INFORMATION SYSTEMS AUDIT & CONTROL ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING –-18 MAY 2000
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
INTRODUCTION
I apologise for not being able to give this report myself and I am
grateful for the Vice President volunteering to present it on my behalf
(and also to field any questions!). I make this report on behalf of the
entire Committee, but any omissions, or inaccuracies, are as a result my
poor memory and not as a result of any shortcomings of the members of your
Committee. This report covers 1999, but as that is now so long ago, please
forgive me if I bring in a few more recent events.
GENERAL STATE OF THE CHAPTER
It is with pleasure that I am able to report that in 1999 the Chapter
exceeded 650 members for the first time. We are the second largest Chapter
in the world with only New York Metropolitan being bigger. We are also one
of the most active with our programme of events far exceeding that offered
by other Chapters. We are also financially, sound as will be described
later by our Treasurer.
EVENTS
Our programme of ten, free late afternoon events is widely perceived as
providing some of the best training available to IS auditors in the
southern part of the UK. This is coupled with our chargeable training
programme, which pound for pound provides by far the most cost-effective
delivery of technical matters to be found in the UK. Taken together, these
aspects of our Chapter service provide the capability of keeping IS
auditors up to date on a wide range of issues and also enable those with
the CISA designation to obtain the relevant CPE hours. Our events are
handled by Steve Bailey and Karen Sharpe, supported by Jackie Bowles of
KPMG for our evening events. My thanks to all three.
CISA
Over half of the Chapter are now CISA qualified and our annual CISA
Review Course, administered by David Spaven our CISA co-ordinator, is
always well subscribed. On average over 100 people from the Chapter take
the exam each year with about twenty percent attending the review course.
On average, the success rate for the Chapter is about eighty percent as
against a worldwide average of just fifty-two percent. Derek Oliver, a
past President of the Chapter and a current Committee member, is actively
involved in setting the examination (so you know whom to blame!)
PUBLICATIONS
Apart from our monthly mailshot, which keeps you informed of
forthcoming events, our quarterly magazine, Datawatch keeps on winning
awards for best ‘newsletter’. One of the reasons that we do not call
our mailshot a newsletter is because it confuses International when they
come to judging the various ‘newsletters’. Datawatch is so far ahead
of the crowd that I have had requests from other Chapters to be included
on the circulation list. Something that we may consider if we can sort out
a suitable charging structure. The success of Datawatch is in no small
part due to Annabel Lane, John Hunter and Bill Hawkins who comprise the
editorial team. You should also have noticed that our web site has
improved in content and presentation due to the efforts of Allan Boardman,
our Web Master.
SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS
John Hunter and Bill Hawkins provide support to our various Special
Interest Group (SIGs). The SIGs are fairly autonomous in that they run
their own programme of events under the Chapter umbrella, but with John
and Bill providing the necessary guidance. The Chapter
currently has three active SIGs. The Network SIG has been established for
three years, holding some four to five meetings per annum. The Fraud
Prevention SIG and the Risk SIG have recently been formed with inaugural
meetings in the last few months.
RESEARCH & ACADEMIC RELATIONS
Kamal Khan is on the International Research Board and also provides the
Chapter link to the various UK universities that offer IS Audit courses.
During 1999 the Chapter received an award for its support on the digital
signatures project, which was in no small measure due to the amount of
work put in by Kamal to make the resulting publication such a success.
MEMBERSHIP
Kamal is also responsible for membership liaison and those of you who
forgot to renew your subscription will have received a gentle reminder
from him.
TREASURY
Archie Watt our Treasurer keeps a careful eye on our income and
expenditure and will be reporting separately on the state of our finances.
Some of you may remember that a few years ago the Chapter suffered a
financial crisis, but with Archie in charge there is no chance of that
every happening again. Having been in the Treasury hot seat myself I know
that it is one of the more demanding roles on the Committee and my thanks
to Archie for discharging the role with such efficiency.
CHAPTER ADMINISTRATION
We are one of the few Chapters to have a paid, part-time administrator,
but we found some years ago that we could not administer such a large
Chapter on a volunteer basis. Nancy Watt runs the Chapter office on a
part-time basis and Charles Mansour provides the formal secretarial
support to the Chapter, including the management of our monthly committee
meetings. My thanks to both Nancy and Charles for their efforts.
SPONSORSHIP
Gerry Penfold, a past Chapter President provides me with calm and sound
guidance when things get fraught, as they so often do when attempting to
juggle the requirements of member service and financial stability. Gerry
is a partner with KPMG and the Chapter relies very heavily on support from
KPMG for hosting both the Committee and the events evenings. Likewise, BDO,
via Archie Watt provides us with use of their training facilities for our
chargeable events, including the CISA review course. Deloittes &
Touche, via Karen Sharpe kindly hosted the annual Committee dinner, which
is the once a year reward that we offer ourselves, at no cost to you! All
these organisations ask nothing in return for what they provide. This pro
bono support is most welcome and my thanks to both KPMG, BDO and D&T
for all the help that they provide and without which our membership dues
would have to increase considerably.
CONCLUSION
The Chapter is on a firm financial footing and with the administration
processes now in place I consider that our ability to service our members
has never been better. This does not mean that I am complacent and I will
constantly strive to provide you with the best level of service that is
possible.
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