Operational Resilience Audit

Attend ORA Course

OR Expert Auditor

OR Auditor

OR Planner

ORA-400/ 5000 

ORA-300

ORA-200

Know-Do-Manage

Know-Do

Know

$3,850

$2,400

$1,650

$4,150

Online Only

Online Only

Detailed Steps to Summarise Findings

When conducting an operational resilience audit, the findings and recommendations are crucial in guiding the organization's efforts to enhance its resilience capabilities.

The following are detailed steps for summarising key findings and developing actionable recommendations:

1. Summarise Key Findings
2. Identify Strengths
3. Analyse Weaknesses
4. Prioritise Findings
5. Develop Actionable Recommendations
6. Provide Clear Guidance
7. Align with Industry Best Practices
8. Emphasise Continuous Improvement
9. Consider Resource Constraints
10. Validate Recommendations
11. Document Findings and Recommendations
12. Present Findings and Recommendations

Summarise Key Findings

• Review all the identified gaps, vulnerabilities, and non-compliance issues from the audit.
• Summarise the key findings clearly and concisely, focusing on the most significant operational resilience areas.
• Provide a balanced view that includes both strengths and weaknesses observed during the audit.

Identify Strengths

• Highlight the organisation's existing strengths related to operational resilience.
• These could include well-defined critical business services, robust incident response protocols, effective communication channels, or a culture of continuous improvement.
• Acknowledge these strengths to ensure a balanced perspective and encourage the organisation to build upon its capabilities.

Analyse Weaknesses

• Provide a detailed analysis of the weaknesses and areas of concern identified during the audit.
• Articulate these weaknesses' root causes and potential consequences, emphasizing their impact on critical business functions, operations, and the organization.

Prioritise Findings

• Prioritise the identified weaknesses based on the organisation's potential impact, likelihood, and risk appetite.
• Consider the criticality of the affected functions, the severity of potential disruptions, and the organization's overall objectives.
  
  • This prioritisation will help focus efforts on addressing the most critical areas first.

Develop Actionable Recommendations

• Based on the identified weaknesses and prioritised findings, develop actionable recommendations to enhance operational resilience.
• Ensure each recommendation is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
• Tailor the recommendations to address the organisation's specific context and capabilities.

Provide Clear Guidance

• Provide clear guidance for each recommendation on how to implement it effectively. Include step-by-step instructions, necessary resources, and suggested timelines.
• Clarify the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders involved in implementing the recommendations.

Align with Industry Best Practices

• Ensure that the recommendations align with recognized industry best practices for operational resilience.
• Consider relevant standards, frameworks, or guidelines such as ISO 22301, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, or industry-specific standards.
• Align recommendations with industry best practices enhances their credibility and effectiveness.

Emphasise Continuous Improvement

• Highlight the importance of a culture of continuous improvement.
• Encourage the organisation to view operational resilience as an ongoing process, not a one-time exercise.
• Emphasise the need for regular review, testing, and updating of plans, procedures, and capabilities to address emerging risks and changes in the business environment.

Consider Resource Constraints

• Consider the organization's resource constraints, both in terms of budget and personnel.
• Develop recommendations that are realistic and feasible within the available resources.
• Prioritise recommendations that have a significant impact while considering resource limitations.

Validate Recommendations

• Validate the recommendations with key stakeholders, including senior management and subject matter experts.
• Incorporate their feedback to ensure the recommendations are practical, achievable, and aligned with the organisation's strategic goals.
• Address any concerns or questions raised during the validation process.

Document Findings and Recommendations

• Document the key findings, strengths, weaknesses, and actionable recommendations clearly and organised.
• Use appropriate formatting, headings, and subheadings to enhance readability.
• Include supporting evidence, examples, and references to relevant audit data and industry best practices.

Present Findings and Recommendations

• Prepare a comprehensive report or presentation to communicate the findings and recommendations to senior management, relevant stakeholders, and the audit team.
• Articulate the purpose, methodology, key findings, and recommended actions. Use visuals, charts, and graphs to enhance understanding and highlight key points.

By following these detailed steps, the findings and recommendations of an operational resilience audit can provide valuable insights and guidance for the organization to enhance its resilience capabilities effectively.

Operational Resilience Audit Planning Steps

Find out more about Blended Learning ORA-5000 [BL-ORA-5] & ORA-300 [BL-ORA-3]

Detailed Steps for Data Analysis

When reviewing collected data, identifying gaps and vulnerabilities, and assessing compliance during an operational resilience audit, it is crucial to conduct a comprehensive analysis.

The following are detailed steps for this process:

1. Review Collected Data
2. Identify Critical Business Services and Dependencies
3. Assess Preparedness
4. Analyse Response and Recovery Plans
5. Evaluate Testing and Exercising
6. Review Governance Framework
7. Assess Compliance with Regulatory Requirements
8. Benchmark Against Industry Best Practices
9. Identify Gaps and Vulnerabilities
10. Document Findings
11. Prioritize Findings
12. Develop Recommendations
13. Validate Findings and Recommendations

Review Collected Data

• Examine all collected data thoroughly, including documentation, interview notes, incident reports, testing results, and quantitative data.
• Ensure that the data is complete, accurate, and reliable.

Identify Critical Business Services and Dependencies

• Identify and understand the organization's critical business functions and their dependencies.
• Review the business impact analysis and assess if critical functions have been correctly identified.
• Identify any gaps or inconsistencies in the understanding of dependencies and interdependencies.

Assess Preparedness

• Evaluate the organization's level of preparedness to withstand disruptions.
• Determine if each critical business service has documented and up-to-date response and recovery plans.
• Review the adequacy and effectiveness of these plans in addressing potential risks and operational disruptions.

Analyse Response and Recovery Plans

• Evaluate the response and recovery plans in place, considering their alignment with industry best practices and regulatory requirements.
• Assess if the plans address disruptions and clearly define roles, responsibilities, and communication protocols.
• Identify any gaps, ambiguities, or missing elements in the plans.

Evaluate Testing and Exercising

• Assess the organisation's testing and exercising mechanisms for operational resilience.
• Review the frequency, scope, and realism of the tests and exercises.
• Evaluate if the tests adequately cover the identified risks and vulnerabilities.
• Determine if lessons learned from testing exercises are effectively incorporated into the organisation's resilience practices.

Review Governance Framework

• Evaluate the governance framework and accountability structures related to operational resilience management.
• Assess if there is clear ownership and accountability for different aspects of resilience.
• Evaluate decision-making processes, escalation paths, and the involvement of senior management in resilience-related decisions.

Assess Compliance with Regulatory Requirements

• Review applicable regulatory requirements related to operational resilience. Evaluate if the organization's practices align with these requirements.
• Identify any gaps or non-compliance issues and note them as areas requiring improvement.

Benchmark against Industry Best Practices

• Compare the organization's practices with recognized industry best practices for operational resilience.
• Consider standards, guidelines, and frameworks such as Central Banks’ OR policies, ISO 22301, or industry-specific standards.
• Identify areas where the organisation falls short of these best practices and note them as improvement opportunities.

Identify Gaps and Vulnerabilities

• Identify gaps, vulnerabilities, and areas of concern within the operational resilience framework based on the review and analysis.
• Consider areas where the organization's practices do not meet regulatory requirements or industry best practices.
• Pay attention to potential single points of failure, dependencies on critical suppliers, or outdated procedures.

Document Findings

• Document all identified gaps, vulnerabilities, and non-compliance issues.
• Clearly articulate the root causes and provide supporting evidence from the collected data.
• Ensure that the findings are objective, specific, and actionable.

Prioritise Findings

• Prioritize the identified gaps and vulnerabilities based on their potential impact and likelihood.
• Consider the criticality of the affected functions, the severity of potential disruptions, and the organization's risk appetite.

• • This prioritisation will help focus efforts on addressing the most significant areas of concern first.

Develop Recommendations

• Based on the identified gaps and vulnerabilities, develop actionable recommendations to enhance operational resilience.
• Provide clear guidance on addressing the identified issues and improving the organization's practices.
• Ensure the recommendations are practical, feasible, and aligned with industry standards.

Validate Findings and Recommendations

• Validate the findings and recommendations with key stakeholders, including senior management and relevant subject matter experts.
• Incorporate their feedback and ensure the findings and recommendations accurately reflect the organization's operational resilience status.

By following these detailed steps, reviewing collected data during an operational resilience audit will result in a comprehensive assessment of the organization's resilience capabilities, identifying gaps and vulnerabilities, and compliance with regulatory requirements and industry best practices.

Operational Resilience Audit Planning Steps

Find out more about Blended Learning ORA-5000 [BL-ORA-5] & ORA-300 [BL-ORA-3]