Strengthening FinServ Controls Through Collaboration

In the wake of recent failures in the financial sector, there’s no better time to improve collaboration across the three lines at your organisation. This guide from AuditBoard outlines how collaboration is essential for an effective internal controls environment in the face of increasingly complex compliance requirements — and ways to jump-start collaboration across siloed teams.

On the heels of several history-making bank collapses in the first quarter of 2023, financial institutions must fortify their internal controls programs to respond to greater oversight from federal regulators. Legal and financial experts predict small and midsize banks will likely bear much of the increased scrutiny that will emerge from their reports and recommendations this year. Areas where banks are expected to face stricter rules and supervision include contingency planning, interest rate management, asset liability, market capital requirements, and more.

With new regulations on the horizon, financial institutions must also contend with existing compliance concerns, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) requirements, crypto assets, and new forms of technology-driven financial fraud. A strategic and proactive approach will be essential to navigating this intensifying landscape.

Even though risk, compliance, audit, and management each play different roles in a regulatory compliance program, there are natural areas of crossover in their responsibilities. However, teams must guard against the use of different methodologies, duplicative assurance activities, and poor visibility that lead to inefficiency.

Download Synchronising Collaboration to Strengthen Internal Controls: A Guide for Financial Services, an ebook from AuditBoard, to learn about:

• Areas where financial institutions are expected to face stricter rules and supervision from regulatory authorities.
• Activities that can jump-start collaboration across risk, compliance, and audit teams.
• Ways the three lines can optimise their roles and responsibilities in coordination with one another for greater efficiency. 
• How technology can further accelerate combined assurance.