This time it is for real. The government last week
published a bill on corporate governance that means there is
nowhere for UK directors to hide.
Those who thought that Sarbanes-Oxley was merely a US invention
with little direct relevance to their business will have to think
again.
The proposed UK legislation is, of course, not a carbon copy of
that from the US, but it will, when it becomes law, give investors
the right to sue directors for negligence and breach of duty.
That means the quality of corporate decision making and the
processes by which those decisions are made will be under ever
greater scrutiny. Inevitably this means more work and more
responsibility will fall directly on the IT function.
As ever, it is best to act, rather than react. And there is an
added incentive for the IT director to get it right. If things go
pear-shaped, it won't just be the chief executive and company
secretary who are personally liable, the CIO may be in the firing
line.