Consultancy predicts RM trends for 2008

BDO Consulting sees the following trends developing in 2008:

• Integrated Worldwide Risk Management Plans. Companies with overseas operations will move toward a singular operational risk management plan encompassing international audit and compliance programs for multiple locations. Operational processes across international locations will be integrated strategically in 2008, as mitigation of operational and financial risk becomes more process-oriented than location-oriented.

• Moving from Fraud Detection to Fraud Prevention. Previously, companies relied heavily on a code of conduct and “whistleblower hotlines” as their only anti-fraud mechanisms. In 2008, companies will further develop comprehensive fraud prevention programs across all business lines and operations. These programs will encompass fraud risk assessments, fraud education for employees and management and background checks on new employees and employees promoted to positions of trust.

• Leveraging ERP Software. As companies automate risk management functions, they will leverage existing enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and evaluate third party software to enable them to efficiently automate processes where higher risk is prevalent. These companies will also aggressively monitor risk in real time through the identification of anomalous transactions designed to prevent fraud and material errors.

• Next Step in Privacy Protection. As privacy protection technology continues to advance, companies will reassess their identify theft, credit card fraud and privacy systems to meet regulatory and customer expectations. Companies will seek to balance the organization’s risk tolerance, with the increasing costs and complexity of privacy protection.