Swiss companies not yet equipped for GDPR
Regulatory pressure continues to dominate the agenda for business leaders, with 78 percent of respondents perceiving data protection compliance as a growing challenge. These were the findings of the third edition of the "EY Global Forensic Data Analytics Survey" on the importance of forensic data analytics.
For this latest survey, we examined EY the responses of 745 executives from 19 countries, including Switzerland. EY analyzed the legal, compliance and fraud risks faced by international companies and the use of forensic data analytics (FDA) to manage risk.
GDPR: only 40% of Swiss respondents have taken measures
On May 25, 2018, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force. However, only 40 percent of all Swiss respondents stated that they had taken measures to comply with the EU legislation. Compared with the European average of 60 percent who said they had developed an action plan, this proportion is surprisingly low. Even more work remains to be done in other markets, where significantly fewer companies said they were prepared for the GDPR: Africa and Middle East (27%), Americas (13%) and Asia Pacific (12%).
Michael Faske, Head of Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services at EY Switzerland, explains: "Regulatory change is advancing ever more rapidly, and the introduction of data protection laws such as the GDPR poses a significant challenge for organizations operating internationally in terms of compliance. However, companies that adopt FDA technologies can achieve significant benefits, benefiting from more effective risk management and greater transparency across their operations."
Increased use of FDA for risk management
In Switzerland, the adoption rate of many technologies is generally lower than the international average. In the field of artificial intelligence in particular, Swiss companies have a rate of 21 percent, well below the global average of 38 percent.
However, many Swiss companies have long since moved beyond relying on basic FDA tools to manage their legal, compliance and fraud risks. In addition, 36 percent said the introduction of robotic process automation (RPA) was likely in their company in the next 12 months, followed by corresponding plans for the use of artificial intelligence (21%). Due to the greater use of sophisticated FDA technologies, companies are now using more sources of structured and unstructured data than two years ago. However, Swiss companies are using these data sources to a lesser extent, especially social media and "whistleblower" records.
Surprisingly, according to the study, only 8 percent of respondents in Switzerland (compared to 13 percent globally) said they currently use forensic data analytics to meet the requirements of the GDPR. Only one-third (29%) said they are currently evaluating exactly which FDA tools to use to help them comply.
FDA requires professionals
Overall, the report emphasizes the need to back up increased use and spending on advanced FDA technologies with more investment in well-trained personnel. Despite the broad benefits, the number of professionals solely responsible for FDA remains low. In Switzerland, only 10 percent of respondents believe their organization has the right FDA expertise. Only 15 percent believe they have appropriate skills in data analysis or data science.
Michael Faske adds, "FDA is not just about the technology, it's also about the people who wield it and how they use the technology to manage risk. While it's encouraging that companies are investing more in sophisticated FDA technologies, they also need to hire the right people and invest in key core competencies such as domain knowledge and data analytics to successfully manage their risk profile." Press release EY
The topic of the EU General Data Protection Regulation is also covered in the new print edition of the "SafetyForum" picked up.
