Microsoft word - press release 2.docx

Are you ready for King III?
New Legislation to change the face of IT The King III report is the buzz word in the South African business world at present and what makes this report more noteworthy is the fact that it will be backed by South African legislation as from 1 March 2010. The question on everyone’s mind is what does it mean? And how does it Russell Steyn the Managing Director of Foster-Melliar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Simeka Business Group and the first company in SA to offer training across all the ITIL life cycles says, “The impact that King III will have from an organisational point of view is quite substantial as it directly translates into a requirement for the subject of IT governance to be discussed at board level. The IT industry will for the first time be represented making allowance for the sector to finally enjoy the right accountability and the right visibility at the right levels.” The 2009 King III report will have a profound impact on business for two reasons:  It is applicable to any company incorporated in the Republic of South Africa under the auspices of the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO).  IT Governance is specifically addressed in King III The King reports owes its origins to Mervyn King, who was tasked by Government to write a report regarding corporate Governance in South Africa. The first report released in 1994 was not widely adopted but served as a source of reference. The concept was built upon with the release of the King II report in 2002 that was legislated as a requirement for any Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) listed company. King II was recognised internationally and is regarded as the equivalent to the UK’s Turnbull report and was incorporated to an extent in the creation of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) report. King II primarily focussed on controls and measurements for a company at large as well as the financial principles that are involved to ensure the transparency of an organisation’s business endeavours. “King III incorporates both corporate governance and more specifically IT governance for the first time. Not only will the report require a certain level of operation when it comes to occupational health and safety, financial controls, labour controls and all the other aspects that comprises enterprise, but it will require a certain level of IT governance according to the international ISO 38 500 standard. This specification in King III will require accountability from a senior member of staff such as an IT director. IT governance is achieved by introducing Controlled Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) and also incorporates the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) as a reference for good practice,” explains Russell. “There is no doubt that many organisations will rush to achieve the required compliance before the official legislation is passed, but it is however necessary to acknowledge the underlying need to implement the process correctly in order for the organisation to reap the long term rewards that a well thought through and constructive IT Governance programme will add to any organisation. As one of the leaders in the field, Foster-Melliar would like to urge all practitioners to follow through and to speak to the experts in the IT governance field in order to make King III an investment into your organisation,” concludes Russell. For more information about Foster-Melliar please visit www.Foster-Melliar.co.za or contact 0860 About Foster-Melliar
Foster-Melliar, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Simeka Business Group. Foster-Melliar is a service management consultancy that specialises in assisting organisations improve efficiencies and profitability through better alignment of their IT services with business About Simeka Business Group
Simeka is a leading black empowered outsourcing, business support services and technology group. The group is streamlined into two key business divisions: Business Support Services and Technology. Business Support Services encompasses the consulting, professional services (people) and outsourcing (process) offering while Technology includes application, implementation and infrastructure services. www.simekabg.co.za Deidre Beylis – Teresa Settas Communications (011) 894 2767 or deidre@tscommunications.co.za 0860 22 55 36 or Farhanam@foster-melliar.co.za

Source: http://www.foster-melliar.co.za/PressRelease2.pdf