The Business Need for GRC Software

How compliant is your business and how confident are you with your answer? Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) refers to an area of business that attempts to qualify every variable that can affect operations. GRC is important because falling out of compliance in industries like healthcare or finance can lead to harsh penalties and even legal action. For this reason, most companies have implemented GRC in one form or another to help keep track of all the moving parts. Unfortunately, as you know, there is often so much to track that you lose efficiency or even the means to analyze the information you’ve collected.

A Deloitte survey found that 85% of companies interviewed for their GRC paper recognized the benefit of integrating technology packages to meet their GRC needs. But GRC software development is very fragmented and stratified, which has made it a challenge to sift through the options for the best solutions. This article will explore the business need of GRC software and elucidate the features that will help you manage how you govern your staff, policies, and procedures; how you track and control your risk; and how you maintain regulatory compliance.

Why your business needs an upgrade to GRC software

A business that does not understand its risk posture exposes itself to liability. Therefore, it is in your best interest that all stakeholders — from business executives and finance managers to legal counsels, IT directors, compliance officers and risk management professionals — are actively involved in helping you understand all the moving parts that can affect operations. However, even dedicated risk officers and compliance officers are challenged by the sheer number of variables and data points that must be tracked, analyzed, and presented (1). Traditional tools like spreadsheets fail to adequately scale to the needs of large organizations driven by GRC. Software solutions bring the strengths of automation and technology to help control how data is acquired, analyzed, and reported.

Risk data quality and management, risk technology adaptability to meet changing regulatory requirements, and poor system integration are the top three concerns for companies evaluating GRC software. For this reason, the growth in the GRC software market has been driven primarily by the demand for ever-more comprehensive GRC solutions.

The most comprehensive solutions should enable a systematic and organized approach to your risk management strategies. Instead of keeping data in separate repositories, the best software will create a single framework to monitor and enforce rules and procedures. The successful implementation of such software allows you to manage risk, reduce costs from disparate monitoring tools, and minimize complexity for managers. Consequently, this level of integration supports the development of improved GRC policies and procedures.

The best GRC software for your business

How does the ideal GRC software function for your business? With a single framework, you can establish goals in the right context to better identify and analyze risk. Analyzing the consequences of each incident as well as the estimate risk level of each occurrence allows you to calculate your risk posture. The best GRC software packages also help you build robust internal auditing features, improve transparency of business decisions to crack down on corruption, improve performance, and offer better ways to manage big data.

However, even the best tools won’t function without the right context. Software should support the personnel side of the equation. For instance, providing a means to publish and verify that every member of the company understands every internal policy and procedure. Even sharing something like the vision for the company can lay down the foundations for ethical business practice. By guiding your employees and instilling a sense of responsibility, the team remains vigilant and on the lookout for fraud.

Another important step is to review the company history and analyze past mistakes. A regular review session of past performance will prevent similar mistakes in the future and provide a more informed framework to guide business processes. Once these steps are in place, you can start looking at mitigating risk by implementing a comprehensive loss prevention program that directly addresses each risk factor.

A complete and streamlined GRC software package

ComplianceBridge™, from ComplianceBridge, is a GRC software package that simplifies the way you manage governance, risk, and compliance. By using a centralized repository accessed by everyone in your organization, you will be able to create customized risk assessments, collaborate on and disseminate vital documentation, assess your organization’s risk posture, and use auditing and reporting tools to ensure compliance.

ComplianceBridge exists on the cloud, which means that it can be accessed by anyone in your organization who has been granted access, or even by third-party consultants you bring on board. Once each document passes through the appropriate checks, you can publish and notify specific people in the organization about its existence. Finally, the metrics and reporting tools enable you to quickly gauge compliance and spot areas that need your attention. You can even create your own detailed questionnaires and forms to incorporate monitoring and analytical elements all within the same platform (4).

Interested in learning more why ComplianceBridge is the best GRC software solution for your business? Take a tour.

Citations

• Cau, David, “Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) software Business needs and market trends.” Deloitte. Accessed November 1, 2017. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/lu/Documents/risk/lu_en_ins_governance-risk-compliance-software_05022014.pdf.
• “Centralized operations: The future of operating models for Risk, Control and Compliance functions.” EY (2014). Accessed November 1, 2017. http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/EY_-_Centralized_operations:_future_of_Risk,_Control_and_Compliance/$FILE/EY-Insights-on-GRC-Centralized-operations.pdf.
• “Powerful Policy Management Software from ComplianceBridge.” ComplianceBridge. Accessed September 21, 2017. https://compliancebridge.com/products/policy-management-software/.