Graceanne Bowe, Director, SAP Events, Wellesley Information Services 

Huh?  Did I read that right? (you may be asking).  In fact, that is exactly what many of your peers in the SAP arena will be doing the week of March 7.  During that week, over 2,000 people who use SAP systems will converge at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for the co-located GRC 2011, Financials 2011, and HR 2011 educational conferences.  These delegates know that their investments in SAP technology are far too precious, and the processes they support are far too critical, to gamble on. 

This is especially true when it comes to governance, risk, and compliance (GRC), and I mean GRC as a unified, strategic discipline that goes far beyond Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.  Norman Marks, a vice president and GRC evangelist at SAP who is speaking at GRC 2011 and is an author for Project Expert, emphasizes the importance of a cross-functional, enterprise-wide definition of GRC and a common language for communicating about risk.  According to Marks, it’s not enough to have individual compliance programs that address specific risks—in order to have the best chance of positively impacting organizational performance, GRC must be a holistic strategy embraced by the entire business.  

But why read my take on Marks’ philosophy when you can hear it directly from the Expert himself?  During the week of February 21, you can join Marks in the Compliance forum to ask your specific questions about your own challenges in creating a holistic GRC strategy.  You can also register to read “GRC Explained: A New Way of Looking at Risk,”  an exclusive Q&A with Norman Marks. Previously only available to Project Expert subscribers, this interview digs deep into the important steps every company must take to achieve a rock-solid GRC strategy.  Register today. 

For more information about GRC 2011, please visit www.grc2011.com