The Storyline of the 7th annual European GRC Summit Copenhagen Compliance Conference
Scene: A crucial board meeting of Global Mining.
Participants:
Mr. GEORGE RISKIN, Chairman of the board
Mr. ROBERTO M. ICOMPLI, CEO
Mrs. Caroline Moneypenny, CFO in charge of Compliance
Ms. ITA, IT Manager
Mr. I.M. Auditsson, Chairman of the Audit Committee
Mr. Joe Doe, Independent member of the Board
Large Conference Office - Desk
GEORGE RISKIN, Chairman of the board of Global Mining, around 50, dressed immaculately in a blue pin striped suit, sits at his desk reading his company spread sheet. A pained look of anxiety is across his face.
He crumples a piece of paper, tosses it in a nearby trashcan and then leans back in his chair and rubs his eyes. He scans his desk and a bright red brochure catch his eye. He picks it up and begins to read:
"European GRC SUMMIT in Copenhagen", September 23rd -24th 2013.
GEORGE:
Now that we today also have senior management at this meeting let me ask you: Why is it that we as responsible and experienced directors and do not take much notice of things like transparency and accountability to improve operations. Why is it is beneficial for us only to focus on how to be competitive in a tough, highly volatile economic scenario, improve customer relationships and improve profitability with the same traditional tools that do not work anymore.
Why not concern ourselves with the components of Governance, risk management, compliance and IT security issues to increase our profitability?
I call for details on of the last disclosure to the oversight authorities and I am provided with a bunch of excel spreadsheets even though last year we spent 10musd on upgrading our IT system.
ROBERTO
Yes, I agree, it is difficult to understand excel spreadsheets others have made. Furthermore, I've just informed Caroline Moneypenny from CFO/Compliance that the bank is asking for changes in our quarterly disclosures due to our commitment to increase the overdraft facilities, (due to the new oversight demands and rules in the Financial Services Industry).
We are also late in submitting the annual Compliance report on Bribery, Fraud and Corruption issues because we have not updated our procedures and processes to reflect the changes to the FCPA/Bribery Acts.
GEORGE
An on top of that we are swamped with new demands from the existing regulatory bodies. Why is any rulemaking and regulatory issues not subjected to a cost benefit analysis in which all studies, no matter how ridiculous, are considered?
Even modest changes proposed by the authorities’ takes quite a while and cost a fortune because we are always lagging behind and we do not work across the organization but in silo’s. The board is quite sandbagged by these requirements even though our primary responsibility is to support and safeguard our shareholders?
Make sure she attends this year's GRC conference. Last year there was different case studies that addressed all the latest and best practices related to Risk Management, Governance issues and Compliance processes and programs and I think she will get a great deal of updated knowledge out of it.
ROBERTO
I agree. Last year we created our Whistle Blower Policy and CSR compliance system based upon what we learned at this annual European GRC conference. I'll also think ITA from IT must find the time to attend, since half the conference will be dedicated to issues that focus on automation, audit trails and documentation.
GEORGE
Perfect. As of now the board of directors and management will focus on GRC issues like transparency and accountability. The focus on GRC is important for us to be able to be competitive in a tough. This highly volatile economic scenario need the components of GRC to improve customer relationships and how to raise profitability.
That is in line with the stakeholders who want to see us improve Governance, risk management and compliance culture across the organization. Let me call one of the sponsors of the conference directly, I'm sure that they will allow us discount if four of us attend. Now go home to take care of your wife and kids, see you in the morning.
GEORGE wipes the sweat from his forehead, takes another aspirin and turns his attention back to the GRC summit brochure. He begins to read the Conference program in detail.
Opening Key Note to set the tone of the Copenhagen Compliance conference is:
Linda Nielsen Professor, dr.jur. University of Copenhagen.
Key Note: The sweeping changes in Corporations and European Financial Markets: How the current financial and credit crisis has fundamentally changed the way corporations and financial markets are regulated and supervised.
To be continued in the next Newsletter with information on the conference when GEORGE RISKIN, ROBERT M. ICOMPLI, CAROLINE MONEYPENNY AND Ms. ITA, the IT Manager, continue their discussion on THE HOW AND THE WHY of:
Good Governance Is Good Business, Accounting and Audit Functions and Issues are vital, How to Start a Compliance Function from ground Zero, Business cases on Fraud and Corruption with reference to BA and FCPA can cost a bundle, Regulating Internal Controls can also safeguard employee interests, 3rd Party Compliance Issues means that you cannot outsource your responsibilities and liabilities, Oversight Reporting Updates because the authorities are being criticized for not taking a tough stand on the culprits so we all have to pay, Managing Internal GRC Investigations as part of the recovery is essentially added profits, How to Improve Your GRC Handling Process, Fraud and Detection, Integrating Risk Appetite and Risk Management are 2 sides of the same coin, regular workshops on Ethics and Culture are training that you cannot avoid, Do you really know where your Anti-Corruption Program is Heading? Integrate the Cloud Computing into Your Data Security Program if you want to recover all files on time, ITA recommends using IT to make Governance, risk Management and Compliance easier, She also uses IT and Risk Metrics to Measure Compliance Effectiveness, What's Mandatory & What's Common Sense in your GRC Processes, Enterprise Risk Management Programs must be revisited regularly.
