WHITEPAPER

Archer Integrated
Risk Management
It’s a Risky World

It’s a Risky WorldA single ship is grounded in the Suez Canal and the global supply chain is disrupted for months. A single employee makes
the wrong choice and regulators come knocking. A 30 second video goes viral deeply harming a company’s reputation. We
see so many examples of one wrong step and companies feel shockwaves reverberating from their front lines to their bottom
line. The risks an organization faces today are not just complex – they feel at times inevitable - impervious to prevention
and unavoidable.
Environmental concerns collide with financial risks as investors inspect the long-term viability of companies with regards
to climate change. Companies expand their digital footprint battling issues such as privacy and social responsibility whileentangled with the already daunting challenge of digital crime and fraud. Economic shifts, societal upheaval, strained
systems, geopolitical strife… the laundry list continues as uncertainty casts a deep shadow.
But risk is both an opportunity and an obstacle. Risk management is as much about gaining an advantage as avoiding
negative events. Leaders are asking tough questions: Where should our next investment go? Is there risk we should take that is
worth the reward? These are nuanced conversations that risk management can play a pivotal role in – if risk management
is viewed, and implemented, as a strategic ingredient to success Getting risk management wrong can cost you time, money
and reputational damage. But getting it right pays off with the ability to drive growth.
However, these complex issues are most often laid at the feet of a select few within the organization. If you are one of thoseindividuals, you know how hard it is to address emerging issues, keep an eye on regulatory requirements, stay ahead of
threats and obstacles to business objectives all while navigating an accelerating and shifting operations model. It is easy
to become overwhelmed with the complicated factors that affect the organization’s ability to drive towards strategic goals.
Risk management is an enterprise challenge that requires an enterprise solution. Since risk touches each part of yourorganization, every department and function play a role. It is no longer sufficient to “check the box” when it comes to risk
management. Risk management should be delivering outcomes that move the organization forward, not just enable it totread water.

The Strategic Outcomes You Should Expect from Risk Management
Gain Assurance
The first strategic outcome your risk management program should deliver is the assurance that risk
and regulatory requirements are managed appropriately. In other words, the organization is doing theright things to ensure that they are compliant with laws and regulations, and they’re also identifying
potential exposures and closing those gaps before something happens. Assurance means your executive
team has confidence that risk and requirements are identified, assessed properly in the context oforganizational objectives, prioritized properly, and then addressed with prudent measures.
Ensuring that an organization meets regulatory and risk requirements can indeed be a formidable challenge
due to various factors that hinder effective compliance. In every industry and geography, regulatory requirements are
numerous, complex, and constantly evolving. The sheer volume of regulations can overwhelm compliance teams, making
it difficult to prioritize and stay current with all requirements.
Unfortunately, many organizations have had to build programs from the ground up, cobbling together data and fighting
fires as issues emerge. If you are in that situation, you are not alone. Even when risk and compliance are priorities, there
are many moving parts to building a cohesive program. Managing a risk and compliance program using manual processes,
disconnected documents, spreadsheets, and niche tools is inherently flawed and ineffective.
It’s a Risky World | 2

The Challenges | Assurance• Regulatory changes are overwhelming compliance teams who don’t have time to think about acting 		strategically; they are stuck in a constant tactical battle.
• Obligations for your business are strewn about in different documents and policies creating confusion
or contradictions.
• Risks and controls overlap without an overarching enterprise strategy.
• Risk assessment, compliance, and audit processes can grow organically without coordination or 		
meaningful collaboration.

Build Resilience
The second strategic outcome from risk management is resilience across your technology, operations
and extended enterprise. First, every organization relies on technology – regardless of industry, sizeor business model. You must have a resilient technology infrastructure to remain competitive in today’salways-on, always-open world. Secondly, you want your business operations to be resilient across any
kind of disruption. And then finally, every organization relies on external parties, whether it’s a supplier,a vendor, or a contractor. The extended enterprise must be resilient across all types of disruptions and build a disruption
resistant organization. It’s not just about surviving disruptions but being able to thrive during times of uncertainty. We’ve
seen organizations take advantage of opportunities in their market when there are disruptions, and that is because simply
they have built resilience into their strategy.
If that wasn’t enough reason to consider resilience as top priority, resilience has become a focal point for many regulators.
For example, industry requirements are continually evolving, necessitating that organizations stay abreast of these changes
and ensure compliance. Furthermore, Environment, Social, Governance (ESG) is fundamentally focused on an organization’s
ability to adapt to the future remaining resilient in the face of major uncertainties such as climate change, economic shifts
and social change.
Building a resilient organization in today’s fast-paced and complex business environment presents multifaceted challenges
that require strategic foresight and agile execution. One of the foremost hurdles is managing expansive business operations.
Modern organizations function as intricate ecosystems where internal processes, policies, technologies, and external
providers must seamlessly collaborate to achieve business objectives. This interconnectedness, while essential, createsa complex web that can be difficult to navigate and manage efficiently.
Resilience requires not only a commitment from management, but
resources spread across a variety of functions working together toposition the organization to ride the waves of uncertainty. The metaphorof dominoes standing in a row seems simplistic, but it is too often thecase when it comes to disruptions. A security threat can manifest via
third party, resulting in a reportable issue affecting social reputation andresulting in a continuity and recovery effort. If you work in any functionthat touches technology, third parties, recovery planning and Environmental,
Social, Governance, you are part of the equation to avoid these types ofscenarios. However, you face several challenges.

It’s a Risky World | 3

The Challenges | Resilience• Lack of visibility into operational losses and incidents leads to missed opportunities to optimize controls.
• Organizations are being judged for long-term viability via ESG and other indicators.
• IT and security threats are constantly changing creating serious technology risk.
• Third parties represent a critical part of your operations – and a major source of potential disruption.
• Once something happens, recovery and continuity preparations may be out-of-date or incomplete.

Create Advantage
The final strategic outcome must be to create advantages through fully integrated risk management
to pursue opportunity. The contribution risk management can provide comes full circle when you
have an enterprise approach where you can not only avoid the costs associated with ineffective risk
management, but you can become a valuable contributor to the organizational strategy by getting
risk management right. This is where it starts paying off.
Risk plays a factor in every business decision. Whether it’s a new product launch, an acquisition, an entrance into a newmarket, or dealing with a new regulation or security threat, decision-makers must weigh the risks and rewards based on theorganization’s strategic business goals before deciding to act. While decisions regarding potential risks can significantly
impact the organization’s ability to succeed, many of these major decisions are too often based on sketchy data, personal
experience, hunches, and sometimes outright guesses as to the outcome.
Given the uncertainty in the market today, the assessment of the risk is not taken lightly. Rather, many business leadersand decision-makers lack the proper tools and capabilities to assess, quantify, and monitor business risk accurately. Whenthe risk analysis process misrepresents the potential exposure, risk can be underestimated – leading to disruptions andlosses – or overestimated – leading to excessive investment and wasted efforts. Ultimately, this is a dangerous position
given the uncertainty of today’s highly competitive market.

The Challenges | Enterprise Value• Visibility into enterprise risk is clouded by operational siloes, poor data or ambiguous ownership.
• Qualitative risk assessments leave room for interpretation and indecision.
• The connection between enterprise risk and operational risk is tenuous at best, and many times, non-existent.

Archer’s Approach to Integrated Risk Management
For over 20 years, Archer has been helping organizations manage risk across multiple domains of risk uniting stakeholders,integrating technologies and transforming risk into reward. We have significant experience and leadership in the risk
management industry. We partner with our clients to achieve those strategic outcomes that they need from risk management.
We have a unique perspective on how to achieve these strategic outcomes and focus our efforts in delivering a purposebuilt solution designed specifically for risk and compliance functions.

It’s a Risky World | 4

An Enterprise Program for Risk Management
This is a new era for risk management. Organizing data, establishing process workflows and producing reports are only themost basic steps in addressing risk. When risk data can be transformed into clear business insights, leadership is positioned
to act in a meaningful way and optimize investments. Embedding quantitative analysis into risk management processes
transforms the data into tangible inputs for well-informed decision making. Basing business decisions on quantified risk
eliminates wasted efforts and reduces losses through informed prioritization of resources and optimization of controls. The
result: Risk management delivering on its promise to effectively leverage risk to take advantage of opportunity.
Based on our 20+ years of experience and work with over 1200 customers across the globe and within a wide variety ofindustries, we know what it takes to lay the foundation for an integrated risk management program. Archer is the mostexperienced risk management solution provider with a unique perspective and approach delivering a full spectrum of risk
management capabilities.

Our solutions:
ORCHESTRATE a common risk management strategy. Organizations can struggle
establishing a common language around risk. However, the payoff is being able to discussbusiness decisions using the same terms and definitions and ultimately, have a deeper
conversation about what could go wrong – and what could go right - as you balance risk
and reward. Archer has years of experience built into our solution that propel your organization
along the fast track to get the right processes implemented with the right people involved.
We can address a multitude of risk domains – all on one configurable platform.

INTEGRATE with business systems and operational data. The added benefit of a common
platform to manage processes is the consolidation of data across your risk and compliancefunctions. No more data siloes and disconnected inputs into decisions. Additionally, a major
source of data to fuel risk management is found within the business systems and operational
tools and technologies that enable your business. Archer provides multiple integration
methods to tie into operational systems and leverage existing data and enhance theinvestment in technologies that protect your business.

ENGAGE with your business operations. When you can’t find a system with the data youneed, you must find the person with the knowledge. Therefore, you need a two-pronged
approach that can gather the data from technology infrastructure as well as your first lineof operations. Archer provides innovative technology for both ends of this spectrum and with
Archer Engage, you can utilize mobile, user-friendly interfaces to reach into your business
operations and get the information from the right people – without disrupting their
daily activities.

INFORM your stakeholders. Ultimately, you must deliver timely, accurate information todecision makers. With common processes, centralized data and inputs from operations, youhave the ingredients for success. Furthermore, quantification is the new frontier for risk
management creating a common language and consistent measuring stick for risk. Archer
Insight can enable you to employ risk models to run various scenarios, quantify loss exposureand truly match up cost vs. benefit as you determine your risk management strategies.

It’s a Risky World | 5

Archer for AssuranceWith Archer, the teams mandated with building the GRC program canaddress tactical issues and have time to think strategically about thevalue that they can bring to the organization. Archer for Assurance isa programmatic approach to deploy integrated processes that connect
incoming regulatory intelligence to control implementations incorporatingcore risk assessment and audit capabilities.
• Power your regulatory change program with AI.
• Create an enterprise framework of regulated and		 non-regulated obligations.
• Execute against a comprehensive enterprise risk and		 control framework.
• Integrate your risk assessment, compliance, and audit processes.

Archer for Resilience
Archer for Resilience delivers an integrated approach to ESG, IT and Security risk management, business continuity anddisaster recovery and third-party risk management. Our solution creates effective ways to ensure business operations,
technology infrastructure and the extended enterprise are best positioned to deal with the inevitable – whether it isemerging ESG requirement, a disruption from a cyber-attack, a natural disaster or a break in their supply chain.
• Adjust controls based on insights into operational loss.
• Create future-proof operations with a comprehensive ESG program.
• Build a resilient infrastructure with a strong IT and security controls strategy.
• Manage risk across your extended enterprise for both resilience and compliance.
• Effectively respond to disruptions with a clear focus on the most important operations.

Archer for Enterprise Risk
Archer for Enterprise Risk delivers an enterprise class system for sustainable, consistent ERM that covers all parts of yourorganization. Implementing a scalable ERM practice with risk quantification transforms risk discussions into meaningfulactions to deliver more value. Additionally, Archer connects ERM practices directly into assurance and resilience efforts toconnect top-down risk strategies with operational controls.
• Establish a programmatic approach to systematically assess enterprise risk.
• Quantify risk exposure to prioritize activities.
•		Leverage intelligence from operations to adjust risk management strategies.
• Improve visibility across your operational risks by leveraging Archer.

It’s a Risky World | 6

Intelligence Driven Risk Management
Risk management functions like Compliance, Audit, IT Security, and others are the foundation of your program. Establishinga central repository for risk- and control-related data is a critical step towards ensuring you have an accurate andcomprehensive view of risk that can be readily conveyed to your executive team and board. The engagement across yourlines of defense strengthens the effectiveness of your risk management program by assuring your risk data is accurate
and complete and your business unit managers are taking appropriate responsibility for their risks and internal controls.
Archer also has unique inputs to keep your view of potential risk relevant and current, focusing your efforts on the mostimpactful changes in external requirements and operational events.

Archer Compliance AI
Archer Compliance AI is the only regulatory change management solution that mitigates the risk of non-complianceby automatically monitoring the regulatory environment for updates, organizing and interpreting regulatory content,
ensuring change tasks are completed, and providing real-time insight on compliance status. Our solution applies purposebuilt machine learning models to automatically monitor the regulatory environment for relevant changes and map themto your internal policies, procedures, and controls. When monitoring regulatory updates from all sources, our software
filters out content so that you receive only the information relevant to your organization. You can track, react, and reporton impactful regulations and requirements on a timely basis.
By staying informed about regulatory developments, you can anticipate changes that may impact operations, complianceobligations, and risk profile. This proactive approach allows for timely adjustments to policies, procedures, and controls
to ensure ongoing compliance. Regulatory intelligence enables the organization to adapt quickly and create the agility
necessary to meet evolving regulatory requirements and market dynamics.

Archer RMIS AI
Archer RMIS AI offers an intuitive and cost-effective solution for insurance policy and exposure data management, claims
management, incident management, and analytics. With Archer RMIS AI, you can leverage AI-powered analytics to optimize
your insurance renewal workflows, policy administration, claims and incidents. You can manage claims more effectively
and efficiently, reduce and track insurance costs, and eliminate opportunities for human error resulting in better data andlower risk.
Visibility into this data gives you a unique perspective on the effectiveness of controls. Operational intelligence is gained byanalyzing data from across the organization and gaining insights into performance and losses. By understanding where
losses occur, organizations can adjust their controls and processes to mitigate these issues, thereby improving efficiency
and reducing risk. This proactive approach helps in preventing future disruptions and maintaining smooth operations.

It’s a Risky World | 7

Enterprise Challenge, Enterprise Solution
Integrated risk management enables organizations to make business decisions that are informed by visibility into, and aclear understanding of, the full scope of risk. Archer helps you manage risk by improving visibility into risk with consolidated
data and risk analytics across the organization. Purpose built to help you evolve your risk management program as yourneeds change, Archer includes multidisciplinary risk management solutions that address the most critical domains ofbusiness risk. Archer solutions incorporate the industry-leading best practices you need to get an effective integrated risk
management program up and running quickly. Most importantly, Archer supports the full spectrum of risk management
capabilities from cutting edge intelligence to foundational data gathering and process enablement to advanced analytics
and risk quantification giving you the most complete risk management solution in the market.

About Archer
Archer is a pioneer in risk management delivering solutions for the heroes tasked with helping their organization deal with uncertainty.
We enable better decision making with a technology platform to manage all types of risk. With more than 20 years of experience,
Archer is solely dedicated to helping organizations manage risk, ensure compliance and meet emerging challenges such as ESG
and operational resilience. Working with the largest pure risk management community globally with more than 1,200 customersof all sizes and industries, we help our customers not by building a wall around their business but by building a bridge to theirnext opportunity.
Visit www.ArcherIRM.com.
@ArcherIRM

Archer Integrated Risk Management©2024 Archer Technologies LLC. All rights reserved. Archer and the Archer logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Archer
Technologies LLC in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Archer
believes the information in this document is accurate. The information is subject to change without notice. 07/24 Solution Brief.