Category Archives: Government@Risk – Jim Kline

#354 – RISK MANAGEMENT IN NEW ZEALAND – JAMES KLINE PH.D.

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On October 18, 2021, the Controller and Auditor General of New Zealand issued report entitled:” Our observations on local government risk management”. (1) The report is a follow up on a 2016 report “Reflections from our audits: Governance and accountability”. The 2016 report noted that risk management practices were needed in local government. The 2021 report is an in-depth examination of risk management practices of four councils: Auckland Council, Environment Canterbury Regional Council, Queenstown Lake District Council and Waipa District Council. Continue reading →

#353 – ISO CERTIFICATION 2020 SURVEY RESULTS – JAMES KLINE PH.D.

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In September 2021 the International Organization for Standards (ISO) published the results of its survey of 2020 certifications. (1) This piece reviews the results. It should be noted that there are two other assessments of the results. One is by Oxebridge Quality Resources. (2) The other is by CQI in the United Kingdom. (3) The assessments differ in focus. The Oxebridge assessment focuses on ISO 9001. While CQI provides an overview of all the ISO certification results. This piece will also provide an overview. But it will also discuss the numbers for the four certifications, 9001, 14001, 27500 and 45001, which have the largest numbers. Continue reading →

#350 – ELECTORAL QUALITY AND INTEGRITY – JAMES KLINE PH.D.

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On September 15, 2021, ASQ announced the formation of the Center for Electoral Quality and Integrity. This announcement caused a conflicted reaction.  On the one hand I liked that the Government Division, which was pushing this action, was showing some level of activity, after almost none for several years. One the other hand, I just laughed at the idea that ASQ and Government Division was going to, or even be capable of, having an impact on electoral quality or integrity. This is not a case of believing the objective is bad. Continue reading →

#346 – GOVERNMENT RESILIENCE IN COVID ERA – JAMES KLINE PH.D.

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The Association of Government Accountants (AGA), a professional organization for government accounts and financial mangers, recently published the results of a survey entitled: The COVID-19 Challenge: CFO Views on Organizational Resilience in Pandemic Conditions. (1)

The surveys of nearly a dozen Chief Financial Officers (CFO) and Financial Managers in small and large federal agencies, was conducted between March and April 2021. The questions focused on four major areas: Workforce, Real Estate, Information Technology (IT) and Organizational Resiliency. Continue reading →

#344 – HOW LOCAL GOVERNMENTS CAN STOP CYBER ATTACKS – JAMES KLINE PH.D.

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In my last piece I discussed an international survey on ransomware attacks. The emphasis was on risks associated with attacks on government organizations. The survey found that both central and local governments were vulnerable to such attacks. Thus, the risk was substantive. Further, in many cases, governments paid the ransom to get their data unlocked.  The survey also showed that governments, particularly local governments, were not well prepared to deal with such attacks. The willingness to pay and the lack of preparedness make governments a ripe target for ransomware attacks. Continue reading →