September, 2002

Contents

President's Message Meeting Announcement
News From the Wild
Coming Attractions
Thanks and Kudos

Officers

President
Bernie Powers
Steelcase, Inc.
616-248-7584

Vice President
Rick Cummings
Jackson National Life Ins.
517-367-4301

Secretary
Jamie Depuydt
Steelcase, Inc.
616-248-7426

Treasurer
Tanya Burgtorf
Jackson National Life Ins.
517-367-3908

Directors

CISA Coordinator
Michael Sekoni
Accident Fund of Michigan
517-342-4200 ext. 721

Webmaster
Don McNally
National City Corporation
269-376-7547

Past President
Leslie Dalzell
Steelcase, Inc.
616-246-4764

Newsletter Editor
Contact Bernie Powers
 

President's Message

We are facing a period of significant change in the business and social environment.  The effect of WorldCom, Enron and other scandals on IT audit will not be as immediate as our co-workers performing financial audits, but an impact is likely. As you consider how these misrepresentations occurred, continued and were suppressed, you realize any number of employees must have known a lack of integrity existed. What actions are you taking to ensure your company is not next? We expect the presentations and speakers at our events will help you measure and combat the risks facing your organization.

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Meeting Announcement

NASA Challenger Disaster: A Case Study in Risk Management
Sponsored by: Project Management Institute - Michigan Capital Area Chapter
Date: Tuesday, September 17, 2002
Location: Holiday Inn Lansing West Conference Center, 7501 W. Saginaw Hwy (I-96 exit 93B)
Cost: $25 for PMI and Western Michigan ISACA members who pre-register, $30 at the door
Speaker: Dr. Harold Kerzner, PhD

Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to spend an evening with one of the most renowned authorities on Project Management as well as a distinguished author of many books on project management. The Michigan Capital Area Chapter of the Project Management Institute is pleased to offer this unique and exhilarating event. Reserve your spot today!

Harold Kerzner, PhD, is Professor of Systems Management at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, OH. He is also President of Project Management Associates, Inc., a project management consulting company based in Ohio. Dr. Kerzner's expertise is in the areas of project management and strategic planning. Dr. Kerzner has previously taught engineering at the University of Illinois and business administration at Utah State University. He obtained his industrial experience at Thiokol Corporation where he held both program management and project engineering responsibilities on a variety of NASA, Air Force, Army, Navy and independent IR&D programs. He has published or presented more than 140 engineering and business papers, and 16 texts.

Complete and mail in your registration form by September 10! Contact Rick Cummings by email or phone (517-367-4301) or Pam Sawatzki for more information.

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News From the Wild

From the International Office - "Subject matter experts" are needed to provide expert review of upcoming ISACF publications on:

- PeopleSoft (expect draft for review in October-potential reviewer bios should be submitted by 15 September)
- Information Integrity (expect draft for review in late November-potential reviewer bios should be submitted by 15 October)
- Oracle Database (expect draft for review in late January-potential reviewer bios should be submitted by 1 December)

These experts will review a draft and provide critical input for revisions to the finished project. Your knowledge can help us further the IS audit profession, so please consider contributing a few hours of your valuable time. By participating on the review team, you will have access to cutting edge guidance and ideas before they are released to the general membership, and most importantly, you will be contributing to the future growth and stability of your profession. If you would like to be considered as an expert reviewer for a project, please submit a brief biography listing your expertise and qualifications in the respective project areas to research@isaca.org (or phone +1.847.590.7462 or fax +1.847.253.1443) by the date specified above. These will then be reviewed to ensure correct fit and maximum benefit to the project. All who submit a bio by the stated dates will be contacted related to acceptance.

CISA Exam Item Writing Program - Put your IS audit, control and security knowledge to use by writing exam questions. Earn US $50.00 and 1 CISA CE hour for each accepted question! To become an item writer you must submit an Item Writer Application and a signed Non-disclosure Agreement. The Non-disclosure Agreement must be received by the Certification Department at ISACA Headquarters before submission of items.

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Coming Attractions

2002-03 Meetings - Rick Cummings is coordinating the development and planning for this year’s events. Knowledgeable speakers and great topics hold true the promise Rick made to the Board for something of interest for the membership and with locations in Lansing, Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. The September meeting in Lansing is one such event.

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Thanks and Kudos

The Board would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to one of our board members who has done a tremendous job for the past many years. Pam Bradford did not seek the nomination for Chapter Treasurer this past election. Pam’s years of service and commitment are second to none. When you get the opportunity, please thank Pam for a job well done.

The CISA Exam date was June 8, 2002. Nearly ten folks were registered to sit for the exam at the Calvin College site! We wish them the best of luck while they await notification of their scores.

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Control Bits and Audit Bytes is a publication of the Western Michigan Chapter of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). The purpose of this publication is to disseminate useful and timely information on automated systems control and security issues to Chapter members and selected practitioners of computer systems audit and security. Articles, submissions, and advertisements are the responsibility of the submitter, and do not reflect the opinions, beliefs, or practices of the Western Michigan Chapter. Materials submitted for publication in Control Bits and Audit Bytes must be received by the Newsletter Editor no later than the submission deadline published in the newsletter. If no submission deadline is published, the default deadline is approximately three weeks prior to the next scheduled meeting of the Western Michigan Chapter of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association.