Press Release
A BIG YEAR FOR GOVERNANCE, RISK AND COMPLIANCE (GRC)
In 2009 and Beyond, It's Less about Compliance and More about Risk
SAN JOSE, Calif. – January 22, 2009 – In the wake of 2008's historic crash of Wall Street and unprecedented economic woes, the New Year brings a shift in how companies are viewing Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC). In 2009 and beyond, it's all about the risk. The bottom line is poor risk management is at the heart of 2008's economic debacle and companies want to avoid being the next risk disaster.
"Over the past couple of years, compliance has been a primary concern for many while risk management has taken a back seat as a "we-can-get-to-that-later" activity," said Sara Gates, VP of Strategy for Agiliance. "That's all about to change. The financial events of 2008 and its fallout have forced companies to re-think the importance of risk management as an integral and strategic business driver."
In 2009 and beyond companies can expect auditors, audit committees, governments, regulators, and credit-rating agencies to increase scrutiny of corporate risk-management practices. Companies need to understand their risk profile - which areas they are exposed in, which activities may be risky, and whether the risks taken are within the appropriate risk-appetite and tolerance thresholds. With this shift, companies must now attempt to quantify, control, and mitigate risks that previously had not garnered their focused attention.
A Time to Embrace Risk Management
Many of the credit rating agencies have been eyeing enterprise risk management (ERM) practices and are poised to tighten the screws. Standard & Poor's is implementing a new risk management category as part of its credit ranking system this year. Moody's has been developing a holistic risk management rating methodology through its Enhanced Analysis Initiative and A.M. Best has stated that ERM will be included as an integral part of its rating process.
Businesses that embrace ERM are likely to see a positive impact on their cost of capital and bottom line because agencies will draw a straight line from ERM ratings to better credit ratings. Although ERM won't eliminate risks, it certainly will prepare companies for difficult situations, thereby minimizing their negative financial effects.
"In the future, the focus of ERM will shift from compliance, management and measurement to more business-driven results such as better loss optimization and strategic integration," continued Gates. "Now is the time for corporations to honestly assess how well prepared they are to meet the portfolio of risks they face and begin to implement ERM as part of the complete business process. To do otherwise would just be, well, risky business."
A New Approach to ERM
Visit http://www.agiliance.com/infocenter/risk_management.html to learn how one of the largest health insurance organizations in the United States - with tens of billions of dollars in revenue- is successfully leveraging GRC technology to better quantify, control, and mitigate risks without increasing costs or resource demands. You'll see how they are evolving their risk management practices from a purely tactical and "after-the-fact" activity to an integral and strategic business driver.
Agiliance: The Risk and Compliance Platform
Agiliance offers highly-automated risk and compliance management software products designed to help organizations thrive in the face of mounting pressures to manage and balance risk, compliance and IT budgets. By leveraging the power of Agiliance software, Global 2000 businesses are making impressive gains in their GRC efforts including reduced audit burden, increased visibility into current risk status, and improved leverage of IT resources.
To speak to an Agiliance expert about a topic covered in the Agiliance NewsWatch series, please contact Lorraine Kauffman-Hall at 704-882-0443 or lhall@agiliance.com. To learn more about Agiliance, please visit www.agiliance.com.
Media Contacts
Courtly Stevens
Ventana Public Relations
(925) 631-0188
courtly.stevens@ventanapr.com
