Unmanaged findings and issues can recur, sometimes repeatedly, indicate unmanaged operational errors and inefficiency, result in regulatory and litigation consequences, and ultimately damage your reputation with customers and regulators.

As a business matter and as a regulatory matter, you need to know that findings and identified issues are being analyzed for root cause and that action plans focused on those root causes and are being successfully executed. Findings arise from audits and examinations and require a management response, typically with an action plan and target date. Issues may be internally identified before auditors or examiners uncover them and provide an opportunity to get ahead of the curve with the same rigor in resolution.

Among the first steps in an audit or examination is to follow up on findings and issues from previous visits. Any prior commitment to an action plan that is not fully met inevitably becomes a repeat finding in the next audit or examination that is considered even more serious. The first step to getting ahead of the curve is to have the right processes and controls to ensure you always track active action plans and have direct insight into the progress – step by step through final resolution. Additionally, you need to understand how the finding or issue relates to your risk assessment and how resolution can improve your risk profile. And you need an audit trail of the resolution process to demonstrate that you achieved all of that.

How do you handle that without a large and costly action plan administration function?’

Too often, action plans are delegated to middle management with no confirmation of root cause and a lack of follow up or supervision of the resolution process. An action plan may only address the superficial cause of the problem, leaving the root cause to manifest in future risk events. An action plan may be supplanted by other priorities or may encounter roadblocks that cause delays or even cancellation. What began as a strong management response becomes a perceived failure and occasion for repeat, often Board-level findings, potential sanctions, and broader customer impact. This approach is not only inefficient but leaves blind spots in your ability to manage your operations.

Why not manage all your action plans, from root cause analysis through action steps and interim target dates to resolution, building an audit trail in a unified workflow that provides you with updates and alerts for missed targets along with assurance that you will be able to demonstrate strong independent management of problems.

ORM’s Findings and Action Plans module creates a workflow custom to your organization, captures information at all points in the flow, provides updates and alerts, and automatically creates an audit trail. Data from findings and issues is integrated into your risk management process and is even linked into your automated risk assessment and reporting. You will be aware of where you stand with respect to every action plan near real time and can provide immediate intervention or support if an action plan stalls.