Dubai Customs successfully fulfills COBIT 5 criteria

Dubai Customs has successfully fulfilled the audit criteria of the latest generation of the COBIT 5 framework – attributed as the ultimate IT governance framework in the world. Dubai Customs was accredited by the US-based Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). COBIT 5 is the latest edition of ISACA’s globally accepted framework, providing an end-to-end business view of the governance of enterprise IT.

DC managed to comply to the audit criteria in a record time thanks to its internal processes and systems’ high compatibility with the framework norms.

The ISACA mentioned in its COBIT Global Regulatory and Legislative Recognition report – a document that illustrates several examples of the recognition achieved by COBIT from the public sector and governmental agencies throughout the world – that Dubai Customs adopts COBIT as its comprehensive IT framework.

Dubai Customs is the first government organization in the UAE and the only Customs agency in the MENA region that has successfully satisfied the criteria of the latest generation of COBIT 5, as an IT governance framework. 

The new COBIT 5 delivers many evident benefits to enterprises of all sizes. It helps them create optimal value from IT by maintaining a balance between realising benefits and optimizing  risk levels and resource use. It also creates a clear vision and approach to help decision makers take well-informed decisions and boost the ROI. It aids in making the enterprise highly responsive to business requirements and resources optimization. In addition, COBIT 5 is designed to cover all aspects of good governance and management of information and technology (IT) assets, building on previous COBIT generations.

Commenting on the world-class accreditation, the Director of Dubai Customs H.E. Ahmed Mahboob Musabih said, “We at Dubai Customs rely only on the latest of best governance practices worldwide as they serve as a key tool to facilitate decision making, boost service quality, monitor performance and leverage efficiency of internal systems. Being accredited the COBIT 5 is a major milestone in Dubai Customs’ process development approach.

 “We are happy with the global trust Dubai Customs’ processes have gained. Aligning our processes to the new framework in a record time shows how developed we are,” he added.

The Executive Director of Customs Development Division at Dubai Customs Juma Al Ghaith said “The COBIT 5 framework stands apart as the leading globally acknowledged governance framework for management and control of enterprise IT.”

He added: “Dubai Customs’ adoption of two generations of the COBIT definitely reflects its commitment to embracing only the best of global practices and standards. In addition to the COBIT 5 framework, Dubai Customs has adopted many other global criteria in IT governance, namely ISO 20000, ISO27001, ISO9001, ISO 21500 and ISO10244, and some best practices in IT development and project management, such as CMMI and PMI-PMBOK.”

He pointed out that Dubai Customs had been one of the leading government entities in fulfilling the criteria of COBIT 4.1 framework back in 2012, due to the high maturity of its internal processes. “As COBIT 5 was recently revealed, Dubai Customs was very much eager to align its processes with the new framework, being the most respected global practice in the growing field of IT governance, in line with its Smart Government Strategy,” Al Ghaith added.

The COBIT 5 framework for the governance and management of enterprise IT is a leading-edge business optimization and growth roadmap that leverages proven practices, global thought leadership and ground-breaking tools to inspire IT innovation and fuel business success.

The COBIT 5 relies on five main principles: Meeting stakeholder needs, covering the enterprise end-to-end, applying a single integrated framework, enabling a holistic approach and separating governance from management.