Diagnosis and suggestions, free of charge, concerning state of responses to J-SOX

Tokyo — SAP Japan Co., Ltd. announced that the company will start full-scale provision of a streamlined diagnostic service for internal control from today. Through this service, customers can analyze the state of their activities for internal control related to IT, with a view to compliance with J-SOX legislation, and clarify any areas that need reform. By making optimal suggestions for resolving customers’ issues in this way, SAP Japan helps customers enhance their corporate value.

Since June, SAP Japan has provided the service on a trial basis to more than 20 customers. Now that the service has reached a high degree of completeness, SAP Japan is offering it on a full-scale basis. The service diagnoses the state of activities for internal control related to IT, based on a list of questions unique to SAP Japan, with reference to COBIT (Control Objectives for Information and related Technology). The results of the analysis are provided to each customer, free of charge, as an individual report.

Customers’ responses to approximately 50 questions are assessed from such viewpoints as business process documentation, thoroughness of processes, and record management, and a summary of SAP Japan’s analysis is provided in the form of a report, 30-50 pages long. Customers receive the report within 1-2 weeks after responding to the questions. The report includes the estimates of absolute values from a variety of aspects and comparisons with average values for the customers that participated in the trial service and for companies that have been rated highly. It indicates issues that need attention, and even includes cost reduction estimates if applications are installed to resolve the issues.

For the implementation of this service, SAP Japan offered compulsory e-learning to all employees (excluding staff members) to educate them of the overview of streamlined diagnosis or internal control. By strengthening this service, SAP Japan will provide powerful support for customers’ internal control activities.