Do you think that any of your critical business processes are vulnerable to a spreadsheet error? Or perhaps, has the number of models (including artificial intelligence) proliferated to the point where it’s difficult to understand your risk exposure (never mind reduce it)? If yes, there is something you can do.

How can I reduce my EUC Risk in 2019? 

Now that we have transitioned to the new business year, here are a few different ways to think about EUC Risk and how you might mitigate it:

Reducing the risk associated with spreadsheet errors isn’t about getting rid of all the spreadsheets (which we would argue is not practical). You should be thinking about

  • How can you give your staff better tools for them to self-check and systematically find the errors before they get passed through to you?
  • For critical business processes, how can you put some basic controls in place that will reduce the likelihood of human error when using Excel?

The use of models is exploding and this trend shows no signs of diminishing. In addition, artificial intelligence and machine learning further expands your model risk. There are two questions that deserve answers:

  • Do you know which of your customer-facing business processes incorporate artificial intelligence and could impact your company’s reputation?
  • For your current model risk management framework, have you recently evaluated how technology can lower the cost of compliance while enabling more effective governance?

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is being used everywhere to transform finance and take the cost out of manually intensive work processes. As you take the people out, you will have reduced the likelihood of human errors. But how do you know the automation program itself is accurate and/or hasn’t been corrupted? If there is an RPA issue,  the automation will amplify any associated negative impact.

  • Do you have any visibility into how RPA is being used within your financial reporting processes?
  • Since RPA applications are typically not managed by IT, who is managing this particular EUC risk?

Is your company moving end-user applications and files like Word and Excel into the cloud? If yes, how will you identify those critical spreadsheets that will no longer operate correctly once they are relocated (because the links to other spreadsheets and data sources are inoperable)?

We are currently helping customers address these and other challenges relating to the use of computing applications that are developed and controlled by end-users in the line of business. If you have any interest in learning more, please do not hesitate to contact us or visit our resources page.