Daily News Archive

Please note that The Daily News is publishing (hopefully) twice a week for the foreseeable future due to time constraints.

Tuesday, May 29th

 “Many companies expect that after this round of downsizing is over, they will be able to resume their regular management practices. It was these management practices, however, that created the need for downsizing.” -- Ronald L. Heilmann

 

The Picks of the Day

Internet Companies Join Forces to Battle Foreign Censorship Pressures

“In China, Germany and all over the world, American-based Internet businesses are giving in to local demands that they censor the information they make available online. Their concessions have led to a backlash from several members of Congress, who argue that the companies should follow the United States' free speech standard worldwide. Now in-house lawyers at Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc. have banded together in a rare act of collaboration to develop Internet content guidelines.”

http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1147696528954

 

India is still on a high

“Risk-takers who invested in India last year enjoyed outstanding returns from unit and investment trusts that specialise in the region.”

http://www.financialexpress-bd.com/index3.asp?cnd=5/30/2006&section_id=20&newsid=&spcl=yes

 

IT Process Improvement

Risk Mitigation Considerations for Backup and Restoration Processes

I have been contacted by a number of organizations in regards to controls around the backup and restoration of data.  Not BCP and DR, but just simple straight forward backing up of data and systems and then restoring them.  In response to these requests, a white paper was created and a draft for comment is provided for your review.  If you have the time to review the document and provide comment, please do.  Again, the focus is on controls to mitigate risks around the basics of backup and restoration.  All feedback is welcome.  --George

http://www.spaffordconsulting.com/Risk Mitigation Considerations for Data Backup Processes_gs_050606_v1d.pdf

 

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Pressure Builds for SOX Adjustment

“Efforts to roll back some of the costliest and most controversial provisions of a 2002 corporate reform law gained steam recently as securities and accounting regulators said they were open to suggestions on how to change the rules that govern accounting disclosure.”

http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1148029534681

 

Top 10 Copyright Pitfalls

“With digital content so easily available from every desktop, it is critical that employees understand their responsibilities under copyright law.Top 10 Copyright Pitfalls identifies some common misconceptions and provides guidelines and best practices for educating employees and achieving copyright compliance.”

http://www.copyright.com/media/pdfs/Copyright-Pitfalls.pdf

 

[Thank you Deborah for all of the above pointers!]

 

Security and Risk Management

How to Bungle Political Risks

“A survey finds that most senior executives consider overseas perils a low priority, even when they have investments and operations abroad.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/6970083?f=AlsoOn052606

 

Securing IPRs: Beware of office data theft

“Even as business process outsourcing (BPO) continues to be one of the fastest growing segment for India Inc, data privacy, network security and intellectual property rights (IPR) emerge as the biggest challenges.”

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=128665

 

Human Error / Safety

Study: Video games can help cut surgical errors

“The research involved 303 surgeons participating in a medical training course that included video games and was focused on laparoscopic surgical procedures -- which use a tiny video camera and long, slender instruments inserted through small incisions.”

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/fun.games/05/24/video.gamessurgery.reut/index.html

 

Bird-Flu Trail Leads Medical Detectives Back to Poultry Farms

“Officials looking to contain the avian influenza virus that may spark a human pandemic are downplaying the importance of migrating wild birds as the source of infections among domestic poultry. Farms and poultry traders are the more likely cause of the spread of the flu, which has killed 48 people so far this year, more than all of 2005.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000087&sid=a334DK66cvUc

 

Two more bird flu cases confirmed in Indonesia

“Two more Indonesians have been confirmed as infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus, a health official said on Monday, citing results from a World Health Organization-recognized laboratory in Hong Kong.”

http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/conditions/05/29/birdflu.indonesia.reut/index.html?section=cnn_latest

 

Outsourcing / Globalization / International

Global outsourcing for the little guy

“Web site links up clients with tech service providers around the world”

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0605290152may29,1,62937.story?track=rss

 

Financial Services Heads in Denial Over Impact of Globalization

“Of 175 chief executive officers of financial services providers interviewed, 21 percent thought their companies would gain over 50 percent of profit outside of their home markets by 2010.  Globalization will probably have the largest impact on profits in the industry over the next three years, with 65 percent of respondents agreeing it was the biggest challenge facing their company.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aIh1jYsBKEHc

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

Software Capitalization Clouds Comparisons

“Fewer than 30 percent of software companies capitalize their development costs, according to a new study. But the companies that take a less conservative accounting approach and capitalize those costs do so at a high rate and make cross-industry comparisons difficult, says accounting professor Charles Mulford of the Georgia Institute of Technology.”

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/6994798?f=FinancialSoftware053006

 

Thursday, May 31st

The leader of the past knew how to tell the leader of the future will know how to ask.” -- Peter Drucker

 

The Picks of the Day

OCEG Announces Internal Audit Guide (Exposure Draft) – For Use In Internal Audits Of Compliance And Ethics Programs

“The Guide is designed primarily for the internal auditor, and it also will help directors, executives and other senior managers charged with governance responsibilities to better understand the issues and processes involved in an internal audit of a compliance and ethics program.  An internal audit of a compliance and ethics program will assist in improving the governance practices of an organization.”

http://www.oceg.org/

[Dan Swanson authored this for the OCEG and did an excellent job.  George served on the advisory panel during the formation of the paper.]

 

External Auditor Role Seen Reduced Amid AS2 Revisions

“Last week the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board outlined steps they will take in coming months to ease the burden of Section 404. The two biggest measures: new guidance for corporations on how to assess internal controls over financial reporting, and revisions to the much-maligned Auditing Standard No. 2, which auditors use to govern their own audits of clients’ internal controls.”

http://www.complianceweek.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article.viewArticle&article_ID=2543

[This is a great synopsis of the PCAOB’s four point AS2 review plan – definitely worth looking at.]

The PCAOB Four Point Plan is online at:  http://pcaob.com/News_and_Events/News/2006/05-17.aspx

The SEC’s comments are at:  http://sec.gov/news/press/2006/2006-75.htm

The current PCAOB Audit Standard Two is online at:  http://pcaob.com/Standards/Standards_and_Related_Rules/Auditing_Standard_No.2.aspx

 

Compliance Watch: The Walking, Talking Compliance Risk

“Sarbanes-Oxley compliance has grown smoother now that its processes and technological support have begun to hum. So why do corporate executives have such dark circles under their eyes? It's because the human side of compliance may be the riskiest issue.”

http://www.bfmag.com/magazine/archives/article.html?articleID=14632&Print=Y

 

IT Process Improvement

Links to past ITIL webcasts and corresponding PowerPoint files are now online

SGC has published links to past Jupitermedia ITIL related webcasts and made the source Powerpoint slides available.  This includes topics on Change Management, Rollout Planning and the new “ITSM From Theory to Reality” webcast that argues that IT and the business need to recognize ITIL as a quality framework for IT that must be treated as a system to gain significant long-term benefits.  The webcasts are listed on the main SGC page under the “News” heading.

http://www.spaffordconsultingcom/

 

CMMI for Services

There is a community led effort underway to develop a CMMI for services model that complements ITIL.

https://bscw.sei.cmu.edu/pub/bscw.cgi/0/424939

[Thank you for providing the information Julia!]

 

Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Patent Rights and Open Source - Can They Co-exist?

http://www.fenwick.com/docstore/Publications/IP/Patent_Rights.pdf

 

Companies Try New Approach: Settling for More

“In seismic shift for pharma industry, Cephalon is one of a number of companies adopting a new tactic for patent disputes”

http://www.law.com/jsp/ihc/PubArticleIHC.jsp?id=1147856735978

[Thank you for these two Deborah!]

 

Security and Risk Management

Veterans Affairs data theft should be 'call to arms'

“The public was already worried about data security before 26.5 million U.S. veterans were put at risk for identity theft following a recent burglary.  Security experts say this latest incident shows that public and private organizations must do more to protect the information they keep and that Congress must offer stronger guidance.”

http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid14_gci1191091,00.html?track=NL-102&ad=551719

 

Employees to execs: It's OK to watch

“Use of the Internet at work seems to be a given. Still, few of those employees cry foul when it comes to their privacy at work. In fact, an overwhelming majority (92%) agreed that their companies have the right to use filtering technology to govern what sites they should be allowed to visit.”

http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid14_gci1190898,00.html?track=NL-102&ad=551719

 

Urban areas to get Homeland Security grants

“Homeland Security officials also noted a $125 million cut in the funds available for the 2006 fiscal year from last year. In all, 46 cities will share $740 million in Homeland Security grants to prevent and respond to terror attacks and, to a lesser extent, other catastrophic disasters like hurricanes.”

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13053317/

 

Human Error / Safety

The Canadian Centre for Emergency Preparedness Avian Flu Page

The CCEP has assembled a web page with links to many organizations’ websites concerned with Avian Flu.

http://www.ccep.ca/ccepbird.html

 

India now leads world in AIDS infections

“India now has the largest number of AIDS infections as the spread of the disease shows no sign of letting up a quarter-century into an epidemic that has claimed 25 million lives, the U.N. reported Tuesday.”

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/3916333.html

 

Outsourcing / Globalization / International

[Australia] Customs edges up to offshoring

“The nation's border protection agency has opened the door to using low-cost offshore software developers to build and maintain core technology systems that regulate the flow of people and products in and out of Australia.”

http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,19298553%5e15306%5e%5enbv%5e15306,00.html?from=rss

 

Old cell phones, computers - its a massive 150,000 tonnes of E-waste per year threatening India

“India's reputation as the IT hub of the world and its growing affiliation to the latest electrical and electronic gadgets is becoming a Frankenstein's monster for the country with around 150,000 tonnes of E-waste being generated every year.”

http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/9216.asp

 

BPO recipe: Quality and a dash of M&A

“Every human initiative has begun slowly, built momentum and then moved on, on its own steam. The Green Revolution in the 1980s in India, the not-so peaceful revolutions in Russia and France. Innovative inventions too have caught the public's imagination - for instance Henry Ford's Model T car got people moving - pun unintended - like no other innovation did.”

http://www.rediff.com/rss/redirect.php?url=http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/may/29bpo.htm

 

India: A hotspot for clinical trials

“India is fast emerging as an attractive destination for conducting global clinical trials due to availability of vast pool of patients and also well-trained medical professionals and sophisticated technological infrastructure.”

http://www.rediff.com/money/2006/may/29spec1.htm

 

Economics / Business / Misc.

Isenberg Discusses the Future of the Internet

“He [David Isenberg] said that while the netizens are asking how to change network service provision so that the network can survive, telcos (a group in which he includes cablecos and cellcos) are asking how they can change the internet so that they can survive.

http://www.isp-planet.com/politics/2006/ispcon_isenberg_keynote.html

 

Whitepapers at Silicon.com

There are quite a few whitepapers that readers can access from silicon.com on a very wide variety of topics.

http://whitepapers.silicon.com/

[Thank you for the tip Michael!]