Pass the Isaca Isaca Certification CGEIT Questions and answers with CertsForce

The first thing that should be done to address the issue of duplicate support contracts and underutilization of IT services is to review the enterprise IT procurement policy. This is because the IT procurement policy is a document that defines the rules, guidelines, and procedures for acquiring and managing IT products and services in an organization1. A well-designed IT procurement policy can help to:

Align IT procurement with business strategy, objectives, and priorities1

Optimize IT spending and maximize IT value1

Ensure IT quality, security, and compliance1

Avoid IT duplication, waste, and inefficiency1

Define IT roles and responsibilities and assign accountability1

By reviewing the enterprise IT procurement policy, the organization can identify and address any gaps, issues, or inconsistencies that may have led to the problem of business divisions approaching technology vendors for cloud services without proper coordination or approval. The review can also help to update and improve the IT procurement policy to reflect the current and future needs and expectations of the organization and its stakeholders. Some of the best practices for developing an effective IT procurement policy are2:

Involve all relevant stakeholders in the policy development process

Conduct a thorough analysis of the current and future IT requirements

Establish clear criteria and standards for selecting and evaluating IT vendors and services

Implement a robust approval and authorization system for IT purchases

Incorporate risk management and contingency planning into the policy

Communicate and educate the policy to all employees and stakeholders

Monitor and measure the policy implementation and outcomes

The other options, re-negotiating contracts with vendors to request discounts, requiring updates to the IT procurement process, and conducting an audit to investigate utilization of cloud services are not as effective as reviewing the enterprise IT procurement policy for addressing the issue. They are more related to the implementation and execution of the IT procurement policy, rather than its design. They may also be reactive or corrective measures, rather than proactive or preventive ones. They may not address the root cause of the problem, which is the lack of a clear and comprehensive IT procurement policy that guides and governs the acquisition and management of IT products and services in the organization.

Utilizing a capability maturity model is the best way for a CIO to assess the consistency of IT processes against industry benchmarks and determine where to focus improvement initiatives. Capability maturity models provide a structured framework for evaluating the maturity of an organization's processes in comparison to industry best practices. This approach helps identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement, guiding strategic decisions on where to allocate resources for process enhancements. While balanced scorecards, key performance measures, and IT process audit results are useful, a capability maturity model offers a comprehensive assessment specifically designed for process improvement.

Ensuring that IT resources have the appropriate skills and experience begins with identifying the competencies required to meet enterprise objectives. The CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition stresses that competency assessment is the foundational step in IT resource management to align human capital with strategic goals.

Extract from CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition (Domain 2: IT Resources):"Determining the required competencies for IT roles is the first step in ensuring that human resources are capable of supporting enterprise objectives. This involves identifying the skills, knowledge, and experience needed to deliver IT services and projects effectively." (Approximate reference: Domain 2, Section on Human Resource Management)

Determining the required competencies (option A) establishes a baseline for assessing current capabilities, identifying gaps, and planning interventions like training or recruitment. This step must precede actions like developing a skills matrix or providing training, as those depend on knowing what competencies are needed.

Why not the other options?

B. Providing training to IT personnel: Training is a follow-up action after identifying competency gaps, which requires knowing the required competencies first.

C. Developing an IT skills matrix: A skills matrix is a tool to document and track competencies, but it cannot be created without first defining what competencies are required.

D. Monitoring resource performance: Performance monitoring is ongoing but does not address the initial need to define required skills and experience.

The primary role of the governance function in enabling an enterprise to achieve its business objectives is to provide a means to effectively manage stakeholders. Stakeholders are the individuals or groups that have an interest or stake in the enterprise’s activities, outcomes, and performance. They include shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers, regulators, and society at large. Effective stakeholder management involves identifying, engaging, communicating, and satisfying the needs and expectations of the stakeholders in a transparent and ethical manner. By providing a means to effectively manage stakeholders, the governance function can help the enterprise to align its vision, mission, strategy, and values with the stakeholder interests, foster trust and collaboration among the stakeholder groups, balance the economic and social goals and the individual and communal goals of the enterprise, and enhance the reputation and legitimacy of the enterprise in the market and society.

The other options are not as primary as providing a means to effectively manage stakeholders for the governance function. Determining risk thresholds that the enterprise can sustain is animportant aspect of the governance function, but it is not the primary role. Risk thresholds are the levels of risk exposure that the enterprise is willing to accept or tolerate in pursuit of its business objectives. They are derived from the enterprise’s risk appetite and risk tolerance statements, which reflect the enterprise’s culture, values, and strategy. The governance function can help to define, communicate, and monitor the risk thresholds that the enterprise can sustain, but this is not its primary role. Preparing business continuity and resiliency plans is a vital responsibility of the management function, not the governance function. Business continuity and resiliency plans are the documents that outline the processes and procedures for ensuring the continuity of critical business functions and operations in the event of a disruption or crisis. They also describe how the enterprise can recover from the disruption or crisis and resume normal operations as soon as possible. The governance function can oversee and approve the business continuity and resiliency plans prepared by the management function, but this is not its primary role. Monitoring strategic plans to reach the desired target state is a key activity of both the governance function and the management function, but it is not their primary role. Strategic plans are the documents that define the long-term goals and objectives of the enterprise and how they will be achieved. They also specify the resources, actions, measures, and timelines for implementing the strategy. The governance function can set the direction and scope of the strategic plans, while the management function can execute and report on them. Both functions can monitor the progress and performance of the strategic plans to reach the desired target state, but this is not their primary role. References := The five functions of governance – Project Manager, What is a Governance Structure? - ESG | The Report, Develop an effective governance structure | Australian Public Service …

 A data steward is a functional role in data management and governance, with responsibility for ensuring that data policies and standards turn into practice within the steward’s domain. Data stewards assist the enterprise in leveraging domain data assets to full capacity1. One of the primary responsibilities of a data steward is to establish data quality requirements and metrics, which define the criteria and measures for assessing the fitness of data for its intended use. Data quality requirements and metrics are based on the business needs and expectations of the data consumers, and they cover various dimensions of data quality, such as accuracy, completeness, consistency, timeliness, validity, and reliability23. Data stewards also monitor and report on the data quality performance, identify and resolve data quality issues, and implement continuous improvement initiatives to enhance the data quality4.

The other options are not the primary responsibility of a data steward, especially at an enterprise with mature data management programs. Implementing processes for data collection and use is a responsibility of a data engineer or a data analyst, who design and execute the technical aspects of data acquisition, transformation, storage, and analysis5. Ensuring compliance with data privacy laws and regulations is a responsibility of a data protection officer or a data privacy officer, who oversee the legal and ethical aspects of data processing, security, and consent. Developing data-related policies and procedures is a responsibility of a data governance committee or a data governance officer, who set the strategic direction and objectives for data management and governance across the enterprise.

A new regulation introduces a potential risk that must be assessed to understand its impact on the enterprise’s operations and compliance obligations. The CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition stresses that the first step in addressing new risks, such as regulations, is to conduct a risk assessment to evaluate their significance and implications.

Extract from CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition (Domain 3: Risk Optimization):"When a new regulation is identified, the first step is to assess the associated risk, including its potential impact on operations, compliance requirements, and the likelihood of enforcement. This assessment informs subsequent actions, such as developing mitigation plans or updating governance frameworks." (Approximate reference: Domain 3, Section on Risk Assessment)

Assessing the risk associated with the new regulation (option D) provides the enterprise with a clear understanding of the regulation’s impact, enabling informed decisions about compliance, mitigation, or strategic adjustments.

Why not the other options?

A. Request an action plan from the risk team: An action plan is premature without first assessing the risk’s scope and impact.

B. Determine whether the board wants to comply with the regulation: The board’s decision on compliance should be informed by a risk assessment, not precede it.

C. Update the risk management framework: Updating the framework may be necessary later but is not the first step, as the specific risk must be understood first.

 Engaging stakeholders to identify and validate business requirements is the best way to improve the success rate of future IT initiatives. Stakeholders are the individuals or groups who have an interest or influence in the IT initiatives, such as business users, customers, managers, sponsors, etc. Engaging stakeholders can help:

Understand the needs, expectations, and priorities of the stakeholders, and ensure that they are aligned with the business objectives and strategy

Define and document the business requirements that specify what the IT initiatives should deliver in terms of functionality, quality, performance, and value

Validate and verify that the business requirements are clear, complete, consistent, feasible, and testable

Communicate and manage any changes or issues that may affect the business requirements or the IT initiatives

Engaging stakeholders to identify and validate business requirements can help avoid missing key functionality in the corporate applications, and ensure that they meet the stakeholder’s needs and expectations. This can also reduce the reliance on spreadsheets and databases as alternative software solutions, and increase the user satisfaction and adoption of the enterprise applications.

The other options are not the best way to improve the success rate of future IT initiatives. Engaging the business user community in acceptance testing of acquired applications is a good practice, but it is not sufficient to ensure that the applications have the key functionality that meets the business requirements. Acceptance testing is done at the end of the IT initiative lifecycle, after the applications have been developed or acquired. If the business requirements were not properly identified and validated at the beginning of the IT initiative lifecycle, acceptance testing may reveal significant gaps or defects that may be costly or difficult to fix. Establishing a process for risk and value management is a useful technique, but it does not directly address the issue of missing key functionality in the corporate applications. Risk and value management involves identifying, assessing, prioritizing, and treating the risks and benefits associated with IT initiatives. However, without clear and valid business requirements, risk and value management may not be effective or accurate. Prohibiting the use of non-approved alternate software solutions is a restrictive measure, but it does not solve the problem of missing key functionality in the corporate applications. Prohibiting the use of spreadsheets and databases may force the users to use the enterprise applications, but it may also create dissatisfaction, frustration, or resistance among them. Moreover, it may prevent them from performing their tasks efficiently or effectively if the enterprise applications do not meet their needs.

For more information on engaging stakeholders to identify and validate business requirements, you can refer to these web sources:

Stakeholder Engagement - ISACA

Business Requirements - ISACA

Requirements Validation - ISACA

Understanding the root causeis the essential first step. The CEO shouldwork with regional leadershipto gather context before applying solutions or imposing changes. This collaborative approach ensures that corrective actions are informed, targeted, and not based on assumptions.

Other steps like reviewing business cases or revising benefits calculations may follow, butdiagnosis must come before treatment.

According to the CGEIT exam content outline1, one of the subtopics under the domain of Governance of Enterprise IT is “Governance Strategy Alignment with Enterprise Objectives”. This subtopic covers the process of ensuring that the IT strategy is aligned with the business strategy and supports the achievement of enterprise goals and objectives. Therefore, the best course of action for the CIO in this situation is to align the business strategy with the IT strategy, which would help the IT team to meet the new demands and deliver value to the enterprise. References: 1: CGEIT Exam Content Outline | ISACA

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

The CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition, in its IT Resources domain, addresses the management of IT human resources to ensure they have the skills and availability to support enterprise objectives. Aligning IT HR management with business needs ensures that staffing, skills development, and resource allocation are driven by strategic priorities.

Option D: Align IT human resource (HR) management with business planning is the best approach. This ensures that IT HR strategies (e.g., hiring, training, retention) are directly tied to the enterprise’s business goals, such as digital transformation or new service launches. For example, if the business plans to adopt cloud technologies, HR can prioritize hiring cloud architects or training existing staff. The manual likely references COBIT 2019’s APO07-Managed Human Resources, which emphasizes aligning IT HR with business strategies.

Option A: Focus on outsourcing is a tactical solution, not a comprehensive strategy, and may not address internal skill development.

Option B: Integrate IT training requests with IT budget planning is important but narrower, focusing only on training funding rather than overall HR alignment.

Option C: Align IT HR management processes with internal training is limited to training and doesn’t address broader HR needs like recruitment or capacity planning.

Double Verification: The answer aligns with COBIT’s APO07 and the CGEIT domain’s focus on strategic resource management. Business alignment is a core principle in ISACA’s HR management guidance.

ISACA CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition, Domain 2: IT Resources (focus on human resource management).

COBIT 2019, APO07-Managed Human Resources.

ISACA Glossary (for definitions of HR management), available at https://www.isaca.org/resources/glossary.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

The CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition, in its Risk Optimization domain, emphasizes that IT risk management policies and standards must support the enterprise’s strategic objectives to ensure alignment with business priorities. Enterprise goals and objectives provide the foundation for IT risk management, ensuring that policies address risks that could hinder strategic outcomes (e.g., market expansion, regulatory compliance). For example, if an enterprise goal is to enhance customer trust, risk policies might prioritize cybersecurity. The manual likely references COBIT 2019’s APO12-Managed Risk, which stresses aligning risk management with business objectives.

Option A: Best practices are important but generic and may not reflect specific enterprise needs.

Option B: Corporate risk culture influences risk management but is secondary to strategic goals.

Option D: ERM framework is a broader structure that IT risk management should integrate with, but enterprise goals are the primary driver.

Double Verification: The answer aligns with COBIT’s APO12 and the CGEIT domain’s focus on business alignment. Enterprise goals are the primary focus for risk policy alignment in ISACA’s frameworks.

ISACA CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition, Domain 4: Risk Optimization (focus on risk policy alignment).

COBIT 2019, APO12-Managed Risk.

ISACA Glossary (for definitions of risk management), available at https://www.isaca.org/resources/glossary.

Incorporating innovation and emerging technologies into the IT strategy requires a structured process that engages both IT and business stakeholders to ensure alignment and value delivery. The CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition highlights that a formal innovation management process is critical to effectively integrate new technologies.

Extract from CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition (Domain 4: Strategic Management):"To effectively incorporate innovation and emerging technologies, enterprises should establish a formal innovation management process that involves IT and business stakeholders. This process ensures that new technologies are evaluated, prioritized, and aligned with business objectives." (Approximate reference: Domain 4, Section on Innovation Management)

Establishing a formal innovation management process that involves IT and business stakeholders (option C) fosters collaboration, ensures strategic alignment, and drives successful adoption of emerging technologies.

Why not the other options?

A. Implementing new technologies based on maturity roadmaps according to reputable consulting entities: Relying on external roadmaps may not align with the enterprise’s specific needs.

B. Maintaining an IT strategy based on traditional technologies, supplemented by objectives for innovation: This approach limits innovation by prioritizing traditional technologies.

D. Performing quarterly feedback reviews with focus groups representing the enterprise’s customer base: Customer feedback is valuable but not the primary mechanism for strategic technology integration.

The best way to ensure that security risk is properly addressed when implementing an information security policy exception process is to confirm process owners’ acceptance of residual risk. Residual risk is the risk that remains after applying controls or mitigating measures to reduce the original risk1. Process owners are the individuals or groups that are responsible for the design, execution, and performance of a business process2. By confirming process owners’ acceptance of residual risk, the enterprise can ensure that the security risk associated with the policy exception is understood, acknowledged, and agreed upon by the relevant stakeholders. This can also help to assign accountability and liability for the potential consequences of the policy exception, as well as to monitor and review the risk level and the effectiveness of the controls or mitigating measures. The other options are not as effective as confirming process owners’ acceptance of residual risk for ensuring that security risk is properly addressed when implementing an information security policy exception process. Performing an internal and external network penetration test is a useful technique for identifying and exploiting vulnerabilities in the network infrastructure, but it does not address the specific security risk related to the policy exception. Obtaining IT security approval on security policy exceptions is a necessary step for validating and authorizing the policy exception, but it does not ensure that the process owners are aware of and accept the residual risk. Benchmarking policy against industry best practice is a good practice for comparing and improving the policy quality and performance, but it does not address the security risk associated with the policy exception.

A communication plan is a document that outlines the objectives, strategies, tactics, and messages for communicating with a specific audience. A communication plan for disseminating information regarding the technical risks of BYOD should include the following elements12:

The purpose and goals of the communication

The target audience and their needs and preferences

The key messages and tone of the communication

The communication channels and methods

The roles and responsibilities of the communicators

The timeline and frequency of the communication

The evaluation and feedback mechanisms

The most important element to include in this communication plan is the key messages, which should convey the potential exposures and impacts of BYOD using common terms that the audience can understand. The key messages should explain what BYOD is, why it is important, what are the benefits and challenges, what are the risks and threats, how to protect the devices and data, and what are the best practices and policies. The key messages should also be consistent, clear, concise, relevant, and engaging12.

The other options are not as important as the key messages, as they are either supporting or secondary elements of the communication plan. A link on the corporate intranet to the BYOD policy is a communication channel, which is a means of delivering the message, but not the message itself. A schedule and content for mandatory training is a communication tactic, which is a specific action or activity to implement the strategy, but not the strategy itself. Disciplinary actions for violation of the BYOD policy is a message detail, which is a specific piece of information to support the message, but not the message itself.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation:

The CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition, in its Benefits Realization domain, stresses the importance of evaluating IT investments to ensure they deliver sustained value to the enterprise. The IT steering committee needs a holistic approach to assess benefits, not just financial metrics at specific points.

Option D: Measure value creation throughout the economic life cycle is the best approach. This involves tracking benefits (e.g., revenue growth, cost savings, customer satisfaction) from project initiation through implementation and into ongoing operations, ensuring the investment delivers value over its full lifecycle. For example, a new CRM system’s benefits (e.g., improved sales) should be measured post-implementation to confirm sustained value. The manual likely references COBIT 2019’s APO05-Managed Portfolio, which advocates for lifecycle-based value management.

Option A: Measure ROI during implementation is premature, as ROI is most meaningful post-implementation when benefits are realized.

Option B: Measure NPV during stage gate review is useful for decision-making but focuses on financial projections at a single point, not actual benefits.

Option C: Measure planned versus actual spend tracks costs, not benefits, and is irrelevant to value creation.

Double Verification: The answer aligns with COBIT’s emphasis on lifecycle value management and the CGEIT domain’s focus on benefits realization. Lifecycle measurement is a standard ISACA practice for IT investments.

ISACA CGEIT Review Manual 8th Edition, Domain 3: Benefits Realization (focus on value measurement).

COBIT 2019, APO05-Managed Portfolio.

ISACA Glossary (for definitions of value creation), available at https://www.isaca.org/resources/glossary.