CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Balaji Krishnamoorthy, EVP – Labs & Services, Findability Sciences
- Please tell us about Findability Sciences, its specialization and the services it offers.
Findability Sciences is a leading enterprise AI firm that helps traditional businesses across the world unleash the potential of their data and attain the status of a data superpower. Our expertise empowers clients in various industries and locations to accelerate their journey from data to AI, which allows them to create their own intellectual property and cultivate data science capabilities, while also strategically executing to achieve tangible financial returns. Our broad range of offerings cater to multiple sectors, including manufacturing, retail, media, and communication. Findability Sciences has four key product offerings such as Findability.AI Findability.DSL, Findability.Accelerate and Findability.Inside. Findability.AI, our award winning proprietary platform has received industry recognition, leverages machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing to assist enterprises in expediting their transition from data to AI.
Our company’s offerings provide clients with value through six key ways, including reducing costs, improving speed of execution, simplifying complexity, transforming engagement, driving innovation through insights, and building trust. Recently, we were recognized by Fortune Magazine as one of America’s Most Innovative Companies, which is a result of our dedication to pushing the limits of AI technology globally and leading the way in many industry-firsts. We believe that there is a #FindabilitySolves solution for every industry, and this is enabling traditional businesses to harness the power of data and AI to transform their operations.
- Why is there a need for GRC in organisations? What are the components of GRC?
GRC stands for Governance, Risk, and Compliance which is a structured framework adopted by organizations to govern, manage risks, and comply with regulations. The GRC approach aids organizations in maintaining ethical operations, effectively mitigating risks, and adhering to internal policies and applicable laws. The key components for GRC include:
- Governance: It involves defining and implementing policies, procedures, and controls to ensure that the organization’s objectives are achieved in a transparent, accountable, and ethical manner.
- Risk Management: Risk management involves identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks that could impact an organization’s ability to achieve its objectives. This includes understanding and evaluating potential risks, implementing risk mitigation strategies, and monitoring risks on an ongoing basis.
- Compliance: Compliance refers to adhering to relevant laws, regulations, industry standards, and internal policies. It involves ensuring that the organization operates in a manner that is legal, ethical, and aligned with established guidelines. Compliance activities include policy development, training, monitoring, and reporting to ensure that the organization meets its legal and regulatory obligations.
Effective GRC programs require a coordinated approach across all three components to ensure that an organization is effectively managing its risks, complying with relevant regulations and internal policies, and operating ethically and effectively.
At Findability Sciences, we recognize that implementing GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) can be challenging due to several factors, including the presence of data silos, fragmented risk views, multiple non-integrated systems, and limited expertise. To address these challenges, we have introduced our GRC Suite, a cost-effective solution that leverages AI expertise to help organizations safeguard themselves and respond quickly to any potential data risks. Our AI-led GRC solution provides a unified view of GRC data across departments, streamlines data collection through AI, and accelerates audits through AI-led integration and implementation. This enables organizations to effectively manage risks, maintain compliance with regulations, and operate more efficiently.
- What industries benefit the most with a GRC framework in place?
Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) is a crucial aspect of modern organizations, helping them adhere to legal, ethical, and regulatory standards while managing risks and streamlining operations. A GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) framework can provide benefits to a wide range of industries. Here are some industries that specifically benefit from implementing a GRC framework:
- BFSI: Banks, insurance companies, investment firms, and other financial institutions face stringent regulatory requirements, complex risk landscapes, and the need for strong governance. GRC helps these organizations manage compliance with financial regulations, assess and mitigate financial risks, and ensure transparent and ethical operations.
For instance, Findability Sciences has helped many BFSI companies in claims processing and fraud detection in insurance. AI can enhance credit risk assessment by analyzing various data points, such as customer credit history, employment status, and income levels, to determine creditworthiness. A detailed personalized credit worthiness profile can help banks and financial institutions make more informed lending decisions and reduce the risk of default. This was made possible by using Model bias with techniques like re-sampling, re-weighting, or adversarial training to reduce bias in the AI models and implementing data validation and cleaning processes to ensure accurate and reliable data for model training.
- Manufacturing and Consumer Goods: Manufacturing companies face challenges related to quality control, supply chain management, safety, and regulatory compliance. GRC helps these organizations implement robust quality management systems, ensure supply chain transparency and ethical sourcing, manage product safety risks, and comply with industry-specific regulations.
- Technology: Technology companies operate in a rapidly evolving landscape with emerging risks such as cybersecurity threats, data privacy concerns, and intellectual property protection. GRC frameworks assist in managing cybersecurity risks, complying with data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR), ensuring ethical use of technology, and protecting intellectual property rights.
- How can AI be used to enhance GRC solutions?
AI-enabled GRC systems can collect wide data from all data sources automatically. These could be regulatory bodies’ websites, social platforms, or any external & internal sources. The conversion to actionable intelligence with analytical and predictive capabilities will diminish the margin of error.
AI, integrated GRC software will provide an overarching framework encompassing compliance to IT security, legal functions, insights, and audits. Leadership teams will be able to view a larger picture that could not have been possible without AI.
Businesses will be able to manage the entire GRC function with minimal resources and cut down on manual processes without compromising on data. Without human intervention AI-enabled GRC solutions utilise cognitive computing to continuously analyse data points for any changes that could lead to greater risk or control failures.
- What are the benefits of using technology such as AI for GRC solutions?
Proper training, validation, and continuous monitoring are necessary to ensure the accuracy, fairness, and ethical use of AI in GRC applications. Using technology like AI (Artificial Intelligence), for GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) solutions offers several benefits:
- Data-driven decision-making: The implementation of GRC solutions that utilize data modernization and AI expertise can help organizations make data-driven decisions more efficiently. This is achieved through the monitoring of resources, establishment of rules and frameworks, and utilization of GRC software and tools.
- Responsible operations: AI-driven GRC solutions can help businesses establish a cohesive culture that fosters ethical values and a conducive environment for expansion. It assists in building a robust organizational culture and promoting ethical decision-making within the organization.
- Improved cybersecurity: An effective GRC strategy enables organizations to adhere to data privacy regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), instilling confidence in customers and protecting businesses from penalties.
- Consistent aggregated view of risk: To mitigate risks arising from extensive third-party ecosystems and enhance the quality and performance of third parties, organizations require a strong third-party risk management program. A data led GRC suite for enterprises will provide frictionless silos of data to have a consistent and aggregated view of risks, which will reduce the likelihood of unexpected risk events.
- Internal Audit Management: Organizations need to comply with various regulations, mandates, and standards, which require regular audits. However, audits are becoming increasingly complex and frequent, making it clear that spreadsheets and point solutions are inadequate for managing audits effectively. A solution to this issue is obtaining high-quality GRC data from both internal and external sources.
- How can organizations select the right GRC technology solution?
Selecting the right GRC (Governance, Risk, and Compliance) technology solution for an organization requires careful consideration of several factors including –
- Assess Organizational Needs: To start implementing a GRC solution, it’s essential to first comprehend your organization’s particular requirements, objectives, and obstacles related to governance, risk management, and compliance. Determine the areas that need improvement and the extent of the GRC solution required, taking into account factors such as regulatory commitments, industry-specific needs, and the size and intricacy of your organization.
- Define Key Functionalities: Create a list of key functionalities and features that you require in a GRC technology solution. These could include compliance management, risk assessment, policy management, incident reporting, audit management, integration capabilities, reporting and analytics, and more. Organize these functionalities based on their importance to your organization.
- Consider Scalability and Integration: Make sure that the GRC technology solution is scalable to meet the evolving needs of your organization. Evaluate its capacity to connect with current systems and applications, including HR systems, ERP systems, or security tools. The capability to integrate is essential for simplifying data exchange and decreasing manual labour.
- Evaluate Data Security and Privacy: Evaluate the security measures implemented by the vendor, such as encryption, access controls, data residency, and compliance with applicable data protection regulations. Also, evaluate the vendor’s policies and practices concerning data privacy and handling, as well as their readiness to undergo security audits or provide independent certifications.
- Make an Informed Decision: After assessing the above-mentioned factors, compare various GRC technology solutions and select the one that best suits your organization’s requirements, offering the desired functionalities, scalability and integration options, data security and privacy assurance, and cost-effectiveness.
Quote by Balaji Krishnamoorthy, EVP – Labs & Services, Findability Sciences “In today’s business world, using data effectively is crucial for success. Advanced technology and analytics help gain insights, manage risks, and meet regulations. Data is vital for Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) as it builds a resilient enterprise. At Findability Sciences, we understand the importance of data for effective GRC. Our suite helps businesses maximize data assets for a secure and compliant future.”
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