Leading Insights Blog

An adaptive data governance framework is necessary to keep pace with the rapid advancement of AI and automation tools. Agencies can mitigate the unique and unprecedented risks associated with these new technologies through a continuously evolving data governance framework that is tailored to the entity to ensure the appropriate stewardship of data, accountability, and privacy.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-37, Revision (Rev.) 2, Risk Management Framework for Information Systems and Organizations: A System Life Cycle Approach for Security and Privacy, provides agencies with guidelines and a framework for authorizing information systems to operate.

This is a reprint of an article that appeared in the July 2024 AFERM Newsletter. Integration, as it relates to the maturity of agencies’ Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) programs, has been a hot topic recently. According to the Chief Financial Officer’s (CFO) Council and Performance Improvement Council (PIC), Playbook: Enterprise Risk Management in the U.S. Federal Government (ERM Playbook), “Successful integration of ERM into agencies’ day to day decision-making and management practices enables agencies to leverage opportunities and avoid, mitigate, and transfer risk, resulting in more resilient, effective, and efficient programs.”

This is a reprint of an article that appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of the AGA Journal. It previews AGA’s 2023 IG and State Auditor Survey, which was sponsored by Kearney. The full Survey will publish in February 2024.

The world’s business environments are constantly changing, and technology gives today’s accountants a chance to break free from the confines of their traditional roles. Tomorrow’s accountants could be beacons for transformative change, resulting in positive impact for their organization and clients.

The emergence of conversational AI has heralded a new era in human-computer interaction, transcending the boundaries of what was once thought possible.

Innovation forces the workforce to grow and adapt, not only to meet changing legislation and emerging requirements, but also because leadership and accountants alike must take action to reskill current employees on applications and technologies to maintain relevancy. Innovation will continue to drive the future of the accountant’s position. Ultimately, the institutional and technical knowledge accountants hold will have to be harnessed to couple new technology appropriately and keep resources upskilled on day one.

With malicious actors becoming more sophisticated in exploiting various attack avenues, along with organizations adopting new technology to meet business needs, the attack surface has become exponentially larger. This makes it much more difficult to just defend organizational assets through a defense-in-depth approach.

Human oversight over AI is necessary, including ethical dilemmas, accountability and responsibility concerns, and the complexities of navigating ambiguous scenarios. This oversight promotes an upscaling of existing job markets into supervisory and higher-level roles as AI continues to expand.

The emergence of conversational AI has heralded a new era in human-computer interaction, transcending the boundaries of what was once thought possible.

Technological developments have changed how auditors and clients perform work and support business decisions. As clients’ expectations continue to evolve, the auditors’ use of technology will need to expand to keep pace.

How do User Entities gain assurance that the outsourced controls relevant to their financial reporting processes are effective? That is where a SOC 1® Report comes into the picture. The SOC 1® Report provides User Entities with assurance that the controls that Service Organizations have put in place to protect their assets are effective.

The future Project Management Office (PMO), if structured and scoped correctly, can bring greater focus and agility to accomplish organizational goals.

Government agencies and companies alike are implementing automation processes to optimize performance and increase productivity, among other benefits.

Vulnerability scanning can seem like a daunting task, but protecting the data is of the utmost importance in today’s ever-expanding digital world.