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The board of directors should approve IT plans, policies, and major expenditures. To carry out their responsibilities, board members should be familiar with information technology and data center concepts and activities.
Many boards of directors choose to delegate the responsibility for monitoring IT activities to a senior management committee or IT steering committee. The IT steering committee's mission should be to assist the board in overseeing IT-related activities. The committee should consist of representatives from senior management, the IT department, and major end-user departments. Members do not have to be department heads, but should know IT department policies, practices, and procedures. Each member should have the authority to make decisions within the group for his/her respective areas. Risk management staff should participate in an advisory capacity. See Risk Management Functions on page 9 for more information.
The committee should regularly report to the board on the status of major IT projects or issues. In addition, the committee should ensure the board has adequate information to make informed decisions about IT operations. The board should define the responsibilities of the IT steering committee within a committee charter.
The steering committee should provide general reviews for the board regarding major IT projects. The overview the committee provides enables the board to make decisions without becoming involved in routine operations. The committee helps to ensure business alignment, effective strategic IT planning and oversight of IT performance. The committee may also:
The steering committee should receive the appropriate management information from IT departments, user departments, and audit to coordinate and monitor the institutions' IT resources effectively. The committee should monitor performance and institute appropriate action to achieve desired results. The committee should also maintain formal minutes of its meetings to document its decisions and inform the board of directors of its activities.