Previously, businesses treated governance, risk, and compliance as distinct operations. Processes and systems are routinely developed in response to a specific event — such as new rules, litigation, a data breach, or an audit finding – with little consideration for how they fit into the larger picture.
GRC, according to Infosecurity Outlook experts, is an integrated set of competencies that enables a company to reliably achieve goals, deal with uncertainty, and act with integrity.
GRC (governance, risk, and compliance) is a set of policies and procedures that help firms achieve their goals, deal with uncertainty, and behave with integrity. GRC’s main goal is to instill good business practices in people’s daily lives. While GRC is not a new concept, its importance has grown as risks have grown in number, complexity, and severity.
Enterprise risk management, compliance, third-party risk management, internal audit, and other disciplines are all part of GRC today. While each discipline has its own priorities – and often its own method of doing things — GRC executives are increasingly understanding the value of sharing data and analytics to improve performance and build a more resilient business.
The risk environment is more crowded, ambiguous, and interrelated than it has ever been. One risk, for example, can affect the supply chain, business continuity, business partnerships, IT security, labour productivity, and more. Multiple forces are modifying the risk terrain at the same time, including:
• The rate and scope of regulatory compliance are increasing.
Almost every business in every field must comply with an ever-increasing and ever-changing number of requirements.
• Accelerating risk management digitization
Every new point of access, whether it’s the internet of things, third parties, or blockchain, adds vulnerability and increases risk tremendously.
• Risk management is becoming increasingly important in company strategy.
Risk management is increasingly being seen as a strategic function, rather than just a tactical job.
• Increasing analytics sophistication better analytics are bringing new levels of insight to data-driven decisions.
The power of social media, the continual threat of cyberattacks, and demands for greater transparency are all increasing the pressure on CEOs and boards to make risk choices quickly and with little margin for error. To identify, manage, and minimize risk, senior executives are increasingly depending on a growing number of stakeholders from across the business.
Leaders must be able to swiftly obtain information and use that information to guide the organization toward success. By removing silos and fostering collaboration, a complete GRC plan may pave the path for faster, more accurate, and more coordinated action.
Processes are standardized, data collection is streamlined, and security is enforced using integrated GRC software. By automating mundane operations, the risk and compliance team can focus on higher-value duties like researching and resolving concerns rather than gathering data. Built-in analytics and consolidated data deliver new, data-driven insights, highlight interdependencies that might otherwise go unreported, and provide an early look at risk indicators that can be leveraged to create a strategic vision.
Add in real-time reporting that extracts the story from your data so you can make smarter, faster decisions. Dashboards also make it possible to keep track of crucial indications and KPIs throughout time. In a nutshell, integrated GRC software provides hard data on the present state of your risk and compliance program, where your gaps are, and what must be done. Immediately available.
Top executives are fully aware that the organization’s very survival may hinge on their capacity to obtain real-time risk data to make hard strategic decisions that will propel the company forward. And, thanks to a well-thought-out GRC strategy backed by integrated GRC technology, you now have both the visibility to understand your risks and the agility to avoid barriers so you can stay on track.
