Challenges of IT Governance in the Financial Sector: A Study from Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The financial sector plays a significant role in the economics of all nations. The Saudi Arabian economy ranks amongst the top twenty in the world. Consequently, the financial sector occupies a critical position within Saudi Arabia. Contemporary digital technology has rendered the financial sector heavily dependent upon information technology (IT) as a means of enhancing and extending its operational scope. Hence, efficient governance is required to streamline and utilize information technology. Moreover, the pivotal importance of the financial sector requires that IT governance challenges have to be swiftly identified. However, there is a manifest absence of scholarship regarding IT governance issues not only in the widest sense, but also specifically in the context of the financial sectors. This research seeks to identify the inherent challenges associated with IT governance in Saudi Arabia's financial sector with a view to generalizing any findings and contributing to future research in this field.