Brisbane

Invitation to Present at Queensland CPA Congress

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I have been kindly invited by CPA Australia to present at the Queensland CPA Congress in October 2006 on the topic ‘Implementing Systems for Improved Reporting Efficiency’.  Since this has the potential to be drier than last week’s dog food, I am trying to ensure that the audience doesn’t go to sleep 5 minutes after I do through what will hopefully be an interesting presentation for most people. 

This I will do by giving a comprehensive companion guide (that has all the boring details) to attendees, and focussing the presentation on a strategic approach to information systems implementing for reporting efficiency.  This discussion will be livened up with some war stories from the field.  Most of our clients do struggle with their reporting efficiency problems and these stories will be used to illustrate some of the issues we all cope with.

The official session guideline is:

Presentation Overview:  Implementing Systems for Improved Reporting Efficiency

This presentation addresses issues in selecting and implementing information systems – including but not limited to accounting information systems – in order to ensure efficiency in business reporting. 

A strategic framework to building your information systems is provided that can be used to assess your reporting efficiency and to suggest strategies that will improve your business’ response to this important commercial issue.

The presentation will include ‘case studies from the field’ in Micheal’s experience in addressing these issues for clients.  All attendees will receive a comprehensive guide with detailed discussion on the approach to implementing systems to achieve improvements in reporting efficiency.

The presentation is set down for 25th October 2006 from 3.20pm to 4.20pm at the Sofitel Hotel in Brisbane.  Hope to see CPA members at Congress this year.

Building IT Value – the IT Val Framework

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Catching up with Tony Hayes – currently Chairman of the Information Technology Governance Institute’s ‘ITGI Committee’ (they’re the ones that release COBIT) – recently, Tony mentioned the new Val IT Framework that ITGI has been working on to develop as a complementary framework to COBIT.  Tony happens to live in Brisbane where he is currently Executive Director of the Performance and Service Delivery Commission for the Queensland Government, after a long (long) stint with Queensland Health. 

The Val IT Framework is designed to provide a frameweork for realising value from the investment in information technology.  Currently, the framework has three components to it, all recently released:  Val IT Framework, Val IT Business Case, and Val IT ING Case Study. 

Quoting from the opening chapter, COBIT is considered to be the means by which the value from IT is delivered, whilst Val IT is considered the end product in measuring and optimising business value from information technology:

“Val IT now adds best practices for the end, providing the means to unambiguously measure, monitor and optimise the realisation of business value from investment in IT. Val IT complements COBIT from a business and financial perspective and will help all those with an interest in value delivery from IT.” (Val IT Framework p6)

I am not sufficiently versed in the Val IT Framework just yet, but if it is anything like previous ISACA publications it is a worthwhile exercise.  For any medium-sized organisation, you could do worse than investigate the framework in terms of your ICT Service Delivery.  There is an entire program of work in the field that the Val IT Framework is delivering upon, the initiative is built around Benchmarking and Empirical Analysis, Technique Guides and Cases, and Enterprise Exchange and Community Influence.

If you are in business, spend a significant amount on information technology (and sometimes wonder where it all went), this is a must-read for either yourself or someone in your organisation.

Knowledge Management Forum: Blogs and Wikis and Modern Organisations

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Tomorrow night I am presenting to the Queensland Knowledge Management Forum on the role of Blogs and Wikis in Modern Organisations, as organised by Belinda Thompson:

Session 2 / 2006

Date: Tuesday, 21 February 2006, 3.00 to 4.30pm

Topics: Social Software: What does it mean for enterprise knowledge management systems?

Where: HSBC Building, Level 18, 300 Queen Street, Brisbane

Presenter 1: Belinda Thompson, National Knowledge & Information Manager BDO

Session Overview: Belinda Thompson will discuss three social software tools introduced within the Department of Education & Arts. This presentation was delivered to the ACT KM Conference in 2005.

Presenter 2: Micheal Axelsen (Director, Information Systems Consulting)

Session Overview: Micheal Axelsen will be discussing Blogs and Wikis and their place in modern organisations.

Presenter 3: Forum Members

Group Discussion:

What place does social software have within a KM strategy? What tools are the most effective at facilitating knowledge sharing? Should social software tools be embraced or run away from?

Presentation for CPA PNG

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My presentation slides from the CPA PNG conference, as promised in my previous post, have now been loaded up here on my blog (they’re available in PDF). Also the text of the speech is available here as a PDF as well (although it does lack my impromptu embellishments).

I very much enjoyed the opportunity to see an emerging profession in PNG, and it gives a bit of encouragement sitting back here in Brisbane where security guards are few and far between and it’s reasonably likely that water and power supplies will be kept going indefinitely. The members of the profession there have a big challenge but with people like Chris, Lucy, Lia and Leeanne (? unfortunately they’re the only names I recall, the Pondo Tavern was very dark and smoky and a few non-accounting sherbets may have been involved ?) the profession does have a bright beacon there.

And a big thank-you to CPA Australia & CPA PNG for the opportunity to present, and maybe one day I’ll get the opportunity again.

Welcome from Sunny PNG

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It has been a long time between posts – this seems to be the downfall of most bloggers.

Some time ago I was asked by CPA Australia to present on the topic ‘Management Information Reporting, including the IT Aspects’ at the annual CPA Australia/CPA PNG joint conference in Port Moresby. I accepted despite the trepidation one gets when you know you’ll have a 10-week-old baby, as well as a fractious two-year old, to look after (or rather, that you will have to leave with your loving wife when you go overseas!).

This blog post is coming from PNG (Crowne Plaza Hotel). I am here with Jim Dickson (International Director CPA Australia), Professor Colin Clarke (Vice President CPA Australia), and Patrick Hoiberg (former ‘king poobah’ of the ICAA),

The conference started yesterday with an opening by Jim Dickson and a keynote address by Colin Clarke, and then my presentation (after morning tea, of course).

The reaction seems to have been very positive (the audience was very kind, all 600 of them!), and I enjoyed giving the speech although we ran out of time for questions at the end (I had planned on an hour and a quarter but I had not reckoned on the logistics of the situation – getting 600 people to their seats is no easy task so every session tends to start late). If I can coax Jim Dickson to give me some photos, I will post them online here (tends to brighten up a blog!).

The IT Governance guide has rated a mention or two along the way, and everyone who has seen it has been very impressed. Jan Barned tells me sales have probably gone into the 200s already, which is very impressive for a newly launched guide. I understand I have a launch luncheon to attend on 1st December in Melbourne – so that should be good.

When I have access to my web storage (when I get back to Brisbane on Sunday) I will post the presentation slides and the text of my speech as near as I can get it, and we’ll have that sorted then.

It’s been very energising in PNG, and it seems to have been worth it.