How can companies demonstrate integrity and reinforce trust to secure the future?

EY’s Forensic Outlook 2020 lists key trends for organizations to demonstrate integrity, empower people and innovate to secure the future.

Globally, economic growth has seen an adverse impact amidst an already tepid market outlook, resulting in a sharp fall in markets, business interruptions and lockdowns. India’s financial sector is reeling under the impact of rising non-performing assets, money laundering; whistleblowing cases have seen an uptick and data privacy concerns have taken centerstage. The responsibility and accountability of the management is skyrocketing, demanding a refresher in their roles and approach to deal with new risks and a young workforce.

The COVID-19 outbreak has brought unprecedented challenges to businesses, economies and communities. Under these circumstances, businesses are exploring measured approaches to safeguard their employees, mitigating financial and operational exposure and building confidence among shareholders With this background, EY’s Forensic Outlook 2020 lists key trends for organizations to demonstrate integrity, empower people and innovate to secure the future. 

How refreshed CXO roles can shape strong ethical strategies

The Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO) role in moulding an organization’s culture has always been critical, with the tone at the top playing a key role. 2020 will cast a spotlight on the CEO’s responsibilities and decision-making capabilities when there are ethical dilemmas. Managing and responding to crisis situations in light of the COVID-19 pandemic will be a key factor defining leadership and building trust. Chief Information Officers (CIO) will have to find the balance between providing remote access to enable work from home and maintaining confidentiality of sensitive information. As organizational workforce become more digital, CIOs will play a key role in making sure that ethical boundaries are not overstepped when handling personal data. They will have to reassess the current access restriction - model so organizational assets are secure, without defeating the true purpose of the future of work.

Traversing fraud and geopolitical risks in a transformative age

The global economic climate is tempestuous to say the least, amidst unforeseen but escalating geopolitical tensions and trade wars that can have significant ramifications on countries worldwide. COVID-19 with its multiple concentration points has unleashed fury across nations. Certain countries will see a rise in cyber-attacks led by the coronavirus fears. 2020 will see organizations exploring many innovative methods and tools to manage corporate fraud and misconduct. Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, the Internet of Things and analytics will be used in identifying areas of risk, monitoring internal and external threat vectors and investigations. Manual diligence intervention may be a challenge for companies and their compliance teams in the beginning. Monitoring will be a dominant area here to map suspicious transactions or patterns, anomalies and information flow.