Risk management in the real world

When monitoring third-party risks, it is important that entities focus on value creation as well as value protection.

Outsourcing is an increasingly a key strategic decision for many businesses, allowing them to focus on core corporate activities. However, when things go wrong in third-party relationships, companies may be exposed to significant reputational, regulatory, strategic and financial risks. There are two notable recent examples of high-profile third-party failures in Ireland:

The Central Bank of Ireland imposed fines on financial institutions in relation to the governance and control of outsourced services delivered by third parties; and
In 2018, a restaurant chain in the UK was forced to close more than 560 of its 900 outlets as “operational issues” at a new distribution partner left deliveries “incomplete or delayed”. This is estimated to have cost the restaurant chain in question £1 million per day in lost sales.

In 2016, the Central Bank of Ireland warned that poor management of third-party relationships is putting banks at risk, citing “very serious failings” in relation to the governance of these arrangements and brandishing some cases as “astonishing”. Specific criticism related to poor management of outsourced arrangements, lack of oversight and a lack of engagement and challenge from boards.

Extended enterprises

The operational environment of many companies has expanded to include third-party service providers. Taken together, these third parties constitute what we term “the extended enterprise.” We continue to see companies struggle to identify, measure, report and monitor third-party risks within their extended enterprise. This has led to companies being exposed to a variety of risks and failing to maximise the upside of third-party relationships.

The challenge for businesses is to formulate an extended enterprise risk management strategy that proactively manages the risks associated with the extended enterprise while also driving performance. In our experience, the answers to this challenge lie in expanding one’s view of third-party risk management to incorporate value creation as well as value protection.

For companies to leverage their risk management processes to improve performance, it is critical that they develop an end-to-end approach for sensing risks systematically throughout the extended enterprise so that vulnerabilities can be addressed proactively. We term this approach ‘extended enterprise risk management’ (EERM).

Extended enterprise risk management

EERM is the practice of anticipating and managing exposures associated with third parties across the full range of operations, as well as optimising the value delivered by third-party relationships. The risk management landscape is often fragmented and decentralised. Many companies have not agreed and documented their risk appetite. They may approach third-party risk management on an ad hoc basis, addressing prominent areas such as cyber risk and regulatory compliance as they arise.

Crucially, many companies do not have a broad pan-company view of all current third-party engagements and the associated risks. A common theme that emerges here is a lack of ownership of risks across the company. For example, despite the increasing focus on risk management, some companies still do not have a dedicated risk officer. Additionally, many companies are not appropriately utilising the three lines of defence to manage risk and drive performance across the extended enterprise.

The first line of defence is the business unit, which owns the third-party relationship and is accountable for managing associated risks in alignment with policies and procedures. The second line of defence is a centralised governance programme for extended enterprise risk management, which is responsible for establishing and enforcing policies/processes to ensure that third parties are managed consistently by the business. The third line of defence is internal audit, which is charged with administering a robust audit programme aligned to the most critical extended enterprise risks and controls as well as performing independent assessments.

In addition to underinvesting in the three lines of defence, many companies focus excessively on quantitative metrics – contract income and expenditure, for example – when engaging a third-party. When assessing third parties, companies should always include appropriate qualitative metrics – vendor quality, technical capabilities, vendor risk profile, control environment, and ability to drive performance, for example.
By not having a defined EERM framework in place, many companies are concentrating on firefighting rather than maximising the benefits that can arise from well-managed third-party relationships.

Driving value 

Companies increasingly need to move toward a holistic approach to EERM that emphasises value creation as well as value protection. This typically involves establishing a systematic and proactive approach to managing risks across the third-party lifecycle and, in so doing, unlocking value and improving business performance.

An operating model for implementing and integrating the various components of risk management across the third-party relationship lifecycle forms the foundation of this approach. To be fully effective, such models must be aligned to the company’s overarching risk appetite and risk management framework. The model should link the individual components of risk management to agreed and documented business objectives and the company’s risk registers.

Four cornerstone capabilities 

Many companies believe they cannot take an end-to-end approach to managing the extended enterprise because securing executive sponsorship and getting people to take ownership can be an uphill battle. Additionally, many businesses think that the task is too vast and they do not have the expertise and resources to build, execute and sustain a comprehensive third-party oversight programme.

In our experience, these barriers are more perception than reality. It is neither necessary nor possible to do everything at once. Companies should consider some practical steps to take toward establishing an EERM programme or evolving an existing one. Many companies can get a sense of what those steps might be by considering the extent to which they have developed the following cornerstone capabilities.

Strategy and governance

This involves the creation of an agile and flexible governance model:

• Is there a defined and documented strategy and governance model for managing third-party risk?
• Is there a defined policy to assess third-party requirements prior to entering into relationships?
• Are third-party risk management activities linked to value drivers agreed and documented?
• Have you identified, agreed and documented critical key performance indicators (KPIs) for all third-party relationships?
• Have you agreed and documented how third-party KPIs will be reported and monitored?
• Are there defined processes in place to identify new and emerging third-party risks? 

People

This involves managing relationships, compliance and regulations:

• Is senior management sufficiently invested in EERM?
• Are the employees charged with responsibility for third-party risk management receiving sufficient and appropriate training?
• Is there sufficient investment in the three lines of defence to deliver effective monitoring of third-party risks?
• Are there defined and documented roles for managing third-party risk across the extended enterprise?

Process

This involves navigating events that shape the extended enterprise:

• Are there appropriate contracts in place with all third parties?
• Do monitoring processes allow for the reliable assessment of third-party performance?
• Does the company react to third-party events or actively seek to prevent them?
• Are risk management processes standardised across the company and integrated with tools and data?
• Is sufficient consideration given to how evolving technologies, market trends and disruptive forces present opportunities and challenges to third-party relationships?

Technology

This involves using data and analytics to make informed decisions:

• What tools and technologies are employed to make informed decisions about third-party performance?
• What transactional data are you entitled to access?
• Does the company’s IT and systems support KPI monitoring, reporting and performance assessment?

Factors to consider in assessing your third-party risks  

The complexity of the extended enterprise and resource constraints are no longer sufficient reasons to avoid taking an integrated approach to third-party risk management. Wherever your company stands at present in relation to EERM, some practical steps can be taken now to establish an EERM programme or to move your existing risk management model to the next level. The following factors should be considered.

Strategy and programme

This involves the development of EERM solutions to assess, design and implement a strategically aligned extended enterprise programme. These may include:

• Conducting an enterprise-wide strategic third-party risk assessment; and
• Developing the governance and operating model for EERM including KPIs, reporting and monitoring mechanisms.

Evaluation and continuous monitoring

This involves the selection and application of a suite of solutions to measure third parties and proactively sense and respond to extended enterprise risks and opportunities. These may include:

• The selection of quantitative and qualitative metrics/KPIs;
• Third-party risk assessment processes; and
• Contract compliance mechanisms.

Technology enablement

This involves the selection and application of technology solutions to transform and continuously enhance EERM. These may include:

• Systems design and deployment;
• Data analytics; and
• Reporting protocols.

Conclusion

Effective EERM programmes allow companies to align third-party risk management to strategic objectives and deliver enhanced returns on investment by emphasising value creation as well as value protection. 

Crucially, there is no ‘one size fits all’ EERM model or programme. Each company faces unique challenges and therefore, EERM programmes tend to be bespoke by nature. Time spent on EERM programme design is rewarded in the longer term.

Finally, successful EERM programmes are continuously re-assessed to ensure that the model being applied remains appropriate at all times.

Jimmy Crowley is a Senior Manager in Risk Advisory in Deloitte Ireland.