Inadequate participation by Directors in major technology-related decisions results in missed opportunities for optimised strategic and operational technology investments, said Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) Chairman Faizal Salieh.
He was speaking at the launch of the first Sri Lanka Survey Report on Board IT Governance- 2022 by the SLID to an audience of over 100 top corporate Board Directors at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel in Colombo last week.
Salieh emphasised the importance of IT governance as an integral part of overall enterprise governance. “SLID plans to execute several learning and promotional initiatives for private and public sector companies aimed at improving Board IT governance practices.”
Ernst & Young, Sri Lanka (EY) Partner, Arjuna Herath, summarising the key findings of the study said that not having adequate knowledge of IT at the Board-level increases business IT risks. “As the Board’s IT expertise increases, it facilitates better IT governance and increases ROI.”
In Sri Lanka, based on survey participants, the Banking and Financial Services, Technology and Engineering, and FMCG industries lead the way in IT Governance, in the given order.
The survey said that IT governance is less effective than overall Board governance in Sri Lankan corporate. Many companies rely on senior IT management personnel such as CIO/CTO to have the experience and the expertise to support board-level IT governance.
In her Call to Action, Chiranthi Cooray, lead chair of SLID’s Innovation and Technology Committee, reiterated the importance of Boards leading IT decision-making; and how IT Governance strengthens good stewardship. An interesting perspective communicated was her assertion that Directors leading IT Governance will need to wear various hats at different times to be cheerleaders, champions, evangelists, or redeemers throughout this journey.
The Ministry of Finance, the Colombo Stock Exchange, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, and the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka assisted in conducting the survey.
The survey was designed, conducted, and analysed under the expert guidance of Prof. Jennifer Jewer of Memorial University, Canada, Prof. Ken McKay of the University of Waterloo, Canada and Prof. Tejpavan Gandhok of Jindal Global Business School, India and with the assistance of EY Global Delivery Services. - SS