23/05/2019 12:14
- 59% of respondents say integration of CROs in transformation projects is essential to build trust and confidence
- 57% say the involvement of risk professionals in transformation initiatives is either limited or missing
Integrating Chief Risk Officers (CROs) in emerging technology and digital transformation projects improves user experience, increases digital trust and confidence in project delivery and reduces execution costs. This assessment is according to an EY poll held during a recent webcast entitled “How can you turn digital risk into a source of competitive advantage?” attended by more than 1,200 participants.
Fifty-nine percent of participants said increased digital trust and increased confidence in delivery resulted from the integration of CROs in digital transformation projects. However, 57% say that the involvement of CROs in their transformation initiatives is either limited or missing.
According to the poll, industry convergence and new business models are emerging with the rapid technology advancements, according to the poll. All poll respondents had ongoing projects involving new or emerging technologies in the areas of cloud (54%), digital (53%), automation (40%) and advanced analytics (37%). However, respondents said the participation of CROs within these projects were either: none (12%); limited or partially integrated (40%); while fully integrated was only 12%.
According to the poll, a fundamental shift in mindset will be needed by organizations to evolve from the current way that they are managing risk and compliance, to a digitally enabled function that delivers strategic value.
The majority of respondents (65%) agreed on the need for disruption in the risk and governance function to drive strategic value. Thirty-one percent voted for integration of all risk functions into one approach (such as internal audit, enterprise risk, legal, compliance, health and safety). Twenty-one percent said that implementing new and emerging risk technologies such as robotic process automation, artificial intelligence and advanced analytics would be key to disrupt the risk function. A data-driven approach to risk monitoring would drive disruption, according to 21.5% of respondents, while another 17.5% said specialized resources and training was required to support a more technical and data-driven risk program.
Commenting on the findings of the survey, Charalambos Constantinou, Partner and Head of Advisory Services of EY Cyprus, said: “Risk management is not just about diminishing the downsides of doing business, it is also about maximizing the upside ways that support the organization to achieve its goals. CROs need to balance between managing risk and moving fast enough to enable enterprises to intercept new opportunities and reap the rewards, taking advantage of new data, new technologies and new skill sets to provide robust and trustworthy analysis”.