There is increasing evidence that the state of a company’s internal control environment is something that the investment community is watching more closely. Studies continue to support the fact that financial restatements decline significantly for companies that have gone through the process of implementing SOX standards or improving their internal controls.

The standard for outsources processes includes three separate types of Service Organization Control (SOC) reports that address assurance for service organizations. For each type of SOC report, there is an accepted professional standard under which the audit will be performed. This allows for a common nomenclature when referring to reports going forward while allowing for a more frequent update of the professional standards.

Risk often rises in tandem with change. For example, when external certifications are needed to promote business competency, a new business venture is pursued, special projects arise, or a key accounting, IT, or finance professional becomes unavailable for extended periods, an enterprise lacking in ERM can become vulnerable.

Is your network open to attack? Are you running unpatched applications? Are you up-to-date on the continual barrage of hackers? If you answered "No" or "I don't know" to any of these questions, your network is fair game. New holes in security are discovered and then immediately exploited to compromise networks around the world. Today's "secure" network is tomorrow's easy target.