The Joy of SOX : Why Sarbanes-Oxley and Services Oriented Architecture May Be the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You

The Joy of SOX examines how the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), decried as a painful dampener of business agility and innovation, as well as a massive waste of money, can actually be a catalyst for badly needed change in American industry. Focusing on the critical nexus between Information Technology and business operations and the emergence of the revolutionary Service-Oriented Architecture, this book shows companies how to rise to the challenge of SOX and use the regulations as for implementing much-needed IT infrastructure changes. President Kennedy was speaking of going to the moon-a goal only slightly more ambitious, in the view of many corporate executives, than complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Hugh Taylor, corporate iconoclast par excellence, turns the prevailing view upside down as he illustrates how achieving full compliance with the spirit as well as the letter of SOX actually has the power to strengthen American business. As a catalyst for positive change, SOX challenges us to tighten operational control while maintaining strategic flexibility-not an easy task, but one that, once achieved, can bring out the best in corporate America.In this refreshingly readable book, Taylor presents a powerful case for compliance, not because it's the law but because it creates an environment that ensures a well-run business with financial information that CEOs as well as investors can rely on. It demands a new level of management effectiveness that, by its very nature, benefits the bottom line. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was passed in 2002 in response to a series of high-profile corporate scandals and requires that public companies implement internal controls over financial reporting, operations, and assets; these controls depend heavily on installing or improving information technology and business methods Written by one of the most visible personalities on the tech-biz side of the SOX discussion, this highly readable, engaging book provides a clear road map for integrating SOX compliance into the fabric of everyday IT infrastructure and business practice Shows the reader how to leverage and use service-oriented architecture (SOA), a set of technologies that enables interoperation of heterogeneous computer systems, to achieve the level of internal controls over IT that SOX mandates Pt. I. Sox Paradox. Ch. 1. The Trouble With Dexco -- Ch. 2. Agility : The Do Or Die Mandate -- Ch. 3. Ramifications Of Sox 404 -- Ch. 4. Between Sox And A Hard-coded Place -- Ch. 5. Commit To Cobit? -- Ch. 6. Cobit For Mere Mortals -- Ch. 7. The Pain Of Sox -- Pt. Ii. Thinking Outside The Sox. Ch. 8. What If? -- Ch. 9. The Technology Of Agile Compliance -- Ch. 10. The Organization Of Agile Compliance -- Ch. 11. The Walk-through -- Ch. 12. The Pay Off -- Pt. Iii. Actually Doing It -- For Real. Ch. 13. It Solutions For Agile Compliance -- Ch. 14. Sox Software -- Ch. 15. Fast Or Slow? Hugh Taylor. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 269-271) And Index. Ed Tait, CEO of DexCo, grabs his pen and signs certification documents that attest to the existence of strong internal controls at his company.