What is IRM? What is the difference between GRC and IRM?

The primary role of auditors is to help the organization remain compliant and meet its objectives efficiently. The growing and changing needs of stakeholders, crisis management requirements, and uncertainty have widened the scope of internal audits. In response to these requirements, new trends have emerged in the field of internal audit that will add value to the organization and guide it through the landscape of risks.

According to an analysis by Atlas VPN, credit card fraud cases surged by 104.7% when you compare Q1 of 2019 and 2020. Likewise, Julie Conroy, a research director at Aite Group, reported that by the end-2020, credit card fraud losses in the US amounted to a staggering $11 billion! These facts make it clear that the digital payment ecosystem is rife with vulnerabilities. After all, security gaps can emerge at various points of handling, storage, and transmission, such as at POS devices, e-commerce apps, Wi-Fi hotspots and personal computers.

The importance of good corporate governance for an organization’s success has been a topic discussed across. However, even though organizations keep in mind the principles, the different models and all the aspects of good governance, there is always scope for error and that is why issues in corporate governance are in abundance. Especially accountability issues. By now, we know how important accountability and transparency is in corporate governance. Let us look at some of the steps you could take against potential issues that you may have to face.

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Risk management is the process of identifying, assessing, and managing risks in an organization. In times of uncertainties, the organization looks to risk managers to make crucial decisions about risk management and mitigation. Risk officers are required to bring all stakeholders on the same page and decide on the organization’s risk appetite. Risk appetite and risk tolerance are the two essential concepts in risk management around which misconceptions and confusion are prevalent.

In the modern-day market and workplace, risk is a part and parcel of business operations. Considering the shift to remote working, threats and potential vulnerabilities are ever present, which is why risk management is now a top priority. As a matter of fact, in 2021, General Data Protection Regulation fines rose by around 40%. Big names like the Marriott and British Airways incurred fines of $23.8 million and $26 million, respectively, for data breaches. This is the cost of poor risk assessment and management controls in today’s economic climate. Thankfully, auditors and risk management teams can get ahead of such problem areas with clearly defined key risk indicators (KRIs).

Today’s organizations face a plethora of challenges managing compliance, keeping up with internal policies, and improving social security practices. Needless to say, that managing compliance and risk management programs manually is a painful task. Fortunately, there is an influx of software applications in the compliance and risk management space claiming to reduce compliance and risk managers’ pain. However, an unintuitive GRC platform laden with poor user experience will only add to problems.

Good governance is important for the smooth and effective functioning of the organization. It is a broader concept; and includes oversight and practices to establish an organization’s strategic direction and achieve its purpose and make the best use of available resources.

The mention of the very word audit evokes panic for business owners and compliance officers. You might be surprised to know that auditing can become a painful experience even for the auditors. Tight audit budgets, number of policies to flick through, lack of cooperation from stakeholders can all cause auditors’ obstacles.

In a world where efficiency is king, it comes as no surprise that the practice of workflow automation is as popular as it is. Every process has some form of workflow to go through, and these often include several manual tasks, which increase risk exposure due to their inherently error-prone nature. Workflow automation addresses this lack, working on a company-wide scale. For instance, as per data published by the Annuitas Group, marketing and process automation drew in a 417 % increase in revenue.