CALL FOR PAPERS Sixth Annual Forum on Financial Information Systems and Cybersecurity: A Public Policy Perspective

The information revolution has not only introduced new technologies, but has fundamentally changed the way business is managed and conducted. Economic transactions increasingly take place via digital electronic activities focused primarily on the interconnectivity obtained via the Internet. A critical part of this interconnectivity is the way organizations have integrated their accounting and financial management systems with Internet–based applications.

As a result of the above noted developments, cybersecurity has moved to center stage. Indeed, cybersecurity (with its emphasis on information and computer security) has itself become a key issue for private and public organizations in the digital economy. The public policy implications of cybersecurity are now being actively debated. The fact that President Obama has made cybersecurity a national priority has highlighted the importance of this debate. The emphasis on reliable and valid internal control systems, under the Sarbanes- Oxley Act (SOX) of 2002, has also highlighted the importance of the relation between financial information systems and cyber security.

To explore issues concerning the relations among financial information systems, cybersecurity, and public policy, the Accounting and Information Assurance Department from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, in cooperation with the Center for Public Policy and Private Enterprise from the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy are pleased to announce that they will sponsor the Sixth Annual Forum on Financial Information Systems and Cybersecurity: A Public Policy Perspective. The Forum will be held at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business on Wednesday, October 28, 2009. Coordinators for the Forum are Lawrence A. Gordon, Martin P. Loeb, and William Lucyshyn.

The Forum is intended to encourage the exchange of ideas among a small group of researchers and executives who share a common interest in issues related to financial information systems and cybersecurity. For preferential consideration, papers for the Forum should be submitted as DOC or RTF files using e-mail by August 3, 2009 to Dr. Lawrence A. Gordon at the University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business, College Park, MD 20742. Authors of papers submitted will be notified as to whether their papers have been accepted for presentation by August 24, 2009. Submitted papers should include a one-paragraph biography of the person who will be presenting the paper if it is accepted for the Forum.