SAP® GRC For Dummies®

Chapter 1. The ABCs of GRC

Governance, Risk, and Compliance, almost always referred to as GRC, is the latest addition to the parade of three-letter acronyms that are used to describe the processes and software that run the business world. The goal of GRC is to help a company efficiently put policies and controls in place to address all its compliance obligations while at the same time gathering information that helps proactively run the business. Done properly, GRC creates a central nervous system that helps you manage your business more effectively. You also derive a competitive advantage from understanding risks and choosing opportunities wisely. In other words, GRC helps you make sure that you do things the right way: It keeps track of what you are doing and raises an alert when things start to go off track or when risks appear.

This opening chapter takes you on a top-to-bottom tour of GRC to help you understand in greater detail what GRC means and what companies are doing to lower the costs and create new value.

Getting to Know GRC

GRC is not just about complying with requirements for one quarter or one year. Rather, those who are serious about GRC, meaning just about everyone these days, seek to create a system and culture so that compliance with external regulations, enforcement of internal policies, and risk management are automated as much as possible and can evolve in an orderly fashion as business and compliance needs change. That's why some would say that the C in GRC should ...