SLID and EY to launch Board IT Governance Survey Report

The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) and Ernst & Young, Sri Lanka (EY) will be launching the exclusive Survey Report 2022 on Board IT Governance on 31 January at the Cinnamon Lakeside, Colombo.

The survey was initiated by SLID in collaboration with EY as the exclusive technical partner and was designed in partnership with EY Global Delivery Services (GDS) and a team of academic experts; Prof. Jennifer Jewer (Memorial University, Canada), Prof. Ken McKay (University of Waterloo, Canada) and Prof. Tejpavan Gandhok (Jindal Global Business School, India). 

The survey, which focused on IT expertise and practices with respect to IT Governance at the Board level in Sri Lankan companies, was carried out across a wide number of directors in both the private and public sectors in the country. The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka, the Colombo Stock Exchange, and the Ministry of Finance were project partners.

The Sri Lanka Institute of Directors as the professional body for directors and aspiring directors in the forefront of Corporate Governance in Sri Lanka partnered EY to initiate the effort to foster and improve Board IT Governance. As a first step in this initiative a Board IT Governance survey, a first of its kind in Sri Lanka, based on extensive international research and thought leadership was completed recently to help provide deeper research based understanding of the status of 

Board IT Governance across various segments of the corporate sector in Sri Lanka. The Board as the ultimate decision-making body is responsible for making the right decisions for the organisation on key IT activities. The survey sheds light on the extent of the Board’s involvement in this area. While strategic IT management has long been considered partly the responsibility of senior executives, including the CEO, little has been said about the role of the board in the management and governance of IT. However, Board level involvement in IT governance is an emerging practical concern driven by several developments, including the operational dependency and strategic importance of IT.

The launch of the survey report at the event will be followed by a professional presentation by EY on its key findings, analysis and outcomes by EY and a panel discussion on the key elements of the report, challenges faced and the imperatives to enhance awareness and the level of adoption of IT related governance in Sri Lanka’s boardrooms. 

The panel will comprise of Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) Chairman Prof. Malik Ranasinghe, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Independent Director Dr. Kithsiri Manchanayake, PWC Sri Lanka Director Ruvini Fernando, University of Waterloo, Canada Professor of Information Systems and Operations Management Dr. Ken Mckay, and SAP India MU Industry and Customer Advisory Head, Mid-Market Abishek Sahi. The panel discussion will be moderated by EY Sri Lanka Partner Arjuna Herath.

The launch will be supported by SAP India and Potenza Sri Lanka as exclusive event partners.