Financial crisis spurs IT spending for risk management purposes

Eighty-nine per cent of companies surveyed by OpenPages, a provider of integrated risk management solutions, expect to increase spending on governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) activities in 2010.
The survey polled more than 50 strategic risk, governance and finance professionals from companies such as Swiss Re, Barclays and Lloyd’s, a release says.
Eighty-two per cent of those polled expect new laws and regulations to be introduced next year in an effort to “improve corporate risk management oversight,” the OpenPages release said.
Sixty-two per cent of respondents believe the financial crisis has increased the priority of enterprise-wide risk management, and nearly 62% said that the crisis is making them re-think their approach to risk management at the board level.
Although 53% of those surveyed reported they are currently using a siloed approach to their IT risk and compliance management activities in relation to their GRC program, 93% stated that within two to three years they are likely to converge or coordinate this with GRC.
“The results of this year’s survey highlights how the current financial crisis and increased regulatory oversight are changing the way organizations approach governance, risk and compliance,” David Gray, vice president of OpenPages, said in the release.
“Companies are more focused on coordinating disparate risk management efforts to improve their visibility into the risks inherent within their business.”