Singapore, global companies unprepared for GDPR compliance: EY

By Digital News Asia February 13, 2018

Majority consider data protection and data privacy compliance a growing concern
Singapore businesses to adopt AI and robotic process automation to fight fraud risks

Singapore, global companies unprepared for GDPR compliance: EY

INTENSIFYING regulatory pressures are top of mind for business leaders, with 70% of Singapore respondents (global: 78%) expressing increasing concern about data protection and data privacy compliance.

This is according to the third biennial EY Global Forensic Data Analytics Survey, which examined the responses of 745 executives from 19 countries (including 40 from Singapore) and analysed the legal, compliance and fraud risks that global companies face and the use of forensic data analytics (FDA) to manage them.

However, with less than four months to go before the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on May 25, 2018, only 33% of respondents globally stated that they have a plan in place to comply with the EU legislation.

The average response of those in Europe was more positive, with 60% indicating they have a compliance plan in place.

There is still much more work to be done in other markets, including Africa and the Middle East (27%), the Americas (13%), Asia-Pacific (12%), where significantly fewer companies indicated readiness for GDPR compliance.

Reuben Khoo, EY Asean Fraud Investigation & Dispute Services leader, says: “The pace of regulatory change continues to accelerate and the introduction of data protection and data privacy laws, such as GDPR, are major compliance challenges for global organisations. While organisations in Singapore show growing concerns on data privacy compliance, many may not be aware of the immense extraterritorial reach of GDPR, its requirements and implications for data breach.

“Many organisations are still not compelled to take proactive measures to mitigate such risks, given that our survey shows only 10% of the respondent in Singapore have a GDPR compliance plan in place. Organisations should adopt FDA as a key tool in its GDPR compliance efforts and assess opportunities to integrate them into their compliance programmes.”

Increased adoption of FDA to manage risks

According to the report, respondents expressed a strong belief in the value of FDA and its benefits for an organisation’s governance programme, which is evidenced by a 67% increase (global 51%) in average annual spend per respondent compared with 2016.

Companies have significantly developed beyond relying on the basic FDA tools of the last decade, with 13% of Singapore respondents (global 14%) stating that they are already using robotic process automation (RPA) to manage legal, compliance and fraud risks.

As well, a further 51% of Singapore respondents (global 38%) stated they are likely to adopt artificial intelligence within the next 12 months, followed by RPA at 43% (global 39%).

The survey found that 48% of Singapore respondents (global 42%) believe that data protection and data privacy regulations have a significant impact on the design or use of FDA.

The survey further revealed that just 11% of Singapore respondents (global 13%) indicated that they currently use FDA to achieve GDPR compliance, with a-third (33%) of Singapore respondents (global 52%) currently in the process of analysing exactly which FDA tools they would use to assist them with achieving compliance.

“Businesses that adopt FDA technologies can achieve significant advantages, benefitting from more effective risk management and increased business transparency across all of their operations.

“Businesses are using the advancement and power of FDA to transform their risk functions in a way that was never previously possible. With better adoption of advanced FDA technologies, companies are also using more structured and unstructured data sources compared to a couple of years ago,” says Khoo.

Investment in people and skills key to unlocking the full potential of FDA

Overall, the report highlights how increased adoption of, and spending on advanced FDA technologies, needs to be matched with greater investment in skilled resources.

Of the respondents surveyed, only a fraction of respondents feel that their organisation has the right technical skills in FDA (Singapore 8%, global: 13%), and the right data analytics/data science skills (Singapore 8%, global: 12%).

“FDA is not just about technology, but about the people who manage that technology and how they use it to manage risks. While it’s encouraging to see that investment in advanced FDA is increasing, companies need to match greater adoption of FDA with greater investment in skilled resources that have a combination of technical skills, domain knowledge and data analytics expertise in order to be successful in managing their risk profile,” explained Khoo.