Governance, risk, and compliance as a strategic advantage

SUITS THE C-SUITE

- JOSEPH IAN M. CANLAS AND CHRISTIANE JOYMIEL C. SAY-MENDOZA

IN BRIEF: * Governance, risk, and compliance (GRO) is shifting from back-office control to a strategic function that anticipates risks, protects value, and guides executive decisions ina volatile world.

nior executives, chief audit executives, compliance officers, chief risk officers, and other professionals gathered at the SGV Knowledge Institute and SGV Consulting forum, “Navigating Enterprise Resilience through the Synergy of Governance, Risk, and Compliance.” It examined how governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) is being reshaped by business realities that are faster, more volatile and less forgiving than ever.

The first panel session, “GRC Integration: Aligning Governance, Risk, and Compliance with Business Strategy,” centered on how GRC can evolve froma defensive control function into a source of strategic clarity.

LE November, board members, se-

REDEFINING RISK

One theme dominated the discussion: the traditional definition of risk has become inadequate. Compliance risk, once the focal point of GRC programs, is now only one part of a broader risk universe that includes liquidity, market and operational exposures. Above these sit strategic and reputational risks, which panelists describe as one of the most consequential threats to long-term value.

Risk today, they argued, is best described as NAVI: nonlinear, accelerated, volatile and interconnected. A single

If you have a mature GRC, information flow is faster, reaching stakeholders on time to make smarter choices.

disruption can rapidly propagate across functions, geographies and stakeholders. A cyber breach becomes an operational and a regulatory issue; an operational or regulatory issue becomes a reputational crisis; a reputational crisis erodes shareholder confidence.