forth in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Why do IT organizations, departments, and employees care about Sarbanes-Oxley?

Sarbanes-Oxley impacts you. Every U.S. company and all foreign companies doing business in the U.S. will be required to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley. In fact, the integrity of your organization's data and systems will be carefully examined as part of an extensive financial audit by an external firm under the Act. Your Chief Technology Officer will be responsible for compliance and attesting to the accuracy of your plan and records.

To be compliant with Sarbanes-Oxley, you need a plan.

How do you become compliant?

In addition to a typical IT Business Plan, it is recommended that IT departments work from an IT Asset Management Plan to create, maintain, and archive corporate records. When you can account for and track your company's IT assets, you will be able to successfully report on their financial impact.

Here's how you can get started:

>>Conduct an IT Asset Management Assessment
Hire an outside, accredited services provider to assess your company's IT Asset Management program. Implement any needed business discipline, asset repository, or tracking software to ensure accuracy of inventory and records.

>>Devise a plan to address any deficiencies within your IT organization
Create a document showing deficiencies, plans for improvement, dates of implementation, and responsible parties. Remember to solicit input from other departments in the organization to ensure buy-in and support of your plan.

>>Report to management
Prepare a quarterly progress report to the CTO, COO, CFO, CEO, and Board of Directors.

These are 3 easy steps you can take toward becoming Sarbanes-Oxley compliant. For more information on Sarbanes-Oxley or to find out more about Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, call James Tremblay at 603-863-4719. If it's easier, email Jim Tremblay at JamesTremblay@TekMethods.com. Jim will assist you with your technology plans so you can avoid the impact of non-compliance with The Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

TekMethods, LLC is an independent provider of IT Asset Management services based in Tampa, FL. TekMethods is a women/minority business enterprise and a member of BusinessDiversity.com. Visit www.TekMethods.com.

Resources consulted in preparation of QuikStudy101:
-www.sarbanes-oxley.com
-www.aicpa.org
-www.gartner.com