06/10/2016
Software solution by msg simplifies integrity checks for business partners / More reliable and more efficient thanks to integrated and standardized processes
Routine checks to verify business partner integrity should be taken very seriously - as regular scandals in German and international companies have made rather apparent. However, the checks also tend to reveal just how many places are failing to employ these processes or to do so to a sufficient extent. Starting in December, msg will be offering msg.BPC, a software solution that integrates and simplifies compliance-oriented integrity checks, making them more understandable for everyone involved. Users no longer have to put together personal or company data themselves and then compare that data to the databases at their disposal. Instead, they can delegate those tasks to the software. One click of the mouse suffices to start the check process, which can now be started from any application.
Business Partner Compliance Is Essential
Companies must safeguard themselves when interacting with business partners, whether dealing with customers, vendors or service providers. Violations of applicable laws or economic sanctions against individual countries can result in considerable fines. Even a failure to comply with internal requirements can see hidden loss potential revealed; failing to take a customer’s poor credit into account, for example, can have very negative consequences down the road when it comes time for them to pay their bills. That is why investigating existing and potential business partners is essential in preventing these kinds of risks from getting the better of us.
There are three key steps to applying this process: First, all basic information on a business partner must be collected. This includes personal data and business registry data, ownership structures and financial data. That information is then used as the basis to call up external watch list information: Questionable creditworthiness? Connections to organized crime? Sanctions against the company’s country of origin? Are you dealing with so-called “Politically Exposed Persons” (PEP) or even “Relative or Close Associates” (RCA), parties who are often subject to stricter statutory requirements? A whole series of external databases must be searched to put all this information together. Once done, the overall risk can be assessed and a decision then made based on the standards in place in the company. Doing these steps manually generally takes up more time than you even have available in a standard business day.
msg.BPC Automates and Standardizes the Process
“Anyone planning on checking the integrity of every single business partner by hand will soon be drowning in work,” explains Bruno Major, Head of the Solution Consulting South Division at msg. “Almost all data on our business partners is located in external databases, although many internal applications are affected too, from e-mail communications to Enterprise Resource Planning. Such a scattered system wastes time and is extremely error-prone. With msg.BPC we are now able to help and have bundled all of these processes into a single software solution.”
Thanks to msg.BPC, checking personal or company data can now be started from any application. Users can easily transfer data, such as a company address, from an e-mail signature to msg.BPC with the click of a mouse, thereby starting the check process. The software loads further company and shareholder data from a company database and compares it to a watch list in order to identify potential risks. A due diligence questionnaire can be provided if critical information is found: What is the nature of the intended collaboration? Did the business partner try to delay or hide their identification in any way? Based on the answers it finds, the system makes suggestions on how you should proceed - whether you should work toward finalizing a contract, keep a safe distance or introduce mitigation measures to reduce your risks. The information acquired is stored in an internal database, making it available to all departments.
msg.BPC gives new meaning to Business Partner Compliance: The automation and standardization of the integrity check ensures greater reliability and efficiency. Which, in turn, makes business risks easier to calculate and reduces the risk of violating external regulations and internal policies. Furthermore, the actions recommended by the software follow the company’s internal standards for risk management and compliance.
