Wading through regulations is a necessary evil when diving into IT Leadership. The first step is understanding the difference between compliance and governance.
IT Compliance refers to a set of defined guidelines, sourced outside the business, that require IT systems, design and/or processes to comply. PCI and HIPAA are both examples of compliance regulations.
IT Governance refers to the responsibility and mindset of aligning IT resources to stakeholder values. ITIL and Cobit 5 are popular examples of governance frameworks with different objectives.