Friends Provident

One of the UK’s leading financial services groups, Friends Provident required a risk system that would enable the identification, assessment, recording and reporting of risks, bringing all these elements together in a user-friendly format. In 2006, the company chose Enterprise Risk Assessor (ERA) from Methodware, which enables it to record, evaluate and track the progress of risks and loss events across its businesses.

“In order to ensure a successful risk management strategy, we needed a strong risk culture fully embedded in all parts of the business,” says Phil Sellen, acting head of risk at Friends Provident. “The solution needed to support end users rather than dictating to them, so they had the information to make risk-based decisions as opposed to being constrained by the technologies.”

The solution has enabled Friends Provident to effectively analyse and manage risk across the organisation. “With ERA we are able to produce all the reports we require at the touch of a button; from high-level board reports to in-depth analysis of failed controls and loss events,” says Sellen. “The ability to produce ‘focused risk reporting’ for management teams at different levels throughout the organisation is of particular value, especially as it enables the management teams to concentrate on the salient aspects of their risk profile.”

The company’s ERA implementation has helped it to ensure that a positive risk culture is part of business as usual. “ERA supports the development of a positive risk culture within Friends Provident by helping to integrate effective risk management into everyday working practices,” concludes Sellen. “The software also enables Friends Provident to improve the quality of risk reporting, leading to an increased level of risk discussion and debate.”

This case study originally appeared in the Winter 2008 issue of Finance On Windows magazine.