The Three Lines of Defence is a model that the Financial Services Authority (which became the Financial Conduct Authority) encourages firms to adopt to provide clarity of responsibilities and accountabilities in between the three lines, and ensures effective independent oversight and assurance activities take place covering key decisions and processes.
Read MorePress Release: Another challenger bank selects StratexPoint as its prime risk monitoring solution
13th April 2015, London, UK. Another challenger bank has selected the StratexPoint Enterprise GRC solution from StratexSystems to monitor and manage its third party and conduct risk.
As well as meeting its first line of defence responsibilities, the client will use StratexPoint to proactively monitor risk across hundreds of processes that are outsourced to various third-party providers, ensuring that their performance is completely aligned with its own. This will enable StratexPoint to provide assurance to the Board and the regulator that it is delivering the right customer outcomes, and fully meeting its conduct risk management obligations.
Read MorePress Release: UK Financial Services Regulator chooses StratexPoint as its regulatory risk management solution
StratexSystems’ software tool is set to take UK financial services industry to an improved level of maturity in risk management and strategy execution.
10th November 2014, London, UK. A UK Financial Services Regulator has deployed the StratexPoint solution from StratexSystems as an enterprise-wide Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) solution that underpins its regulatory risk framework. The software enables our client to deliver its statutory objectives, which are focused on maintaining the stability of the financial services sector by supporting the regulation of around 1,700 of the UK’s largest and most important financial services firms.
Read MoreBusinesses benefit from harnessing the opportunity in risk
"Businesses benefit from harnessing the opportunity in risk" - Originally posted HERE by Patricia O'Connell.
Risk has evolved over the last decade from “an exercise in ticking boxes” to an area of strategic focus that is an engine for corporate growth and profit as well as a force for societal change.
And corporations are directly profiting from changing their treatment of risk in their organizations. Linda Conrad, director of strategic business risk at Zurich North America told Advisen that two of its divisions saved 27 percent and 29 percent respectively on their risk-based capital (RBC) consumption as a result of reviewing the way it treated risk.
Conrad described the results of the insurer’s internal approach to risk with its focus on Enterprise Cost of Risk, which includes the risk expenses that derive from other business activities considered “less insurable.”
Using what it calls Total Risk Profiling, Zurich moved from an asset-based approach to a risk-based approach for operational risk quantification and capital allocation, Conrad said at the RIMS conference in Denver in April.
On a smaller but no less dramatic scale, a 2013 World Bank report describes how farmers manage risk profitably. Access to such tools as rainfall insurance means that they can invest in such necessities as fertilizer and seed rather than having to save their capital as a hedge against weather-related calamity.
On a more holistic level, Mangient CEO and author Andrew Smart notes that companies are increasingly looking at the relationship between risk and strategy.
One driver of this development was the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. “It was a failure of strategy and risk,” notes Smart, CEO of London-based Manigent and co-author of Risk-Based Performance Management: Integrating Strategy and Risk.
The nature of the crisis forced companies of all kinds around the world to look at the relationship between risk and strategy. Eventually, it escalated the movement from risk as loss prevention and mitigation to being seen, by necessity, as something that could enable growth.
And in turn, the increased scrutiny of risk led to regulation that aided the aggregation and harnessing of data that could be used in a different way. “Informed decisions impact the bottom line,” says Scott Addis, president and CEO of The Addis Group and Addis Intellectual Capital. “People typically tell a business leader what they want to hear rather than what they know to be true. Risk management based on knowledge leads to better decisions, which drives profit growth.”
Michael Christian, CEO of Risk Strategies Company observed that “organizations have more data at their fingertips than they did 10 years ago, as well as more tools to help risk managers and now CFOs analyze them and understand where risks are and how to address them.” The aggregation of the data puts risk more squarely in the C-Suite, he says. “The CFO will be looking at it more deeply, and the CFO should have a direct line to the CEO, making them more aware of risk’s impact on the bottom line.
“For smart companies, the establishment of minimum frameworks and ISO, COSO, and SOX have helped them identify the right path.”
The need for discipline and focus around data was “an unintended consequence” – a positive one — of the financial crisis, according to Todd Macumber, president of the risk services division of brokerage Hub International. “Some [companies] still take a ‘check the box approach’ to the requirements of regulation and others use it to their advantage to perform better.”
Michael Christian said: “Companies have been forced to focus on risk because you can’t afford to make a mistake. You can’t sweep it under a carpet. A positive byproduct of this, he believes, is a greater focus on product quality. “You don’t want it to come out in the news that you’ve had a major product or cyber failure or production problems.”
He cites the automobile manufacturers as a prime example of the dangers of not managing risk. “They’ve hidden some of their issues. And that hurts their brand, the whole enterprise, and their reputation.”
Finally, there needs to be alignment between risk and strategy, and according to Smart, that’s best achieved by assessing risk appetite.
“Companies need to decide how much risk they’re willing to take on to achieve their goals,” he said. “And often the most challenging conversations is ‘where are we not taking enough risk?’”
While risk has evolved to a strategic tool for some companies, its role will continue to grow as new risks emerge along with tools and techniques for management.
Yet both the greatest risk and the ability to overcome it is within the purview of any company, says Hub’s Macumber. “Whether you’re using Word and Excel or sophisticated risk-assessment tools, culture has to be part of the toolbox,” he said. “Without management and executive commitment and support, you won’t have the resources, the expertise, and the attitude to achieve the necessary results. Whether it’s risk prevention, risk management, or competitive advantage, it all begins with executive buy-in.”
Fitch upgrades HML to RPS1- for UK residential prime and sub-prime
StratexSystems is very pleased to announce that HML’s UK residential primary (prime and sub-prime) servicer ratings have been upgraded to RPS1- from RPS2+ by Fitch. HML’s new RPS1- primary (prime) servicer rating is the highest of any third-party mortgage administration company in the UK and Ireland. Its RPS1- primary (sub-prime) rating is the highest in Europe.
The rating agency highlighted HML’s robust internal control and risk management frameworks, as well as an increased focus on staff training and IT investment, particularly the company’s iPortal online client reporting tool.
Commenting on the rating upgrades, Andrew Jones, chief executive officer of HML, said: “We are delighted with the news that Fitch has upgraded our UK residential primary (prime and sub-prime) servicer ratings from RPS2+ to RPS1-. We are now the highest-rated third-party mortgage administration company in the UK and Ireland for UK residential primary (prime) and the highest-rated in Europe for UK residential primary (sub-prime) by Fitch.
“Fitch highlighted our robust internal control and risk management frameworks, as well as our investment in IT, as particular strengths. We operate in a tough regulatory regime, and we are proud of our quality culture and environment, which reflect HML’s experience and stability.
“In the past 18 months we have secured 17 new contracts across all of our offerings, including mortgage servicing, analytics, standby servicing and unsecured lending. This reflects how our procedures and systems are robust and highly regarded within the market.”
StratexSystems Shortlisted for Global Risk Awards
StratexSystems is proud to announce that we have been shortlisted as Risk Management Service Provider of The Year 2012 for the IRM Awards! This award is designed to recognise the very best in service delivery among those that supply any risk management services to the industry.
The Institute of Risk Management (IRM) is a Global Risk Awards ceremony that is organised by the risk management world’s leading independent professional and educational body that recognises and rewards excellence in risk management.
The Global Risk Awards Ceremony will be held and hosted by Magnus Lindkvist (trendspotter and futurologist) at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London on 28 February 2012.
The Institute of Risk Management (IRM) is the world’s leading enterprise-wide risk education Institute that passionately believes in the importance of risk management and that investment in education and continual professional development leads to more effective risk management.
More info HERE
More than 50% of Fines Issued by the FSA are as a Result of Weak Risk Management Systems
Research from the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors has revealed that more than half of the fines handed out by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in 2011 were as a result of weak internal risk management systems. Fines can be issued by the FSA when organisations breach any of the eleven principles (operational and ethical). The recent research announced by the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors, shows that 60% of the FSA’s fines in 2011 were as a result of weak risk management systems – in 2010, 55% of fines were levied as a result of this.
Dr Ian Peters, Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors says:
StratexSystem's Consultancy Partner’s Productivity Improved by 20-30% with StratexPoint
StratexSystems are pleased to announce the success of one of our key consultancy partners who have seen a 20-30% jump in project productivity through the use of StratexPoint as a project delivery tool. By delivering more for less, over a shorter time frame, our consultancy partner’s clients have seen considerable benefit, as have our consultancy partner with extended project benefits.
Our software solution, StratexPoint, is an integrated strategy execution and risk management solution built on Microsoft SharePoint. By using this unique product organisations are able to clarify their strategic objectives, align their risk appetite and manage their key risks to enable the sustainable execution of their strategy. The traditional approach of most consultancy firms is the design the strategy and/or risk frameworks using an array of spreadsheets and powerpoints. This often involves a significant amount of re-working, re-presenting data and information which adds little value to the project but is very time consuming. Seeking to eliminate this non-value add effort during projects, our consultancy partner selected StratexPoint as its enabling technology platform as it is built in SharePoint meaning it is familiar, easy to use and very fast to ‘slice’ information for different audiences.
In addition to eliminating time consuming spreadsheet and powerpoint manipulation, our consultancy partner has not only deliver productivity increases of 20–30% but also found StratexPoint enables it to rapidly create momentum, builds buy-in and support early in the project and allows clients to clearly see what the future of strategy execution and risk management may look like.
Andrew Smart, CEO and founder of StratexSystems, said "When StratexPoint is embedded into a consultancy's delivery process, it creates a compelling consultancy proposition which adds real value to clients. With our shared view that strategy and risk management must be integrated to ensure the strategy is sustainable, working with this consultancy partner, we are able to deliver significant additional value during the project phase and should clients chose, on an ongoing basis."
StratexPoint Enhanced Dashboard Taster
Over the last few months, the team at StratexSystems has been collaborating with existing and new clients to improve our solution. Below is a taster of our enhanced dashboards.
The Strategy Execution overview dashboard is designed to provide senior executives with the information to enable them to understand how well they are executing their strategy while managing their risks.
For those that like Gauge Dashboards, StratexPoint introduces the Indicator Overview Dashboard. This provides a snapshot of indicator status for all indicators within a business unit. This can be viewed as a stand-alone dashboard or as a drill-down from the Strategic Overview Dashboard.
To get the detail of an objective, this drill-down dashboard provides a single page view of everything related to an objective, KPI status and trends, actions etc.
The Key and Emerging Risk Dashboard is designed to enable our clients to understand their level of exposure for both key and emerging risks, how that has changed over time and where the ‘Top 10’ exposures for each are.
For a free thirty day trial of StratexPoint click here.
StratexSystems Partners with Cyber Security Experts to Develop Strategic Cyber Security Solution
StratexSystems, a provider of integrated strategy execution and risk management solutions is pleased to announce the launch of CYSPEX (Cyber Strategic Programme Execution), a unique, comprehensive cyber security solution designed to provide boards and senior executives with a holistic view of their organisational cyber security status.
Developed with the combined Cyber Security and Risk-Based Performance Management expertise of Templar Executives (www.templarexecs.com) and Manigent (www.manigent.com), CYSPEX enables organisations to monitor and implement the delivery of their cyber strategy while managing and mitigating the organisation’s cyber risks in line with their risk appetite. Not only does this ensure your organisational information is secure and managed through its lifecycle, it also means information is delivered in a timely, relevant and valued manner.
An organisation’s value is increasingly made up of its information assets, such as patents, designs and custom databases, and how well they exploit them. As a result, these are increasingly coming under attack from a range of individuals, including commercial and governmental parties. In this environment, cyber security has to be a board level responsibility and solutions must deliver tangible business benefits.
Recent figures show that 92% of large organisations are currently experiencing losses from cyber incidents[1] which involve their information being lost or stolen and infrastructures being taken offline, or more worryingly, taken over. Poor cyber security can cost your business directly, through fines and litigation fees, and indirectly, by damaging your brand value, competitive advantage, productivity and revenue streams.
As experienced Risk Management Software Providers, StratexSystems are aware of the impact cyber risk can have on businesses: CYSPEX (Cyber Strategic Programme Execution) is a unique and comprehensive cyber security application designed to provide boards and senior executives with an holistic view of their organisational cyber security posture. Developed with the combined Cyber Security and Risk-Based Performance expertise of Templar Executives and Manigent, CYSPEX enables organisations to monitor and manage the delivery of their cyber strategy while managing and mitigating the organisation’s cyber risks in line with their risk appetite. Not only does this ensure your organisational information is secure and managed through its lifecycle, it also means information is delivered in a timely, relevant and valued manner.
StratexSystems CEO and Founder, Andrew Smart said: “We are excited to be partnering with Templar Executives to develop this innovative cyber security solution. Cyber Security is moving up the agenda of our clients but we believe there is a need for a strategic approach which is aligned to business strategy”.
Templar Executives CEO and Founder, Andrew Fitzmaurice said “The UK Government and UK PLC are increasingly recognising the holistic nature of the range of threats posed by cyber-attacks, and every day we seem to wake up to reports of another cyber security breach. Indeed, recent events such as the Stuxnet incident, and incidents at leading organisations such as HMRC, HSBC and Zurich Insurance plc, demonstrate the need for a comprehensive solution which enables a mindset change regarding Cyber Security. With our partners, StratexSystems we believe that CYSPEX will provide, for the first time, organisations with an opportunity to develop that much needed solution”.
[1] State of Security Survey, 2011, Symantec
