In Gartners survey aimed at the hot spots of focus for Audit leaders for 2019, there were 2 big themes that emerged: Digital transformation and ethics. Eight of the 12 hot spots for 2019 are associated with the ongoing digitisation of businesses. Audit leaders are more focused than ever on risks related to the pursuit of digital models to drive growth. This means not just the technological and cybersecurity risk of digital business, but also privacy, ethical and regulatory risks.

The top themes are directly correlated to each other. We are collecting and using data to drive business on a scale previously unprecedented, which is transforming entirely the way we conduct business, and naturally this has a large impact on ethics.

Our view of risk in today’s world needs to recognise that consumers, shareholders, other stakeholders and the world at large, have a growing keen interest in the ‘how’ as well as the ‘what’ of business. This means that financial results are no longer the sole measure of success and data about how we conduct business is more widely available than it ever has been. Ethics risk is no longer just about our own organisation, but the overall ecosystem including supply chains, service providers, manufacturers and distribution channels. Risk Management now really is a team game, and Audit leaders are the captains of that team, equipping organisations against the ever evolving risk landscape.

You can find the full survey results here

Our ‘Something To Consider’ snippets are framed as small, digestible, ‘dashes of insight’ around the pillars of what we define as “World Class Finance” – Process Optimization, Financial Control and Compliance, and Risk Assurance, all underpinned by technology enablement and integration.