Business And Operational Risk

By their nature, business and operational risks are often less visible than other risks and are often difficult to pin down precisely. These risks relate to activities carried out within an entity, arising from structure, systems, people, products or processes.’

Operational risks range from the very small, for example, the risk of loss due to minor human mistakes, to the very large, such as the risk of bankruptcy due to serious fraud. On the other hand, business risk relates to: business interruption, errors or omissions by employees, litigation, loss of key employees, loss of suppliers, product failure, health and safety and failure of IT systems or cyber risks.

Cyber risks, in particular, are on top of the mind for business leaders globally. The cyber risk reality is that the internet has opened a new frontier in warfare: Everything is networked and anything networked can be hacked.

According to the 2016 Global Risks Report, the failure to understand and address risks related to technology, primarily the systemic cascading effects of cyber risks or the breakdown of critical information infrastructure, could have far-reaching consequences for national economies, economic sectors and global enterprises, the report warns.Crowe can help you manage IT-related operational risks from all angles.

On a global scale, organisations are dealing with dependability issues, culture differences, new laws, new policies, and even new customers and vendors. Crowe can help you manage operational- and supply-chain risks in many ways, such as assisting with:

•   Gaining visibility into vendors’ risks and the potential risks of the vendors’ supply chains and distribution channels;
•   Optimising supply-chain processes; and
•   Assessing impact of M&A and adjusting risk profiles accordingly.

Crowe’s operational risk services and solutions include:

•   Internal audit;
•   Distribution channel reviews;
•   Conversion to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS);
•   Risk assessments;
•   Vendor and other third-party audits;
•   Business continuity management;
•   Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) compliance and
•   Enterprise-wide compliance consulting.