This post looks at the perspective of availability – defined for this purpose as “concerns unwanted withholding of information”. Availability is simply the ability to get what you want from the system when you need it. There should not be any barriers outside of the checks and balances that manage the other security perspectives in the CIADA model. Given that Excel is a fairly robust and prevalent industry application, there are not many software ‘features’ that may deliberately or inadvertently withhold information from its own users; though a side thought would caution against passwords only known by one person which [&hellip

Integrity This post looks at the perspective of integrity – defined for this purpose as “concerning the unwanted modification of data.” Modifying the data in a sensitive data set is a huge risk. Potential ruinous of the result in its entirety and in the context of a decision support system – it is the kind of thing that people lose jobs, homes and businesses over. Shockingly, people may even want to do this for selfish and malevolent reasons… and in an Excel world they can do this without a trace (almost – which is a thought for another post). The [&hellip

Confidentiality For the sake of this post, I’ll define confidentiality as “concerns regarding the unwanted disclosure of information.” Confidentiality is complex as it is both role-driven and time-driven, i.e. sensitive data may only be applicable to me in my current role and for a specific timeframe after which it may become stale and elicit invalid results. Without deploying additional layers (e.g. using the file system layer to assign access via login to specific roles) neither angle is covered by Excel (or any Office-style application). Access is blanket applied – you are in or out of the loop. Hidden sheets help, [&hellip

On a recent engagement for a global retail bank, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to 10 of the African countries in which they operate. The project entailed examining the source of poor debt quality in the region and focused on collections and recoveries operations. Following a three month project, we noted a number of common issues facing banks across the 10 countries. It is felt that overcoming these issues will offer significant benefits in terms of portfolio profitability, debt quality and customer service to name a few, but is it as simple as that? Lack [&hellip

Do you remember the story of Eva and Tim? Refresh your memory here. While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to Eva’s predicament, there are a series of dimensions which she can consider to help shape how she chooses to respond. In this post, we explore those dimensions. In our experience helping clients with compliance projects, we’ve noticed some fundamental aspects in which these regulatory change initiatives are different from other business-driven change initiatives. We thought we’d share 5 of the most distinctive differences, which you might have already considered in Eva’s struggle. Drop dead dates Deadlines are fixed and set externally. [&hellip

Have you ever experienced a project delivering regulatory change? Did you notice any differences compared to other projects? Here’s a little story inspired by our experiences. Any connections with real life characters are unlikely and even if you are new to regulatory work, don’t stop here; you will still enjoy it. 21st century London. Seagulls fly around the Shard, light drizzle dampens the pavement and the Waterloo and City line still resembles a tin of sardines more than a tube. Eva, is a business unit leader at the retail arm of First Compliant Bank (FCB). Her team uses an internal system [&hellip

We often observe apprehension when the word “agile” is mentioned in board rooms and programme offices. BSG (Africa) recently hosted a briefing with a view to debunking some agile myths and outlining some of the benefits of becoming more fluent agile practitioners. &nbsp

In April 2014 short-term / payday lenders will be regulated by the FCA. In this infographic, we layout a timeline with the key changes to consider against your lending operating model

Customer need is a moving target. In this conference presentation, BSG’s Jurie Schoeman talks about applying lean startup and Business Model Canvas techniques to remove the guesswork and reduce wasted time in project delivery