Understanding and Specifying Information Security Needs to Support the Delivery of High Quality Security Services

In this paper we present an approach for specifying and prioritizing information security requirements in organizations. It is important to prioritize security requirements since hundred per cent security is\ud not achievable and the limited resources available should be directed to satisfy the most important ones. We propose to explicitly link security requirements with the organization’s business vision, i.e. to provide business\ud rationale for security requirements. The rationale is then used as a basis for comparing the importance of different security requirements.\ud Furthermore we discuss how to integrate the aforementioned solution concepts into a service level management process for security services, which is an important step in IT Governance. We validate our approach by way of a focus group session

The Capital Improvement Plan Environmental Assessment Process

This report contains one explicit mention of Waller Creek and how a Convention Center 66" Water Transmission Line Relocation resulted in a recommendation for the restoration of Waller Creek banks.This report outlines the current requirements for Environmental Assessments (EAs) performed for compliance with the City of Austin Land Development Code (LDC) as they are applied in City Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) projects. Much of this information is not currently documented in either the Environmental Criteria Manual (ECM) or other material readily available to Public Works Project Managers. An overview of the Environmental Assessment process is provided along with the goals for CIP assessments, methods for review and completion of assessments, and recommendations for improving the City processes. Attachments to this report include pertinent LDC citations, the form in use for project identification, a suggested process for conducting and reviewing assessments a scope of work for staff or consultants performing assessments, and photographic summaries of critical environmental features to be protected in accordance with the LDC in City as well as private projects. Also, a flowchart of the EA review process and a brief summary of assessments of past projects are included in the attachments. The information is provided as a precursor to the expansion of the current ECM section on Environmental Assessments in Section 1.3.0 and for consideration by the Public Works Department and other Project Managers for early review of environmental impacts, leading to better CIP projects..Waller Creek Working Grou

The New Capital Adequacy Framework: Institutional Constraints and Incentive Structures

This paper considers the implementation challenges facing the Basel Committee's new proposals on bank capital standards. When compared with the existing Capital Accord, the proposals represent a shift across two intersecting dimensions-regulatory versus economic capital, and rules-based versus process-oriented regulation. On minimum capital standards, the case for using external ratings may be stronger than has been recognized, given the divergences in the purpose and design of internal ratings. On supervisory review, ensuring comparability among supervisors and building supervisory capacity will present serious challenges. On enhancing market discipline, incentives for markets to exercise discipline will be required.

The political economy of convergence: The case of IFRS for SMEs.

This paper examines the processes used by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), in achieving widespread convergence to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by developing economies. Global convergence of financial reporting standards is a politically motivated agenda. The movement towards standardisation of financial reporting has been described in various ways including, adoption, application, transitioning, implementation (Brown and Tarca 2012), harmonization (Strouhal 2012) and convergence (Stevenson 2012; Street 2012; Pawsey, Brown and Chatterjee 2013). In this paper the term convergence encapsulates the efforts by developing countries to revise their national standards to be the same as IFRSs. The IFRS for Small and Medium sized Enterprises (IFRS for SMEs) was partly to facilitate developing economies’ commitment to convergence (UNCTAD 2009). Introducing a two-tier system implied by a special IFRS for SMEs is the first synthesis of the international convergence process (Rodrigues and Craig 2007). Given that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly important in the global economy, it is equally important that there is a clear set of principles underpinning financial reporting for these entities. However, there is limited discussion on the development of the IFRS for SMEs in the academic literature. Only very recently have academics from developing countries engaged in discussions on IFRS for SME adoption (Phang and Mahzan 2013). Therefore, this paper provides an understanding of the activities that led to the promulgation of the standard and the efforts of the World Bank, the United Nations and other international organisations to bring this issue onto IASB’s agenda since early 2000. This paper is timely as the IASB has commenced its comprehensive review of the IFRS for SMEs (IASB 2012)