KPMG has recently released its biannual regulatory barometer and has provided a lot of insight across an array of fields. 

This article will explore what the barometer means and its findings on operational resilience practices.

The KPMG Barometer aims to help firms identify the key areas of pressure across the evolving UK and EU regulatory landscape and measure the impact of the likely change.

In the KPMG Barometer, nine major regulatory themes have been identified and evaluated based on various attributes such as the number of regulatory updates, level of complexity, and the time required for implementation. Each theme has been assigned a regulatory impact score. These scores have been combined to create a single metric, indicating the level of regulatory pressure. The Barometer monitors these scores over time to determine whether the level of regulatory pressure is increasing, decreasing or staying constant.

The barometer is composed of multiple layers of questions that are designed to assess the maturity level of each area by delving into the details of the assessed organization’s processes. The results provide insight into financial firms’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for improvement, and any gaps that need to be addressed in order for your business operations to be more resilient against extreme events. 

Additionally, it offers recommended actions tailored specifically for your organization that can help ensure its long-term success. 

Needless to say that the barometer provides firms with the ability to benchmark against other similar businesses around the world so they can gain further insight into how their organizational practices compare with others in their industry or region. This helps them understand what needs to be done differently so they can stay ahead of the competition when responding to emerging risks or disruptive changes due to external factors such as climate change or geopolitical unrest. 

On to what matters most to those in operational resilience. 

As part of modern businesses' compliance model, regulators now require end-to-end operational resilience processes to ensure firms can adequately manage and maintain key business activities. As such, firms must invest in end-to-end processes and systems which are capable of recovering swiftly and comprehensively in times of disruption or failure, ultimately allowing them to remain competitive in an unpredictable environment. 

Consultants should seek to prepare clients with the insights to understand and implement end-to-end solutions that promote organizational stability and long-term growth.

Consultants now have an even bigger responsibility to display governance and accountability. Regulators are pushing firms further than ever before to ensure governance is being practiced with strong results in mind. This outlook places an emphasis on standards being maintained and improved. A good grasp of governance and accountability across various operations will be essential for any consultant looking to maintain a competitive edge in the industry. Staying ahead of the curve has never been more important for consultants as clients will now be expecting specialized governance knowledge as part of a consultancy package. 

The new report identifies that extreme climate and geopolitical events can severely disrupt a business's operating model, with governance and accountability needed in order to protect it. 

Resilience consultants now need to take these scenarios into account when they are formulating strategies for their clients. 

An approach that takes advantage of forward-thinking tools like Artificial Intelligence and predictive analytics can be especially helpful, as they equip businesses with strategic vigilance in order to respond reflexively to external threat. However, consultants need to ensure that governance and accountability factors are taken into consideration before implementing a strategy, as this is pivotal in protecting a client's operations over the long run.

In a time of unpredictable disruptions, firms must prioritize investing in comprehensive resilience processes and systems to maintain business activities and stay competitive. Consultants have a responsibility to guide clients towards implementing strong governance and accountability practices in order to meet regulatory requirements and protect against external threats. The report highlights the importance of taking into account the extreme climate and geopolitical events potentially looming, and using forward-thinking tools to respond quickly. 

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