IT & Section 404

Section 404 is the tallest mountain to climb, with key areas regarding IT controls:

• Change Management - Companies must provide visibility over changes in the IT environment and enable the ability to initiate, authorize, manage and implement all IT changes through a systematic change process.

• Backup - A process must be deployed to identify critical data and to duplicate, store and recover data as needed.

• Security - A process must be deployed to ensure the integrity of information and secure applications, databases, operating systems, internal network access and perimeter network.

• Documentation - Companies must deliver thorough documentation to cover change management, back up and security policies and processes.

• Remediation - Companies must have solutions to fill gaps in change management, backup and security.

Many businesses underestimate what it takes to be compliant. And, unfortunately, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act does not provide detailed, step-by-step guidelines on reaching compliance.

There are industry accepted best practices. In addition, every auditor usually adds individual criteria. And there is no one solution available on the market to help businesses achieve compliance. What's more, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) is not a one-time experience. Companies must continue to be compliant as technology and organizations evolve.