SLID launches first Survey Report on Board IT Governance

The first Sri Lanka Survey Report on Board IT Governance- 2022 was launched by the Sri Lanka Institute of Directors (SLID) to an audience of over 100 top corporate Board Directors at an event held at the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel in Colombo last week. 

In his opening remarks, SLID Chairman Faizal Salieh emphasised the importance of IT Governance as an integral part of overall Enterprise Governance. He elaborated that inadequate participation by Directors in major technology-related decisions results in missed opportunities for optimised strategic and operational technology investments.

Ernst & Young, Sri Lanka (EY) Partner, Arjuna Herath, summarised the key findings of the study and put into context the outcomes and recommendations to support a viable Board IT Governance journey for Sri Lankan corporates.

The panellists, Prof. Malik Ranasinghe, Chairman of the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA); Dr. Kithsiri Manchanayake, Independent Director of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation; Ruvini Fernando, PWC Sri Lanka Director; and M.R. Anoop from SAP made the discussion interesting and interactive.  
They shared their perspectives on the key findings, personal experiences about IT decision-making, and how a more robust IT Governance at the Board-level would result in greater accuracy, transparency, and accountability in corporate IT spending. The discussion concluded with audience participation, sharing diverse views on the right Board composition, the need for IT-savvy Boards, and the necessity for expert IT knowledge at the Board-level. In her Call to Action, Chiranthi Cooray, lead chair of SLID’s Innovation and Technology Committee, reiterated the importance of Boards leading IT decision-making; and how IT Governance strengthens good stewardship.  SLID said it plans to execute several learning and promotional initiatives for both private and public sector companies aimed at improving Board IT Governance practices. 

SLID collaborated with EY as its main technical partner. The survey was designed, conducted, and analysed under the expert guidance of Prof. Jennifer Jewer (Memorial University, Canada), Prof. Ken McKay (University of Waterloo, Canada) and Prof. Tejpavan Gandhok (Jindal Global Business School, India) and with the assistance of EY Global Delivery Services.

The Ministry of Finance, Colombo Stock Exchange, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, and the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka assisted in conducting the survey.
SAP India and POTENZA (Pvt) Ltd Sri Lanka were the exclusive event sponsors.