Controls optimisation

Establishing effective internal controls is high on the board’s agenda. There is a view among many stakeholders that well controlled businesses can make more money.

Controls optimisation is PwC’s response to the needs of businesses to have the right controls at the right cost. The right controls are those that mitigate risk in an efficient and cost effective way and are supported by an embedded culture of controls awareness and sustainable monitoring. Optimised controls support better finance functions and business operations. Controls optimisation drives improved business performance, help to manage complexity and achieve effective governance, regulation and compliance.

Our specialists can help you to establish the right controls at the right cost for your organisation.

 Potential issues

• You have experienced a controls breakdown and need assistance to stabilise
• You are challenged by complexity including multiple compliance, projects and controls requirements
• You have been through a significant business change such as M&A activity, IPO or new systems implementation and want to improve business control
• You wish to use risk and control activities to drive business performance improvement and add value to the business
• You wish to develop an integrated approach to regulatory compliance, financial controls and operational reporting

How we can support you

Controls optimisation is a process of continuous improvement. It is built around a proven risk based approach to internal control. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution and we provide a tailored approach to optimising controls for both audit and non audit clients. We help our clients:

• Minimise risk after a systems breakdown- a structured recovery including remediation and prevention
• Manage complexity - enhance understanding of key controls to enable companies to standardise and simplify processes, and create more responsive and aligned organisations
• Mitigate risk and drive high performance - by adopting and implementing a top down and risk based approach
• Build efficient finance functions - balance objectives of managing compliance and financial control, reduce costs and improving performance
• Feel reassured - that key controls have been implemented prior to major systems going live

We have developed a four-phase approach which forms the controls optimisation cycle:

• Assessment - perform risk assessment and analyse the current internal control environment at the corporate, business process, and IT systems level
• Controls improvement - implement recommendations to optimise controls i.e. address gaps, rationalise, automate and standardise controls
• Sustainable controls - establish and maintain a system of control with clear accountability, an efficient testing and monitoring structure, supported by effective use of technology
• Process improvement - identify opportunities to improve existing business processes, systems and controls which will reduce cost, improve risk management and drive real business benefit