Tools

The following tools were published on KnowledgeLeader this week:

Financial Policy Development Policy

According to this sample, a company’s financial policy should be created as a continuing directive, which outlines a course or method of action. The intent of these policies should be to influence and guide both present and future decision-making to be in line with the philosophy, objectives and strategic plans established by a company’s executive management in addition to compliance with regulatory reporting requirements.

Deploy and Manage Solutions: Manage Application Changes Risk and Control Matrix (RCM)

A successful risk management strategy requires a strong internal control environment. The risk control matrix (RCM) format emphasizes that strong and risk-oriented internal control environments are often optimized with automated/manual controls, depending on the situation. Mitigate security and privacy risks in alignment with your organization’s solution management and deployment needs.

IT Data Management Audit Work Program

Improve your IT resilience and security posture with our IT Data Management Audit Work Program, evaluating data management and IT audit effectiveness. By outlining specific project steps, including tactical alignment and technology leverage, the program enables assessing the effectiveness of data governance, stability and reliability within your organization.

Security Policy Review Audit Work Program

The purpose of this sample audit work program is to determine whether the right security policies exist. This audit program helps in determining the adequacy and effectiveness of security policies that govern various aspects of an organization’s IT and data handling practices. It covers a wide range of policies, including internet usage, data confidentiality, email, voicemail, personnel computer controls and social engineering, among others. 

Procurement Card Audit Work Program

Get a two sample work programs that highlight general steps organizations should follow when conducting a procurement card (p-card) process audit. Sample 1 focuses on establishing and verifying the essential components of a procurement card (p-card) program. It begins by ensuring that all users and supervisors undergo training before receiving their cards, covering responsibilities, transaction procedures, spending limits, record-keeping and handling disputed charges.

Application Audit Work Program

Get four audit program samples that can be used by organizations to evaluate and improve business unit application controls. Sample 1 focuses on a detailed audit process designed to ensure the integrity and security of application functionalities within your organization. This sample includes several critical steps, beginning with the planning phase where the audit team conducts a meeting to outline the scope, approach and timing of the audit. The fieldwork phase involves independent testing to assess the functionality, calculations and query integrity of the application.

Publications 

KnowledgeLeader has also published several publications this week.

The Sumo Strategy: Mastering Business Performance Through Effective Personnel Deployment

In the dynamic world of business, companies must adopt the strategic agility of sumo wrestlers to succeed. Just as sumo wrestlers anticipate and counter their opponents’ moves, businesses must navigate market trends and competitor strategies with precision.  In this article, we explain how the sumo strategy can foster a robust workforce and balance innovation with regulatory demands to achieve business success.

Modern Digital Product Management: Unlocking the Engine of Efficiency

Product management in today’s accelerated digital environment is a complex discipline with far-reaching impacts on organizational performance.  This article dives deeper into the key attributes (or business value) of a well-orchestrated digital product management strategy and includes a case study showing how a company used this approach to achieve significant success on several fronts.

Agentic AI: What It Is and Why Boards Should Care

“Agentic AI” describes an AI system that employs a large language model (LLM), as well as other technologies, as part of its ecosystem to enable autonomous task planning and support reasoning to achieve human-defined objectives. In this issue of Board Perspectives, we explore agentic AI, the next AI evolution enabling autonomous processes and strategic decision-making for enhanced business efficiency.

Recommended Resources 

This list of recommended resources from the web may be of interest to you. Click each link to learn more. 

1. The ROI of Generative AI: It’s Growing Rapidly, CFOs Say
2. How AI is Changing Cybersecurity for Better or Worse
3. How to Build an Effective Proxy Statement Process: A Governance Playbook