Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)

Information and technology risks are pervasive in today's business environment. They make headlines. And they can have far-reaching effects on your operations and your performance. But managing risk effectively in today's business environment goes well beyond securing your IT assets.

An effective risk management plan must address a wide array of risks -- fiscal, property, system, legal, and people risks. Moreover, it must both address current risks and equip the organization to prevent risks in the future.

West Monroe Partners applies a holistic approach to enterprise risk management, addressing risks associated with infrastructure, supply chain, information and identity management, human capital, internal controls, financial matters, and more. Depending on the scenario, we can bring together resources from a variety of functional areas to help you mitigate current risks and develop strategies for managing anticipated risks.

The biggest risk: waiting for something to happen

The largest risk to your company is waiting -- not taking the steps today to control the events that could cripple operations.

West Monroe Partners can help your organization manage risk by:

• Evaluating all potential risks and the organizational tolerance for each
• Establishing a formal risk policy
• Recommending organizational risk strategies using both control and financing techniques
• Identifying opportunities to buffer losses in one area of the business through gains in another
• Learning how to assess areas susceptible to loss and re-tooling your risk strategy to mitigate the new organizational risks

Our risk-management services include:

Strategic risk consulting

West Monroe Partners provides assistance to executives concerned with risk at an organization-wide level. We can help you evaluate and develop strategies to address corporate governance, marketplace, geopolitical, economic, regulatory and compliance, and intellectual capital risks.

Operational risk consulting

Particular risks threaten day-to-day operations and the operation of the company's core ability to do business. Applying experience and a proven methodology, West Monroe Partners can help you address key operational risks, such as business continuity, human capital, supply chain, and property risks. And, we can help you manage security and establish emergency and incident response plans to protect your vital operations in the event of a problem.

Financial risk consulting

Due to increasing regulatory requirements, financial executives face a growing range of financial risks. West Monroe Partners has the experience and expertise to help you prepare and plan for prevalent risks. Our financial risk consulting services include governance, compliance, and reporting; credit risk strategies, and internal controls assessments.

Information technology risk consulting

West Monroe Partners' expertise and proven IT approaches enable management teams to create, review, and improve their IT risk management strategies. We can assist with protecting information assets, defining identity management strategies, developing IT governance and disaster recover strategies, and conducting IT internal control and infrastructure assessments.

Security consulting

Applying many years of network and application security experience and a holistic viewpoint that considers implications for all facets of your business, West Monroe Partners offers a comprehensive set of services to assess and improve your information security. These include application and network assessments and vulnerability scanning, security gap analyses, security policy and practice improvement, security education and awareness training, and more.

Human capital

Cultural change is, by far, the most difficult type of change to achieve. Companies that wish to achieve cultural change must have a clear understanding of their current state and a clear definition of their future state. West Monroe Partners can help you reinvent or revitalize your culture by creating a structure that supports your strategies and objectives. Key steps include organizational planning and design, job function and analysis, job impact analysis, employee skills assessment, training and development, communication planning, and international adaptation.

Program management office/project management

The project management office (PMO) is an organizational entity that resides between senior management and project managers. It acts as a two-way conduit of communication -- receiving strategic direction from senior management and planning functions, and using that direction to shape and guide individual projects that arise from these initiatives. West Monroe Partners has substantial experience implementing and management a project management office and in optimizing an organization's project management methods and skills to improve planning, budgeting, scope management, and issue resolution.

Change management and cultural foundations

Change management or enablement is an integral part of any effort to implement a new system, process, or strategy within an organization. West Monroe Partners can assist with any organizational shift that requires significant behavioral change. We bring a holistic approach to optimizing organizational systems and processes that considers the impact of changes on people -- and the importance of gaining their support to ensure your new system or strategy delivers on expectations. In particular, we incorporate change management as an integral part of the implementation plan for any system, process, or strategic change.

Contact us for more information about enterprise solutions.