ISACA HISTORY

The evolution of information technology (IT) affects the business environment in many significant ways. It changes business practices, reduces costs and alters the ways in which systems should be controlled. In addition, it raises the level of knowledge and skills required to control and audit information systems, and it increases the need for well-educated professionals in the fields of information systems (IS) governance, assurance, security and control. This need was recognized by the 1969 founding of what is now known as ISACA.

ISACA was formed, and continues to exist today, to meet the unique and diverse high technology needs of the continually developing IT field. In an industry in which change is constant, ISACA has moved with agility and speed to bridge the needs of the international business community and the IT control community.

ISACA has become the leading IT governance, assurance, security and control organization. With more than 75,000 members in more than 160 countries, ISACA(r) is a recognized worldwide leader in IT governance, control, security and assurance. Founded in 1969, ISACA sponsors international conferences, publishes the Information Systems Control Journal(r), and develops international information systems auditing and control standards. It also administers the globally respected Certified Information Systems Auditor(tm) (CISA(r)) designation, earned by more than 60,000 professionals since 1978; the Certified Information Security Manager(r) (CISM(r)) designation, earned by more than 9,000 professionals since 2002; and the new Certified in the Governance of Enterprise ITTM (CGEITTM) designation.

ISACA is dedicated to serving the needs of its members, who are internal and external auditors, CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, educators, information security and control professionals, students and IT consultants.  It  publishes the Information Systems Control Journal(r), a leading technical journal in the information control field, and sponsors a series of international conferences focusing on technical and managerial topics. Together, ISACA and its affiliate, the IT Governance Institute (ITGI), lead the IT control community and serve its practitioners by providing the elements needed by IT professionals in an ever-changing worldwide environment.

The ITGI exists to assist enterprise leaders in their responsibility to ensure that IT is aligned with the business and delivers value, its performance is measured, its resources properly allocated and its risks mitigated.  To aid organizations in successfully meeting today's business challenges, as of February 2008, ITGI has published version COBIT(r) 4.1.

COBIT's success as an increasingly internationally accepted set of guidance materials for IT governance has resulted in the creation of a growing family of publications and products designed to assist in the implementation of effective IT governance throughout an enterprise. COBIT is an IT governance framework and supporting toolset that allows managers to bridge the gap between control requirements, technical issues and business risks. COBIT enables clear policy development and good practice for IT control throughout organizations.  ITGI has also published Val IT, a new IT Value Framework.  Val IT provides the means to measure, monitor and optimize the realization of business value from investment in IT. It complements COBIT from a business and financial perspective and will help all those with an interest in value delivery from IT.