Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT) Certification Practice Exam

What benefit does effective IT governance provide to an organization?

1. Decreased operational costs

2. Enhanced compliance with laws

3. A proactive alignment of IT with business objectives

4. Elimination of all IT-related risks

The correct answer is: A proactive alignment of IT with business objectives

Effective IT governance provides the essential benefit of proactively aligning IT with business objectives. This alignment ensures that the organization's technology investments are directly supporting its strategic goals, which enhances overall performance and competitiveness. By establishing clear frameworks, policies, and guidelines, IT governance helps ensure that IT initiatives are not undertaken in isolation but instead contribute to the broader aims of the organization. In a well-governed framework, IT strategies are developed in conjunction with business plans, which leads to a more efficient allocation of resources, improved project prioritization, and clear accountability. This ensures that IT is not only a support function but a key enabler of business success, ultimately driving value and fostering innovation within the organization. While benefits such as decreased operational costs, enhanced compliance, and risk management are significant outcomes of effective IT governance, they are often seen as secondary outcomes that arise from the primary benefit of alignment with business objectives. This makes proactive alignment the cornerstone of effective IT governance.