New dawn approaching for risk data as firms predict a switch to automation within five years
Almost half of risk teams in the financial services (FS) sector think data management will be fully automated within five years, Duco research finds
1 December 2021, London UK — Risk teams at financial services (FS) firms are recognising the increasing need for automated data processes and the benefits they can bring, with 45% saying they believe fully automated risk data management will be a reality in the next five years. That’s according to a new report by data reconciliation specialists Duco in conjunction with the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA).
The report, which explores the state of data management in the risk sector and the impact data issues are having on business performance, also reveals that more than one in ten (11%) believe that complete automation will be achieved within two years.
The move to automation will be a welcome one for many FS risk teams, 35% of whom say they are still using legacy processes such as Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to store and manage their risk data. The knock-on effect of which is significant, with nearly two thirds (64%) of risk teams spending most of their time manually handling repetitive issues such as sourcing, reconciling, and transforming data for use in risk management systems.
Over three quarters (77%) say that machine learning will be an important technology for automating risk data, followed closely by no-code (71%). Cloud computing was by far the most recognised technology amongst risk teams, with 90% saying it would be an important tool for automating data.
Keith Man, banking ops and risk specialist at Duco, says this increasing recognition of automated solutions and their potential among risk teams is encouraging.
“The fact that so many risk professionals think that data management will be fully automated within the next two to five years points to a real mindset change in the sector”, he says. “Spurred on by the frustrations and challenges caused by manual processes & legacy systems, teams are now really starting to think about other options, recognising the huge potential that tools such as machine learning, cloud and no code can offer.”
“Automation gives teams the freedom to pursue other tasks and innovate their operations without needing to waste precious time, resources and money on maintaining legacy systems or manual processes. The accuracy, simplicity and flexibility that automation brings means that they can continue to develop and keep up with the pace of technology and customer requirements, without worrying about the speed or accuracy of their data management.”
Download the full survey report.