The top two IT-related problems facing companies today are operational incidents and staffing issues, according to a study commissioned by the IT Governance Institute (ITGI).

Security and compliance were identified as the least important, which the study attributes to recent widespread efforts into information security and compliance programmes, such as those for Sarbanes-Oxley.

The global survey, based on 695 interviews with chief executives and chief information officers in 22 countries, found several signs of improvement since 2003.

The inclusion of IT on boards' agendas has risen, for example, and 63 per cent regularly or always include IT, compared to 58 per cent in ITGI's 2003 study.

Although 57 per cent of respondents said that IT is 'very important' to the delivery of corporate strategy, compared to 52 per cent in 2003, the study found that chief executives are responsible for governance over IT in only 24 per cent of organisations.

"As in 2003, chief executives and business executives are still hesitant to discuss IT governance," said Everett Johnson, international president of ITGI.

"This finding is troubling because boards and chief executives are ultimately responsible for overseeing all major assets including IT."

The study also suggested that IT departments in only 56 per cent of organisations understood and supported business users' needs. The number of companies indicating no IT problems increased from seven per cent in 2003 to 21 per cent last year.

IT outsourcing is no longer seen as the most beneficial resolution to IT problems, according to the report, and some 45 per cent of US respondents believe it is ineffective.