COBIT^® (Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology) was developed to provide management and business process owners with an information technology (IT) governance model that helps in delivering value from IT and understanding and managing the risks associated with IT. COBIT helps bridge the gaps amongst business requirements, control needs and technical issues. It is a control model to meet the needs of IT governance and ensure the integrity of information and information systems.

Benefits of Implementing COBIT

Implementing COBIT allows for:

• Better alignment based upon a business focus
• An understandable view of IT for management
• Clear ownership and responsibilities
• General acceptability with third parties and regulators
• Shared understanding among all stakeholders based on a common language
• Fulfillment of the COSO requirements for the IT control environmen

• Strategic alignment focuses on ensuring the linkage of business and IT plans, on defining, maintaining and validating the IT value proposition, and on aligning IT operations with enterprise operations.
• Value delivery is about executing the value proposition throughout the delivery cycle, ensuring that IT delivers the promised benefits against the strategy, concentrating on optimizing costs and proving the intrinsic value of IT.
• Resource management is about the optimal investment in, and the proper management of, critical IT resources: processes, people, applications, infrastructure and information. Key issues relate to the optimization of knowledge and infrastructure.
• Risk management requires risk awareness by senior corporate officers, a clear understanding of the enterprise’s appetite for risk, transparency about the significant risks to the enterprise, and embedding of risk management responsibilities into the organization.
• Performance measurement tracks and monitors strategy implementation, project completion, resource usage, process performance and service delivery, using, for example, balanced scorecards that translate strategy into action to achieve goals measurable beyond conventional accounting.

COBIT® is a registered trademark of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), and the IT Governance Institute (ITGI)

Official COBIT Homepage