Strategy and Governance: Form Follows Function 

 

Originally published in Global Communiqué volume 6, 2009.

By now, all members should have received a brochure outlining ISACA’s strategy for 2009-2011. A webcast from International President Lynn Lawton is also available.

In developing the strategy, it was recognized that changes would be needed to enable the association to accomplish the ambitious goals it set for itself. Several objectives needed to be accomplished in a restructure:
  • The number and organization of volunteer groups needed to be streamlined.
  • The number of groups reporting directly to the Board of Directors needed to be reduced.
  • More volunteer opportunities needed to be made available.
  • The functions of the volunteer groups needed to align with the strategy and support the execution of the strategic initiatives.

New Structure

The new structure can be illustrated as shown in figure 1.

Figure 1

The majority of the activity will be overseen by three boards, each of which is supported by committees, subcommittees and task forces. The three boards address the main focuses of the strategy: community—Relations Board, certification—Credentialing Board, and professional guidance—Knowledge Board.

The coordinating function, illustrated below the three boards, will be carried out primarily by the Strategic Advisory Council (SAC, formerly Strategic Advisory Group [SAG]). Its purpose is to ensure that the activities of the three boards support each other and the strategy, and any resulting gaps are identified and assigned to the appropriate group to be addressed.

The governance groups—Board of Directors, SAC, Governance Advisory Committee (GAC), Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and Compensation Committee—will remain as they are now.

All this activity will be supported by the strategic enablers, a few of which are listed on the left side of figure 1. This is not an exhaustive list of enablers; it represents only those that are most prominently highlighted in the strategy.

The structure supporting the three boards is shown in figure 2.

Figure 2

Next Steps

Work is already underway to populate the volunteer groups from current participants and the many members who volunteered to serve in 2009-2010. Although the groups listed on the Invitation to Participate brochure, issued in January 2009, have changed, every effort will be made to match volunteers’ interests and areas of expertise with existing openings in the new structure. The new groups will be appointed by the international president and ratified by the Board of Directors, and began their work after the International Conference in July 2009.