Hugh Taylor, VP of Marketing for SOA Software, is coming out with a new book called "The Joy of SOX," available at Amazon.com or through http://www.wiley.com.
I sat down with Hugh and he gave me the skinny on the book and why everyone who cares about compliance should read it. (He did add, however, that the book does NOT include graphic illustrations of hairy CIOs doing compliance).
"With regard to Sarbanes-Oxley, what we're seeing is that almost all major companies are doing SOA and they have to do Sarbanes-Oxley. Two issues come up here: SOA, because it's potentially completely open, can disrupt the accounting controls that you need to be compliant.
"As an example, SOX requires companies to document the segregation of roles in financial transactions. A sales person, generally, should not able to receive cash AND do the ledger entry. There's a potential for fraud.
"The problem with SOA is that it can break down the access controls that may be in effect. You need a governance solution to stay compliant. SOA Software helps with that."
"The other issue is that other companies approach compliance by tightening control over systems, which can inhibit business agility.
"Why this book is called 'The Joy of SOX,' is so you can be agile AND compliant at the same time," he said.
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