Cortell joins forces with ESPconsult to bring Enterprise Risk Manager to Southern Africa
Cortell Corporate Performance Management (Cortell), a provider of enterprise business intelligence, planning and consolidation software and services, has teamed up with local Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) experts ESPconsult, to bring Incom Enterprise Risk Manager (ERM) software to the Southern African business market. The organisations will work together to deliver this powerful tool along with supporting consultation and services, helping local enterprises of all sizes to better manage and mitigate risk and enable sound governance and compliance.
“Risk management is not about eliminating risks, but rather taking them on board and managing them to an acceptable level. No business exists without risk, but the frequency and occurrences of these differ widely. Through this joint venture, we aim to use our collective experience to assist organisations in reducing the impact of risk by identifying their specific risk areas, defining risk controls and managing these correctly,” says Greg Bogiages, Managing Director of Cortell.
Ben Pieters, Executive at ESPconsult, adds: “Companies are exposed to thousands of risks every day. In order to successfully manage those risks they need to be identified, and procedures and processes defined around events that cause organisational risk. Yet conducting this process manually introduces further risk – the risk of human error. This is where the ERM software comes into play. By automating risk processes and ensuring appropriate risk owners are identified, the workload is easier to manage, accountability is improved, and governance and compliance endeavours are supported.”
ESPconsult, accredited principal reseller of the Incom Enterprise Risk Manager suite, specialise in GRC solutions and frameworks. Cortell will be using its experience as a consulting and implementation house to complement the software offering with services and best practice solutions around the tool.
ERM is a proven risk management tool, with more than 150 installations world-wide. It is based on international and South African risk management standards, delivering a simple, proven approach to risk reduction of all types. ERM facilitates risk assessments and manages data by risk category, asset/area at risk, location, department, division, risk assessor, risk owner, risk contact, action owner, action type and responsible party. It also provides risk review and action due reminders by task list or by automated email.
“Although ERM is a powerful solution, it requires the identification of risks and controls by the organisation in order for it to work effectively. Collectively, ESPconsult and Cortell ensure that these risks and controls are identified. Using the strengths of both of our organisations and working with enterprises to workshop their risks and risk appetite, the joint venture will enable us to deliver a complete, tailored solution to local businesses,” Bogiages concludes.
This partnership is effective immediately and consulting and software services will be extended to the existing customer bases of both organisations, as well as to new clients through the alliance.