Case Study
Policy & Procedures for Global Head of Operational Risk
Risk
Client
Bulge Bracket Investment Bank
Services
Risk Governance, Policy Design & Control Testing, ERM & Operational Risk
Project Overview
As part of efforts to improve operational risk related to program management oversight as well as remediate longstanding audit findings, the Client needed to create a new program management oversight function within Operational Risk. In addition to helping define and stand-up the function and operating model, Reference Point was engaged to build out the required policy and desktop procedure documentation as well as train new hires across the four main sub-teams. With Reference Point’s assistance, the Client was able to hire and train the new resources, create detailed desktop procedures for two different assessments, and begin execution within four months.
Solution
- Reference Point deployed a team, led by the former Credit Suisse Global Head of Project Management Methodology, to support operationalizing the Client’s new PMRO team through creation of required internal procedures and supporting artifacts.
- The team leveraged program management best practices and industry standards as well as interviews with the Client’s risk management resources to author a PMRO Policy detailing the function’s purpose, how it will conduct various assessment processes, and the roles and responsibilities of its members. The team supplemented the PMRO procedure document with detailed process flows outlining the procedures for each review and assessment performed by the PMRO.
- For two of the assessments the PMRO team was designed to execute, RP authored comprehensive desktop procedure documents that detail the full assessment process from assessment identification to assessment close out. RP also developed controls for these two assessments that will be used for monitoring and measuring assessment execution.
- Finally, Reference Point created assessment questionnaires for the PMRO team to use during assessments to evaluate PMO organizations and program management policies.
Impact
- The Client was able to present a coordinated plan to regulators to systematically review the state of program management and project execution risk at the bank.
- Using the procedures documents that RP authored, the Client was able to effectively begin assessing PMO organizations, policies/standard, and work efforts.
- Through its initial assessments, the Client self-identified several issues for mitigation within the program management space.
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