The world’s leading company in risk and control data standards, benchmarking and controls data analysis, Acin enables financial services firms to demonstrate that they are “in-control” and provide greater assurance across the industry. With its breakthrough system, Acin is helping change the way financial institutions collectively think about risk and controls in order to improve the way they are monitored and managed across the industry.
As financial institutions have reached a critical point post the financial crisis in 2008, the banks have spent billions in building systems and hiring staff to demonstrate that they are in control of the operational risks within their business. This has led to inconsistencies and formats proliferating across firms, and within the same institutions. As a result, the system is exploding, with unstructured data.
Operational risks are growing and the regulators are getting increasingly tough as they seek to ensure every breach, omission or commission is punished with the consequent reputation risks. This again is increasing the annual expenditure of firms which runs to billions.
Acin was established in 2010 and pivoted to deliver its solutions in 2016. The company initially created a set of standards for investment bank sales & trading desks; on an average the desks were missing 32 per cent of the operational risks and their associated controls.
Paul Ford, CEO, Acin says, “As an engineer by training, I was always uncomfortable administering to the symptoms of operational risk, I have been determined to find the ‘cure’ – in Acin we have that answer”.
Thus, Acin combined technology, data standards and content to measure, manage and mitigate operational risk. With the help of a comprehensive data standards platform, Acin is shaping the way risk and controls are managed in Financial Institutions to deliver unrivalled results. The company has developed a transformational approach and methodology for operational risk management. The solution provides a clear demonstration of control to regulators that enables firms to demonstrate to regulators and other stakeholders, both completeness and quality of the control environment. The company’s highly advanced system of risk identification, management and mitigation enable connected firms to achieve the highest degrees of protection at an industry level. This, in turn, empowers firms to increase their efficiency.
Acin solutions are categorized in categories to cater to the needs of different customers. The simplified version delivers real value to individual banks to address their risks.
The Networked Defence Model is a next-generation risk management platform. The platform standardizes and benchmarks operational risks and controls for the whole industry. It also enables the users to have control of the future. More than delivering immediate value to individual firms Acin also connects them to a powerful networked defence system that offers the highest degrees of protection at an industry level. The platform has the attention of Regulatory Authorities and Instances in all jurisdictions.
The Networked Defense Model represents a benchmark to operational risks and controls in accordance with the industry standard for Financial Services. The comprehensive data standards platform helps firms to simplify and mitigate operational risk. Relying on a centralized database of control designs, smart-mapped to individual risks by business; it is the first of its kind based on the Basel II framework. With a dataset of risks and controls that is more comprehensive than that of any one institution and continuously updated via the network, it significantly strengthens each firm’s ability to operate their existing “three lines of defence”.
Acin works and is in production with major client banks in the USA, across Europe and in Asian firms. In the longer-term, the data could help reduce the amount of operational risk capital needed by the banks. Acin’s ultimate goal is to help financial institutions reduce their operational risks so that they can be held to an industry standard and demonstrate to regulators that they are in control of their business, in a ‘forward looking manner’. Acin has also been recognized as one of the most innovative Regtech companies in 2019.
