Digital governance subcommittee
Establishing clear roles, responsibilities, and decision-making processes for the use of digital technologies within an organisation is part of good IT governance for boards. This can involve defining the board's role in overseeing and managing the organization's use of digital technologies, as well as setting policies and procedures for the organization's use of digital technologies. IT governance for boards also includes evaluating and upgrading the organization's IT policies and processes on a regular basis to ensure that they stay current and effective.
Boards risk not devoting enough resources to IT governance, which can result in severe commercial and reputational damage to an organisation.
Some specific ways in which boards can support excellent IT governance inside their organisations are as follows:
Ensure that the board has a good awareness of the organization's use of digital technology, and that the digital strategy is discussed and reviewed on a regular basis.
Defining defined roles and responsibilities for the organization's use of digital technologies, including the roles of the board, the IT department, and other departments.
Creating, implementing, and reviewing policies and procedures for the organization's use of digital technology, such as guidelines for data management, security, and social media use.
Providing sufficient resources and assistance to the IT department and other teams in charge of managing the organization's use of digital technology.
Creating frameworks for IT product development, prioritisation, and technology team performance based on delivery and organisational outcomes.
With so much to cover during a board meeting, it is difficult to devote enough time to these processes, procedures, and standards to offer the board the appropriate level of trust. Boards risk not devoting enough resources to IT governance, which can result in severe commercial and reputational damage to an organisation. Your board can mitigate these risks by forming a digital governance subcommittee. This could be accomplished by broadening the scope of the Audit and Risk Committee or by forming a separate IT subcommittee.
Four benefits of an IT governance subcommittee include:
Devoting appropriate attention to cyber security threats and the efforts the organisation is taking to manage these risks.
Improving strategy and technology investment decisions for R&D or technology operations.
Creating a venue for board members and executives with IT skills to participate further.
Aligning communication between government policy decision-makers and those who carry it out within an organisation by employing tried-and-true approaches.
Contact us to begin the process of forming your subcommittee.
