What Auditors Look for in an IT Department, IT Compliance Institute
In trying to understand what auditors look for in an IT department, having clearly defined policies and procedures based on widely accepted principles and IT best practices appears to be a good start.

Regulators Seek Comment on Expanded Examination Cycle for Certain Institutions, FDIC
Until recently, only institutions with less than $250 million in total assets could qualify for an extended 18-month on-site examination cycle. But proposed interim rules expand the range of institutions eligible for an extended 18-month on-site examination cycle to include well-capitalized and well-managed banks and savings associations with up to $500 million in total assets.

Companies Failing to Enforce Document Retention Policies, Compliance Advisor
According to a recent study, document retention and deletion polices are failing to account for corporate documents stored on hard drives which is where 80 percent of corporate documents reside.

Don’t let flood rule enforcement soak you, ABA Banking Online
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve assessed a total of more than $1 million in civil money penalties against banks in 2006 for flood insurance violations. 

Use COSO Guidance to Reduce Audit Costs, Compliance Advisor
The new COSO guidance aimed at helping smaller companies assess their internal controls in a more cost-effective manner, offers twenty basic principles that represent the fundamental concepts for achieving an effective internal control over financial reporting.

Best Practices for Enterprise Risk Management, Compliance Advisor
Each class of financial risk requires different procedures and methodologies to properly measure it and develop plans for mitigation.

Creating value: Effective risk management in financial services, PricewaterhouseCoopers
This briefing includes highlights from a survey of senior executives from over 420 financial services institutions in the Americas, Asia, and Europe on the subject of risk management.

Tough Lessons for the Subprime Market...Again, U. S. Banker
Sub-prime, interest-only, and no-doc loans accounted for 47 percent of total loans issued in 2006. With many sub-prime companies having been sold or completely shut down due to high foreclosure rates, storm clouds are gathering on the horizon with the effects on the mortgage industry and its investors yet to be seen.

Revenue Processes at Risk for Compliance Failures and Restatements, RevenueRecognition.com
According to a recent survey, 92% of public companies are forced to rely on spreadsheets to fill vital gaps in their revenue reporting processes since revenue recognition and reporting activities are not automated within financial/ERP systems.

Enterprises need strategic view of risk management, SC Magazine
Because a successful governance program is a continuous process, organizations must implement a comprehensive controls program, complete with testing, repeatability, visibility and automation.

AML Strategies May Increase Risk Factors, Bank Systems & Technology
Having data and resources distributed throughout a financial institution may make it more difficult to recognize AML risk factors, and hinder the ability of a bank to aggregate its risk monitoring.

Bankers call for updated liquidity risk management, Funds News
A report developed by a special committee of the Washington-based Institute of International Finance, an umbrella group for 340 of the world's private-sector banks, suggests increasing pressure on regulators across the world to better cooperate their policies on risk management in an effort to insulate against crises that spread from one country to another.

New SOX Section 404 auditing standards expected to be ready for 2007 audits, IT Compliance Institute
The SEC expects a new standard to be submitted by the PCAOB for review by June. Dubbed AS5, the standard is aimed at scaling the SOX Section 404 auditing requirements and is expected to benefit smaller firms and encourage auditors to use a principles-based approach.

Compliance Is Only Part of the Equation, Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal
As companies expand their operations abroad, the task of securing corporate information assets grows more complex, demanding a strategic, global policy and continued vigilance.

Oxley: I'm Not Happy with Sarbox, CFO.com
In this question-and-answer session, retired Congressman Michael Oxley discusses what went wrong with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Taking a Second Look at SOX, On Wall Street
Most have accepted the need for SOX after the disasters that were Enron and WorldCom; but many can’t help but to question the benefits or ignore the increasingly-apparent costs which have prompted powers in Washington to call for a reconsideration of SOX's imposing regulatory regime.

SEC Votes to Ease Sarbanes-Oxley Rules, Washington Post
The SEC has decided to tone down some of Sarbanes-Oxley’s ironclad rules in order to protect investors while reducing the financial record-keeping required of companies as well.

Fraud Whistleblowing on the Decline, SmartPros
At one time, employees were the industry’s primary fraud regulators, today they may feel that the illusion of support in reporting fraud is not enough, according to a recent study.

Business leaders hit SOX red tape, MarketWatch
The corporate world doesn’t hold too many Sarbanes-Oxley fans. But the latest accusations of tough regulatory systems, like SOX, playing a big part in why the U.S. is no longer seen as the world's main financial center are sure to make the Act even less popular.

Your Guide To Good-Enough Compliance, CIO.com
Noncompliance has become a fact of life given the ever-growing list of security and privacy regulations and their attending costs. This article suggests a strategy of striking the right balance of noncompliance – that is, knowing how to comply just enough rather than aspiring for full compliance – as a viable approach to navigating regulatory requirements and keeping the business afloat.

ID Theft Is Exploding In The U.S. Bank Systems & Technology
In spite of the abundance of countermeasures offered for preventing identity theft, a new Gartner study documents explosive growth of the problem which has victimized over 15 million Americans in a 12-month period.

Creating the Strategic Plan for Today's IT, Forrester Research
Today’s IT departments play an undeniable role in organizational success; but in order to continue that success, IT has to evolve and implement strategic plans that have the flexibility to move with the industry and provide long-term direction.

Threats, Compliance, and the Human Condition, IT Compliance Institute
While industry types are accustomed to focusing on risk factors that can affect their future, there is a tendency to overlook risks that are standing right in front of them. This article points out the benefits of ranking risks and building threat models that can help companies rationalize the biggest security and compliance risks they face today.

Never Lose Trust: Protect Customer Data, Better Insight for Business Decisions
Generally, customers lose faith in a business once they’ve experienced a security breach; and, in turn, executives lose faith in the security of their jobs. In order to remedy these effects, businesses must be proactive rather than reactive when dealing with customer privacy issues.

Where is the Threat? Two Views on Security, Banking Strategies
Now-a-days, everyone – consumers and executives alike – would agree that bank security threats are a major issue. In this article, a banker and a solutions provider debate whether it is external threat or internal data control that poses the greatest potential risk to banks and their customers.

IT shops take compliance seriously, Search WinIT
The recent TJX incident is simply another example of the high stakes of information security -- illustrating why there is more work, more pressure, and more responsibility for IT managers in corporations everywhere.

New virus comes disguised as IE 7 download, Network World
Just when you thought it was safe, a new virus is among us. This one, sent via e-mail, offers a link to download a test version of Internet Explorer 7, but in reality the link enables tampering with registry files to ensure the virus gets installed.

Policy and IT Controls Compliance Challenges and Solutions, TechRepublic
Although it is admittedly a taxing task, successfully achieving compliance is possible and beneficial. This article discusses the hard work compliance requires as well as the rewards it presents for executives in securing their enterprises.

Customer Data Theft Neither Random Nor Unavoidable, Bank Systems & Technology
While many believe that technology is to be blamed for the latest security concerns, Visa USA president and CEO, John Philip Coghlan, insists that staying in step with the world’s growing technology is key to fighting against fraud.