Audit and risk practitioners play a pivotal role in providing insight into an organization’s governance status by ensuring proper standards are met, controls are in place, and processes are followed. The traditional process of internal auditing and risk management cannot provide complete assurance in today’s digital age. Organizations use multiple systems for report consolidation, resulting in a time-consuming and costly exercise. While technology advances have created opportunities for organizations, this is also exposing them to newer vulnerabilities that cause the governance landscape to be more complex than ever before.

Adding to the complexity, organizations often find a lack of alignment in their governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) strategies. Whether it’s due to executives and board members having created strategies based on unreliable or untimely information, executive-level strategies that are not linked to operational goals, or misalignment between business and IT, a lack of alignment prohibits management from having the insight needed to achieve the strategic objectives and goals of the organization. To meet these challenges and adapt to this new landscape, organizations need to simplify processes, better manage risk, and come up with new strategies.

Leveraging Technology

Automation is increasingly being used by leading internal audit and risk management functions to improve GRC processes. Organizations can leverage technology to better identify risk and control issues, conduct and manage audits, and monitor events to ensure that issues are mitigated and resolved. Technology advances, such as continuous control monitoring and real-time reporting, are providing management with deeper insights beyond simple compliance and historic results reporting. Skill and time constraints previously meant that very few organizations were able to monitor organizational data effectively, resulting in revenue leakages, undetected fraudulent activities, and breaches in information security.

GRC solutions — such as SAP GRC solutions enabled by EOH — can empower management to identify and assess risk in real time rather than relying solely on internal audit and risk management practitioners, shifting more accountability to management teams. Subsequently, internal audit and risk management practitioners have more time to find new and innovative ways to provide insight and assurance for the executives and board members, increasing communication channels while bridging strategic objectives. EOH’s GRC solutions have predefined methodologies that assist organizations in accelerating internal control environments by providing greater coverage at a reduced cost, freeing up audit and risk management to enhance value services.

Our Vision for GRC

It is important to remember that risks and controls are ever evolving and must be treated as an ongoing dialogue between management and operations. Organizations should therefore move toward continuous monitoring of risks and learn how to communicate more effectively.

EOH’s GRC solutions focus on using technology as an enabler, providing real-time insights into companies’ businesses and bridging the gap between strategy and execution. EOH offers GRC products and services that can monitor risks and fast-track governance processes by focusing on the successful implementation of SAP GRC solutions. Our GRC solutions can help provide long-term solutions that align the vision of GRC with the risks of today, uniting strategy and execution while promoting continuous monitoring, ensuring that you get it right the first time.

To learn more about EOH’s GRC solutions, visit www.eoh.co.za or email justin.clarke@eoh.com.