2023 Assurance functions

Scanning the horizon for risks

The past two years have shown us that sometimes the horizon can be closer than we think. Events that for many years were in the “low probability, high impact” category have occurred, such as pandemic-related access restrictions to premises or asset revaluation due to the war in Ukraine. A risk assessment based on probability alone is flawed. Therefore, it is important to focus on risks that may affect your company's resilience, destroy confidence in your organisation's ability to deliver sustainable results, attack the core of your company's purpose, or harm society in general. In addition, the constantly evolving regulatory environment creates significant challenges to financial services firms.

Our paper has been prepared to assist assurance functions in developing their risk assessment and activity plan for 2023, as well as for the C-suite, executive and non-executive directors responsible for the governance and control of financial services institutions.

Download the paper

Hot spots

In our paper, we highlight the five hot topics impacting financial services companies that are mostly discussed in Switzerland’s boardrooms.

Data protection and security continues to be a crucial topic among regulators, with increased scrutiny on firms’ ability to protect customer and sensitive data. In this context, the revised Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) will come into force on 1 September 2023.

Our Data Protection Services

Financial crime risk continues to be a key focus area for the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma). With the revised Anti Money Laundering Act (AMLA) and the amended Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (AMLO) coming into force on 1 January 2023, Switzerland strengthens its toolkit to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

Mitigate financial crime risk

IFRS 17 continues to be a significant driver of change in the insurance industry, and we are now very close to the effective date of 1 January 2023. Companies should now be in the final stage of their implementation plan and resolving all identified issues.

Our expertise in Insurance

ESG has moved into the mainstream, and the regulatory environment is maturing, with regulators’ expectations constantly evolving and new initiatives emerging – including disclosure. Financial services firms must have a clear strategy for managing risks and opportunities arising from market and regulatory pressures.

Our services around ESG

The importance of technology and operational transformation to facilitate product and service innovation cannot be overstated. At the same time, and as the cyber threat landscape evolves, organisations have become more vulnerable to cyber risk, and third-party providers can expose entities to risk. Companies need to ensure cyber and operational resilience.

Our Cybersecurity and Privacy offering

Download the paper

Download our horizon scanning paper which provides a point-in-time view of the risks targeting the financial services sector in the next 12 to 18 months.

https://pages.pwc.ch/core-asset-page?asset_id=7014L000000YKx2QAG&embed=true&lang=en