Just a few years ago, organisations on both sides of the Atlantic were reeling from the shock of high profile corporate collapses, following catastrophic governance and compliance failings. The fate of Barings, Enron, and Worldcom are all too familiar. So too is the global corporate governance reform that followed, encapsulated in Sarbannes-Oxley compliance legislation, and the COSO recommendations for internal controls.

For organisational investment in IT to deliver full value, it is widely recognised that IT has to be fully aligned to business strategies, key risks have to be identified and controlled, and legislative and regulatory compliance demonstrated. IT Governance covers all of this and more, and in light of recent corporate failures and scandals, enjoys a higher profile today than ever before.