Which COBIT principle focuses on separating governance from management?

• A. Meeting stakeholder needs
• B. End-to-end governance
• C. Applying a single integrated framework
• D. Separating governance from management

Answer: (D)

In COBIT, separating governance from management is about clearly dividing oversight from execution. Governance involves setting direction, goals, policies, and ensuring stakeholder needs are understood and met while continuously monitoring performance and risk. Management handles the day-to-day work—planning, building, running, and monitoring the enterprise's processes to deliver those goals. Keeping these roles distinct provides independent oversight, accountability, and effective decision-making, preventing conflicts of interest and enabling better assurance that strategy is implemented correctly. The other concepts describe outcomes or coverage, such as meeting stakeholder needs, an end-to-end governance view, or using a single integrated framework, but none of them specify the split between governance and management the way this principle does.