Stephen van den Biggelaar, Partner IT Advisory at KPMG explained that integrating KPMG content into the BWise software allows leasing companies to improve control of funding and cash flow-related risks, waiver management, operational losses and business continuity - and to better manage compliance issues such as Basel II and III.

The new leasing solution powered by BWise software offers preconfigured content such as: operational processes, workflows and controls library, an incident database and reporting to various stakeholders.

Van den Biggelaar added: “When we talk to our leasing customers, especially those operating internationally, they are regularly struggling with having one single insight in their processes and related controls and risks. In this ever-changing environment they want an integrated and robust framework that can accommodate new regulations and support central monitoring so that they can avoid surprises. In our opinion, GRC software combined with specific content solutions can help achieve these goals.”

Clarinda Dobbelaar, VP Marketing and Portfolio Management at BWise said: “BWise has always been focused on developing the best-in-industry Governance, Risk Management and Compliance software platform. With our leasing solutions we provide powerful functionalities based on preconfigured content delivered by KPMG for streamlining the specific end-to-end risk and compliance processes at leasing companies. We believe that by partnering with KPMG, we are able to offer customers a very strong and future-proof leasing solution, to be financially and operationally in control on funding and cash flow risks and compliance issues.”

BWise is a subsidiary of NASDAQ OMX and specializes in assisting organizations in tracking, measuring and managing key organizational risks with its BWise GRC Platform.

International lessor faces up to regulatory and internal challenges

Paul Kromhout, senior manager, IT Advisory Risk & Compliance at KPMG Netherlands (pictured above), told Asset Finance International the example of an international leasing company that was struggling to keep up with more and more complex regulations and internal policies as they moved into new countries.

“They were looking,” he said, “for a solution that would support the implementation of one global risk and control framework. The goal was firstly, to be able to more effectively and efficiently execute control testing. Secondly, to centrally monitor controls testing and, thirdly, get more control on their policy and waiver management throughout the countries they operate in.”

BWise and KPMG offered the leasing company a ready-to-use, preconfigured, integrated GRC Platform. This platform made available a fully GRC solution, that included an integrated Loss Database (incident registration), a risk and control framework, risk self-assessments, automated controls testing with workflow, policy & waiver management and process management.

Kromhout explained: “The rich preconfigured content from KPMG is based on their extensive experience with international lease companies. KPMG harmonized the international frameworks into one single lease specific risk taxonomy, resulting in an extensive controls and risk library. This process model is made actionable through the BWise Platform and offered to the lease company as a standard solution that could be tailored to their specific needs.”

Fully adopted, the BWise/KPMG joint GRC lease solution allowed the leasing company to implement a globally accepted methodology and setup of processes to create transparency in business processes and related risks and controls.

“Because the solution is a packaged offer,” added Kromhout, “it made possible a jumpstart of the GRC project, having measurable results within a matter of weeks across the operating countries. The predefined workflows combined with the lease-specific content made control testing actionable, more effective and more efficient.

He concluded: “By using one platform, an integrated risk view could be realized that enabled the risk and compliance officers at the leasing company to be centrally in control on the financial and operational risks, including the risk of non-compliance.”