4 Growth Areas for Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC)

[MichaelDortch]

Finance. Government. Healthcare. Human resources (HR). If your enterprise is focused on any of these industry segments, GRC management is already growing in importance to you and your colleagues — whether you know it or not. Here are just some of the reasons why.

Finance — already one of the most regulated and scrutinized industries on the planet, finance and financial services enterprises already invest heavily in GRC management. However, trends ranging from shifts in credit card security standards to new alternatives for mobile payments are roiling this industry even further. New multinational trade agreements currently being negotiated have great potential to rile things up even further. In addition, well-publicized security breaches of retailers and financial services providers are placing greater pressure on those companies to demonstrate better and more consistent GRC management.

Government — where to begin? The Affordable Care Act and the changes being considered to it? The possibility of the federal government getting out of the home mortgage business? Voter ID law enforcement and/or automatic voter registration for all taxpayers at the state and local level? Campaign finance reform pressures? Increasing demands from voters for greater transparency and accountability at federal, state, and local levels?

Healthcare — it's not just about the Affordable Care Act. Electronic medical records. The continuing evolution of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Ever-more-complex accounting and reimbursement requirements for providers and insurers. The growing and evolving roles of medical and non-medical caregivers for rapidly growing numbers of seniors and others with special needs.

HR — perhaps the biggest "sleeper" among the four segments discussed here, since every enterprise in every segment has human resources to manage. Roiling factors include the growing use of temporary and part-time workers, and the growth and evolution of the barter economy. Another is the increasing use of IT-based tools for HR functions ranging from candidate evaluation to onboarding and offboarding.

How Best to Improve GRC Management

Whether your enterprise is focused on one of these four industry segments or not, the odds are good that better GRC management would deliver significant benefits. The odds are equally good that every critical business function your enterprise pursues is enabled and supported by some type of IT. Closer integration of IT and GRC management may be the most powerful step you and your colleagues can take towards better GRC oversight. (For more on this subject, check out "Why Your Enterprise Can't — and Shouldn't — Spell 'GRC' Without 'ITSM'.")

Improved GRC management is more than an end unto itself. It is also a critical step towards the enterprise service and process excellence that can maximize your enterprise's agility, resilience, and trustworthiness. So now is the time to begin or accelerate your enterprise's efforts to manage GRC as consistently and effectively as possible. Especially if your enterprise is involved in finance, government, healthcare, or HR.