According to Simon Henry, the Executive Director of the Rio Tinto Audit Committee is of a belief that while doing the corporate risk assessment for fraud risks, the story ends up looking at every company’s culture. Henry has highlighted the Shell case, where it was fined $120 million. Also, Henry mentioned that the Rio Tinto itself has cultural issues indicating the destruction of sacred sites in Australia in 2020.
What is Dynamic Risk Assessment?
Dynamic Risk Assessment is the decision-making process that can be as fast as a quick response. Or it can be as slow as long-term planning for the organization’s dynamic risks. Moreover, organizations today need risk assessment more than ever before. The economic uncertainty and the challenges they are facing in terms of sustainable growth are worse than ever. In such a business world, the verification and identification of clients and businesses are needed. For enterprises that are vulnerable to high risk, the need for an automated KYC is necessary. Primarily, Dynamic Risk Management is the key to sudden risk responses. For example, in case of a fire break out or a robbery, how should everyone respond in a store? Similarly, it makes the workplace safe for workers in an uncertain environment.
Dynamic Risk Assessment and KYC
KYC (Know Your Customer) is a crucial process for financial institutions to comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. Dynamic risk assessment is an important component of KYC, as it helps financial institutions assess and manage the risk associated with their customers. So, it is crucially important for high-risk exposures. They continuously monitor customers' activities and assess risk levels based on their behavior and transactions. This enables financial institutions to identify potential money laundering activities and take necessary actions to prevent them. Furthermore, it helps financial institutions stay ahead of evolving money laundering techniques. Traditionally, KYC relies on customers' initial information, but this approach may become obsolete as money laundering techniques change over time. Therefore, it keeps institutions up-to-date and in compliance with AML regulations.
Financial institutions can use these assessments to gather relevant information and evaluate the customer's risk level, thereby ensuring they are not doing business with individuals or entities involved in illegal activities. Particularly, Dynamic Risk Assessment supplements the customer due diligence too. While the
Uses of Dynamic Risk Assessment in KYC
Read the following points that explain the main uses of the process in KYC:
- Establish a customer's identity and legitimacy
- Detect and prevent fraud, money laundering, and other illegal activities
- Evaluate the customer's financial status and behavior
- Organizations can use KYC information to perform dynamic risk assessments and update their customer risk rating as needed. It allows them to respond to changes in their customer's risk status in real-time.
- This helps organizations make informed decisions about customers, transactions, and of business relationships.
- Risk Assessment is always done to mitigate potential risks, and data collection is necessary in this regard
- This data can be used by regulators & authorities to verify and confirm the customer’s identities.
Fresh Thinking
Basically, the strategy of every company might differ in the case of risk management. It is because every company is different from another. One organization might be exposed to financial risks, while another might be concerned about the on-site risks. So the strategic approaches will change in every case. But the main motive is to support KYC as a part of organizational risk management strategy. Hence, the risk assessment should have the following points in this regard.
- The Risk Assessment should have the ability to record the customer’s data prior to the KYC
- This data should be updated and usable for the KYC and AML activities
- A risk assessment strategy is necessary against financial risks like Money Laundering. Hence, the dynamic risk assessment should comply with the KYC and AML for better risk mitigation.
Final Thoughts
Conclusively, risk assessments are an important component of KYC and AML compliance. They help financial institutions assess and manage the risk associated with their customers and ensure they are in compliance with AML regulations. As money laundering techniques evolve, dynamic risk assessment becomes critical for institutions to stay ahead of the game.
