Past corporate failings have been attributed to lack of accountability, strategy and transparency.

Tougher expectations by regulators and other stakeholders now mean that corporates and financial institutions should demonstrate better discipline, control and responsibility. Failure to keep on top of, and comply with, existing and emerging regulation could jeopardise reputations and livelihoods. How robust is your governance, risk and compliance programme?

Financial risks have probably never been more acute. Capital reserves, credit portfolios, investment policies, and capital and debt profiles all demand constant scrutiny to adequately manage and mitigate risk.

Companies should also be vigilant about risks presented by suppliers. A counterparty who defaults on a contract, or whose business collapses, can have serious financial and reputational ramifications for connected parties.

Fraud risks can also increase when cash is tight. Some employees become more opportunistic — and external hackers more resourceful. They find security lax in areas of the business that used to be better resourced … and they strike. Are your systems and policies sufficiently robust to ward off the risk of fraud?

With all these demands, internal audit is often elevated in many companies from pure compliance to a function that regularly reviews the risk profile for emerging risks and identifies trends as it keep its finger on the pulse of business performance. The chief risk officer, meanwhile, becomes increasingly involved in strategic decision-making where the emphasis is as much on risk as it is on growth.

How KPMG can help

KPMG’s professionals can provide advice to help companies stay on track and deal with risks that could unhinge their business survival.

Our governance, risk and regulatory professionals help clients to drive sustainable change throughout their organisations. Drawing on our industry knowledge, as well as technical, operational and programme management skills, we can:

• Combine our technical risk, assurance and regulatory knowledge to manage entire projects from planning through to implementation 
• Help clients to design and implement appropriate governance arrangements and management reporting to enable appropriate oversight of risk and compliance within the business 
• Define and interpret regulatory requirements for clients, provide advice on specific areas (e.g. IT implementation, processes etc.) and assist clients to manage their impact on operations and to embed change across functions and business units 
• Assist clients to identify and control financial and operational risks embedded in business systems and processes 
• Help clients improve business and financial processes to drive efficiencies and cost savings whilst balancing the requirement for robust controls.