Business Optimisation – Improve Processes, Implement Strong Controls and Cut Costs

All organisations need to be cognisant of costs and financial institutions are no different. What is unique for this industry is the sheer number of employees needed to review, check and control the transactions that have been executed on behalf of a bank. Overlay this with high volumes of activity, multiple (ageing and new) systems and complex rules and regulations. You end up with a spaghetti of data to untangle, tame, process and control.

 

Banks must respond to shifts in policy or regulatory changes and withstand moments of crisis (financial crashes, COVID, war etc). So how can you improve your business process and reduce costs without losing control? Will your changes stand the test of time and be resilient enough in the future?

 

Have Clear Objectives

 

This sounds like a simple ask, but if this incorrectly identified you will not be able to take a step forward, in fact you will end up two steps back. Why? On the surface, reviewing a single process and making improvements may appear to yield results but how do you know you have not broken another process and indirectly impacted rather than improved?

To make this consistent, sustainable and reliable you must have a clear overarching objective and holistically review processes from front to back. Once this is mapped out, it is possible to see where you may have gaps or duplicative processes and where you need to focus your resources to meet the objectives set, without creating unintended side effects.

Establish a Strong Control Framework

 

A simple transaction can still mean data is being transferred between multiple systems and handled by different teams, in different locations. This matrix lends itself to confusion: where do my responsibilities lie and where does it end? If left unchecked this will create control gaps and make processes fragile or broken.

 

How do you clear up this confusion? Questions to ask yourself:

  • What are your controls? Are they appropriate and robust?
  • Do you have enough reconciliations? Or too many?
  • Do you know what your first line of defence is doing to check the data?
  • Does your second line of defence understand their responsibility?
  • How regularly does the third line review and analyse your processes?

 

By focussing on how people work, what they do and why they do it, it is possible to refine your operating model. Educating your staff on how they directly impact the transaction will help align them. By doing so, this will alter the culture in the department and empower your staff to embrace change, as change, however simple, can sometimes be daunting.

 

Technology as an Enabler

 

Robotics, distributed ledger and machine readable technology have all been touted as the next best thing for operational functions. Ultimately, technology is there to support your needs and should be used to simplify your processes and automate repetitive tasks.

 

Too many teams adapt their processes to the technology they have, at Bailrigg we would strongly suggest that you use the right technology for the task. From our experience the key decision here is to buy or build? Working with your internal technology teams and external vendors it is possible to have the best of both.

Together You Can Achieve Optimisation

 

We are not proposing a paradigm shift in how your support functions work. Rather, business process optimisation is achievable by setting clear objectives, mapping out your end-to-end flows and then looking at how best to align the tasks to the processes, technology and people.

 

How Bailrigg Expertise Can Help

 

Bailrigg have deep expertise in advising on Business Optimisation. We have strong Project Managers and Business Analysts who have executed on change programs across banking support functions as well as technology. We have hands-on experience of optimising business flows, detailed operational, business and product knowledge, and a strong understanding of the technology tools available to support these changes. If you would like any further information, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at info@bailrigg.co.uk.

Author: Muoi Block – Data Analytics and Business Optimisation

 

October 2022