The banking and capital markets sector is facing more change at a faster rate than ever before. The rate and volume of change has meant the business environment that organisations are struggling to keep up. This means that many businesses are facing increasing levels of risk due to expanding operations in emerging markets and developing countries. Meanwhile, regulatory requirements are escalating and the intertwined forces of globalisation and advances in technology are creating not only new opportunities, but also new risks.
All these forces have had a profound impact on the Internal Audit (IA) function. Effective IA must balance priorities and resources to help the organisation address the risks it faces today and anticipate emerging risks. The challenge is significant, and so is the payoff – the IA function that successfully adapts to today’s rapidly changing world will become an effective third line of defence providing robust, independent assurance over the managing of risks.
To start, the IA function must maintain a laser focus on basic and core activities, but it must also be ready to take on more of an advisory role. And it must be able to ‘look around the corner’ to see tomorrow’s risks today, so that rather than struggling to keep up with the pace of change, organisations can plan effectively to get ahead of the curve.
Through the link below you can access our full report, where we can discuss some of the industry trends, Internal Audit thought leadership and emerging risks that organizations are most likely to face, including those that could impact existing processes – and what your IA function can do to address those risks.
