On the occasion of the 8th edition of the research entitled Risk in Review, PwC surveyed more than 2,000 CEOs, senior executives, board members, and professionals in risk management, compliance and internal audit, and interviewed dozens of executives and board members to explore what differentiates risk functions when it comes to digital transformation.

PwC’s study focuses on identifying what categories help top-performing ‘digitally fit’ risk functions stand out both in terms of their ability to strategically advise stakeholders on risk and assurance, as well as the risk function’s own ability to adapt and embed new processes required by digital transformation.

According to the findings of the study the six habits of risk functions that fuel smarter risk-taking are:

1. Go all-in on the organisation’s digital plan 2. Upskill and inject new talent to move at the speed of the organisation 3. Find the right fit for emerging technologies 4. Enable the organisation to act on risks in real time 5. Actively engage decision makers of key digital initiatives 6. Collaborate and align to provide a consolidated view of risks

The 2019 study has found that while many organisations have already embraced new technology as part of their internal audit, risk and compliance functions they are yet to fully realise the potential benefits of using the insights to inform decisions over investment in digital transformation. Additionally, the study identifies the key components of an organisation’s ‘digital fitness’ as:

1. Having in place the skills and competencies to strategically advise stakeholders on risk and provide assurance over the organisation’s digital initiatives 2. Changing the risk function’s own processes, tools, and services so they’re more data driven and digitally enabled to anticipate risk events and respond to them at the pace and scale the organisation’s digital transformation requires

As is clear from the research findings, organisations should focus on developing stronger digital skills and capacity in their risk function in order to make more informed decisions about risk in a technology-driven world.