Comprehensive and Detailed In-Depth Explanation:
IT Governance ensures that IT strategies align with business objectives. The first step in IT governance is to define IT objectives, which guide all subsequent activities.
Option A (Identifying risk-mitigating options) is part of risk management but comes after setting objectives.
Option C (Identifying IT risk events) happens during risk assessment, not governance initiation.
Option D (Defining risk response policies) is a later stage in governance planning.
Since governance starts with setting clear IT objectives, B is the correct answer.
Reference: IIA IT Governance Framework - COBIT Principles