7 Last-Minute Third-Party Risk Management Tips Before We End the Year

With it being the last week left in 2018, majority of your focus may already be planning for the new year. Before this year wraps up, you can still build a better foundation for third-party risk management to efficiently carry into the next year. Take a look at these last-minute tips for third party risk management that you can start before 2019.

Third-Party Risk Management Tips

1. Be on the lookout for inconsistent treatment or application of standards for vendors. This is particularly important around performance or due diligence requirements.
2. Maintain an open line of communication with vendors. This will ensure they are forthcoming as issues arise.
3. Ensure that vendor management is on the regular internal audit schedule. Just as other key functions in the organization are reviewed on a scheduled period basis, vendor management should be as well. Request your internal audit team perform a self-audit or, if you do not have your own internal audit department, enlist other departments, such as compliance, or help from an external audit firm.
4. Use enforcement actions or other industry news as a lens through which to look at your own organization and its practices. You can learn a lot about what to not do by looking at enforcement actions being issued to similar organizations.
5. Plan ahead. Always consider seasonal activity, workload capacity and availability of key people with whom you need to engage.
6. Request assistance when needed. Sometimes help is needed and that’s fine. It could be more budget dollars, maybe it’s more staffing or maybe it’s outside assistance from another organization or outsourced company. You’ll never get the extra help you need if you don’t take a chance and ask for it.
7. Get creative. Be ready to get creative, when needed, to protect your organization. For example, if you can’t get financials from a vendor, consider what alternatives you might have, such as meeting with their financial analyst, asking for an accountant’s statement, etc. In other words, don’t settle for “no” too easily.

The best approaches to third-party risk take time to develop, but these tips will help you finish off the year moving in the right direction.