Connectics Consult

Connectics Consult-OnLine
Risk Management Assessment & Analysis
Software Solution
IDENTIFYING BUSINESS OPERATIONS RISKS TO PREVENT LOSS
A Risk Management Assessment and Analysis identifies the inherent risk of performing various
business functions, strategies or plans. Such business risks can have dire consequences to an
organization—financial losses through fraud; intellectual property/data theft; employee dissatisfaction resulting in poor performance or high turnover, are but a few of the reasons that can
negatively impact a business.
The Consult-OnLine
Software Platform
and Application
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Hosted/Browser–based
Content driven
Intelligent
User friendly
Superior support
Cost effective
Efficient
White labeled
Customizable
Traditionally such assessments have been conducted through “on-site” high touch face-to-face
interviews which is both costly and highly disruptive to a company. As budgets shrink and companies cut back on personnel, the burden of having a risk management assessment administered
has become less and less of a priority—with companies electing to role the dice and hope that
they will not become the victims through inadequate business /internal controls and/or inaction.
Connectics Consult-OnLine Risk Management and Assessment platform provides companies with a
highly affordable, non disruptive and efficient solution to help companies take back control and
help put their companies on a safe path to success.
The platform, which is licensed to professional service providers—such as law and CPA firms with
significant M&A practices and private equity, venture capital and investment firms —is a comprehensive, “intelligent”, content driven solution to help their client companies identify their business risks. Particularly important in the M&A field for companies preparing to be sold or as part of
the due diligence tool set when making acquisitions.
The Risk Management Assessment and Analysis Report that is provided to each client describes:
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What the risk is
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Why there is a risk
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Consequences if not addressed
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Recommended solutions
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The result if addressed.
The Deliverables
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Comprehensive Report
Executive Summary
Description of risks
Consequences of inaction
Recommendations
Results if addressed
Prioritizing
Impact on business
Each of the risks has an associated value and is prioritized as to which needs to be addressed most
urgently and those that should be monitored and attended to within a certain time frame.
The assessment covers the following business operational areas :
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Finance
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Human Resources
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Facilities Management
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Procurement
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Information Technology
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Internal Audit
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Strategic Marketing
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Retail Operations
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International Marketing/Sales
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Security
In addition, in order to get an indication of the primary concerns, areas of dissatisfaction and
stability of senior management, the Executive Perspective module is administered “blindly” to all
senior management and provides great insight into the morale , awareness and involvement of
the company’s senior executives.
Connectics
Consult-OnLine
Phone: 770-631-6761
E-mail: info@connectics.biz
Connectics Consult-OnLine
Risk Management Assessment & Analysis
IDENTIFYING BUSINESS OPERATIONS RISKS – WHY IT IS IMPORTANT AND RESULTANT VALUE
The purpose of risk assessment is to identify the inherent risk of performing various business functions, strategies or plans. Once possible risks to
a business are identified, management can gauge their extent and plan the type of controls required to mitigate the risks. Thus, business risk assessment helps companies:
 Ensure the success of a business
 Plan for extreme events by bringing forth possible risks
 Focus resources to manage probable risks
 Control business costs
 Strengthen business management
Once you know the risks to your business, multiple processes can be implemented to reduce the probability of the risks affecting the business.
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Conducting business risk assessment will also help develop the edge over a competitor, apart from enabling the improvement of brand presence
in the market. Financial losses can be avoided by undertaking financial, security, competitive market, employee policies and procedures, inventory, purchasing as well as other operational areas risk assessment. And, in the event a business is positioning itself to be acquired, a risk assessment prior to valuation will help to identify areas that could cause a negative impact on the value of the company and measures taken to remediate the risks and protect the integrity and the value of the company can be attained.
For companies making acquisitions, risks identified before acquiring a company can mitigate losses and headaches following an acquisition.
A Risk Management Process Involves
 Methodical identification of the risks surrounding the activities of a business.
 Reviewing the probability of the occurrence of events.
 Identifying the events before they create problems and dealing with them accordingly.
 Understanding the events and ways to respond.
 Supervising the risk management approach, effectiveness and control.
Risk Management Process Results In
 Improving decision-making, planning and prioritizing skills.
 Well-organized allocation of the resources and the capital.
 Allows the anticipation of potential problems and utilizes the best minimizing amount of fire fighting and preventing a disaster, which could
lead to sever financial crunch.
 Risk assessment/management significantly improves the probability of the delivery of the business plan, within your time frame and budget.
 Prevention of crime- Identifies areas where a crime that could disrupt/disturb a business and its financial health.
 Scams- Identifies potential scams and how they could hamper a business (e.g. purchasing/inventory fraud)
 Theft- Identifies theft problems in a business and the areas to protect, such as adopting simple security measures and by keeping track of the
staff and inventory.
 Data Security- Identifies where potential lies for data theft and makes recommendations on how to protect and secure data through suggested policies and procedures.
Connectics Consult-OnLine
Risk Management Assessment & Analysis
Software Solution
The Risk Management Assessment and Analysis system developed by Connectics Consult-OnLine is a content driven, intelligent and cost
effective solution to assist professional services firms better serve their clients to identify potential risks within the business process operations of an organization.
The assessment covers the following business operational areas (modules):
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Employee Polices and Procedures
Fraud, Intellectual Property/Data Theft –Awareness and Prevention
Management Assessment
Industry Competitive Environment
Information Technology
Investigation / Remediation Continuous Policies and Procedures
Corruption / Bribery / Conflict of Interest
Access Management
Cash Register / Point of Sale
Banking / Check Management
Purchasing/Billing
Inventory and Equipment
Expenses
Payroll
Financial Controls
Physical Controls
Intellectual Property / Data Identification and Classification
Intellectual Property / Data Prevention
Executive Perspective—Administered to all senior management executives—blind
Through an in-depth assessment of these operational areas of the company, risk can be identified associated with a lack of internal operational/financial controls which could result in fraud, intellectual property theft, data theft and other criminal or negligent actions. Such
risks could have serious negative consequences causing a major injurious impact on the business.
In order to cause as little disruption as possible to our clients’ business operations, the Assessment is managed through an on-line delivery
platform. Questionnaires (modules) designed to get an in-depth account as to what policies, procedures, controls and awareness exists
within the client’s organization are easily accessible through our online platform and can be assigned to the appropriate departments to
respond to in their own time and space.
Upon completion of the Assessment, our Analysts review the risk areas identified and we prepare a report which clearly sets out:
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What the risk is
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Why there is a risk
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Consequences if not addressed
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Recommended solutions
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The result if addressed.
Each of the risks has an associated value and is prioritized as to which needs to be addressed most urgently and those that should be
monitored and attended to within a certain time frame.
Connectics Consult-OnLine
The Business Model
Connectics Risk Management Assessment and Analysis SaaS is licensed to professional services firms. These primarily
comprise of: Law, Private Equity, Mergers & Acquisitions, CPA and Business Management Consulting firms.
The cost to a Licensee comprises of two elements—the License Fee which covers:
 Customization of the branding of the application for the licensee
 System maintenance and application updates
And to assist in marketing efforts to Licensee’s Clients:
 PowerPoint presentation
 Copy for licensee website to help promote the RMA
 PDF marketing brochure
In addition an Assessment Fee is charged for every assessment that goes through the system. The Licensee is free to
charge their clients whatever they wish for a Risk Assessment and Analysis of their organization.
There are two options for the License Fee:
Option I -
Annual Site License Fee - $9,950 - (Discount provided on Site License for multiple sites)
User Assessment Fee $950
Option II –
Annual Subscription Site License – $1250 per month
User Assessment Fee 950
Customization of modules:
A licensee may wish to have their own proprietary set of modules which they wish to use exclusively for their clients.
Connectics’ Consult-OnLine will customize and implement, in cooperation and working with the licensee, these modules onto the Consult-OnLine system. An estimate of cost to customize modules will be provided dependent on the
size and complexity of the project.
Trial License Agreement
The licensee may take a “trial” license at a cost of $1500/month up to three months with a user fee of $750 per assessment. In the event the licensee wishes to take an annual license to the system, the monthly license fees paid under the
trial will be applied to the annual license fee option selected by the licensee.
Connectics
Consult-OnLine
The Process
Each Licensee selects and assigns a License
Administrator who is responsible for
adding Clients to the system as well as
their own internal users who are responsible for project and client support;
report review; and, if required, editing
the narrative report which the system
generates based on the results of the
Assessment that was administered to the
Licensee’s client.
A Lead Consultant (normally a partner of
the firm who has their own book of
clients) selects the modules (operational
areas) he wishes to assess within a client
organization (not all may apply—for
example if a company does not have a retail business, then they would not receive the Cash Register/Point of Sale module to complete).
The Lead Consultant also selects a Project Manager to support the client through the assessment completion process—ensuring
that all the questions have been answered and supporting materials requested have been uploaded.
In addition, they would also assign an Analyst (the “subject matter” expert) who reviews client responses for the modules they
have been assigned and has the authority, if necessary, to make any changes to the system generated narrative report. This
includes not only being able to change the narrative itself but also consequences of inaction, recommendations to remediate the
situation, results if action is taken, the level of priority the risk should be given and the impact it could have on the business—again
if no action is taken.
All the roles within the Licensee organization may be managed by the same individual if required. The different roles and ability to
assign to several individuals were created for firms who have several levels within their organization and the depth of personnel to
assign the varying aspects of the project accordingly.
All of the questions in the Assessment have been carefully crafted to make the process as easy, non stressful and expedient for the
Client as possible without sacrificing the quality of information requested. The Client selects a Client Administrator who in turn
assigns different people (Department Representatives) within their organization who are responsible for the different business
areas to complete the respective modules.
The system generates automatic emails at each step of the process to inform and advise users as to their roles, next steps, requests
for more information, etc. Once the report is signed off and ready to be provided to the client, the Licensee has the option to print
the completed pdf report and provide a hard copy to their client or the system will advise the client that the report is ready to
review and be printed from their own Client Management Dashboard.
The process is seamless and extremely easy to navigate through. Full customer support for both Licensee and their Clients is
provided by Connectics.
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Consult-OnLine
The Technology Platform
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Consult-OnLine
The Team
Indra Bazaz Turnbull—President and Founder
Indra began her career in London working in the media and technology industries. Upon relocating to
the United States she joined Fuqua Industries, a publicly traded conglomerate that was a precursor to
today’s Private Equity phenomenon. In fact the recent public offerings of PE firms such as Kohlberg
Kravis Roberts and Carlyle have mirrored the path that Fuqua took. As part of J.B. Fuqua’s leadership
team, Indra was intimately involved in both acquisitions and divestitures of portfolio companies and
was a key liaison between the Chairman and the leadership of the portfolio companies.
A desire to create her own business led her to establish the US arm of a European high technology marketing company where she served government agencies, high technology firms and multinationals like The Coca-Cola Company for
several years in providing innovative solutions to marketing problems.
Leveraging her experience in the technology space, she created a business model that aimed at revolutionizing the
social printing industry by using adaptive technology to allow the customer to typeset and order their own social
stationary, invitations and announcements and take control of the process. The business was ultimately sold to a
major strategic player in the industry. Indra’s innovations were recognized as revolutionizing the space. The growth
of the use of the Internet for self-help activities grew out of the identification of applications such as the one that
Indra had developed and continues to do so.
Building upon the use of intelligent data to meet client demand and create scalability within professional activities
that were still manual and time consuming, Indra and her team then addressed the human resources functions
around candidate selection for open positions. They developed a proprietary technology, ApplicantAnalytics™ that
assesses and matches candidates to specific positions. The technology and platform have been used successfully for
Connectics
Consult-OnLine
The Team continued...
Professor Garrett van Ryzin—Consultant and Partner
Garrett van Ryzin is the Paul M. Montrone Professor of Decision, Risk, and Operations at the Columbia
University Graduate School of Business and Chair of the Decision, Risk, and Operations Division of the
School.
His research interests include analytical pricing, stochastic modeling, and operations management. He is coauthor of the
book The Theory and Practice of Revenue Management, which won the 2005 Lanchester prize for best published work in
operations research. His research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and major corporations, and he has served as a consultant to many leading companies. He was Editor in Chief of M&SOM, currently serves as
Area Editor for Operations Research, and is an INFORMS and MSOM Fellow. He received the B.S.E.E. degree from Columbia
University, and the degrees of S.M. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Ph.D. in Operations Research from
MIT.
Dr. Peter Gabris—Chief Technology Officer and Partner
Peter has over 20 years of experience in professional software architecture, design and development including the most recent architectural trends, methodologies and technologies. His forte is being able to recognize and capture business needs and requirements, utilizing his strong analytical skills and applying them to
the creative design and development of software solutions.
Peter has had an extensive career designing a number of global software development projects. Projects include, but are
not limited to: Embedded real-time analytical and control system for laboratory spectral analyzer, Laborchemie, Vienna,
Austria; River flood forecasting and water use management system for United Nations Development Program, still in use
in Pakistan, India and Czech Republic; Design and development of multitasking operating system and Pascal compiler for
minicomputer Mitre-15, CCDES - complete software product design and development of the Acculturation Quick Screen
Wizard; South Carolina Budget & Control Board—system for procurement processes for all SC state agencies; NEO Inc. preparation of Property Management IIS web application; RBOSolutions Inc., - responsible for the design and development of recruitment management and analytics programs - RecruitersBackOffice, Apply-for-job.com and ApplicantAnalytics; Ernst &Young LLP - the Business Process Profiler, a proprietary business risk analysis tool application used by
more than 30,000 staff auditors and sold to corporate clients worldwide; The American Cancer Society – the design and
development of a number of projects; Alacrity Services, LLC. (recently acquired by Lowes) - engaged in the design, systems. development, implementation and maintenance of a web based administration platform to assess property damage
and repairs management for insurance claims. Peter is now an integral member of Connectics’ executive team, responsible for
the software development of the Consult-OnLine Risk Management Assessment and Analysis system.
In addition to being a lecturer in computer science, Peter has several publications to his name, including: Morse code from a tiny
chip, August 8, 2012 at CodeProject.com; MVC Templates for DevExpress, open source at CodePlex.com; Relax, Your Code Is
Reviewed! Code review process that works even in real-life environments By Peter Gabris, Jan 30, 2008 at StickyMinds.com;
Master-Detail with DevExpress Extensions for ASP.NET MVC, 1 Jun 2011; Playing with the GridView PagerBar by Peter
Gabris, June 22, 2007 at CodeProject.com; Timeout Handling Control shareware published at Downloads.com; Book
reviewer for Better Software magazine.
Connectics
Consult-OnLine
Excecutive Perspective Report—Example