Our Advisory Services
We offer a broad range of advisory services in the most sought after areas. Our advisors are well known in their practice areas and have served in the roles in which they offer guidance. We understand the complexities involved in operationalizing solutions.
Key Advisory Areas
IMAG Advisory is expert in:
- Senior Advisory: providing governance and compliance guidance to boards and senior management teams
- Culture Change: change management, governance and sustainability programs, improving lines of defense, clarifying roles and responsibilities
- Compliance and Governance Programs: structure, staffing, integration, committees and reporting, enhancing and integrating governance and compliance programs within business, operations, audit and technology platforms
- Risk Management: conducting risk based and control related diagnostic and vulnerability assessments, developing enterprise-wide risk management programs and risk measurement, alignment of business strategy against risks, “hidden” risks detection, developing Board level risk appetite programs
- Global Privacy: developing information security and data protection programs, global privacy programs
- Regulatory Structuring: determining the optimum structure and developing integrated controls for globally regulated businesses
- Data: improving the utilization of advanced analytics, automation, data segmentation and analysis, AI
- Systems and Technology: gap analysis; technology rightsizing, system selection, transformation, upgrades, vendor selection and tool solutions
- Process and Root Cause analysis: mapping of “true process” issues across and within the lines of defense
- Internal controls and testing environments: developing “early warning” issue escalation and control assurance programs
- Forensic review and analysis; conducting public and confidential investigations
- Regulatory and audit response and remediation: complex global remediations, planning and overseeing the remediation of material regulatory, risk, audit and control deficiencies, working directly with a client or working under their lawfirm
- PMO: output and productivity measurement and enhancements
- Start -up and turn-key industry offerings (e.g. broker-dealer formation, commodity registration)
- Expert Witness: providing skilled subject matter testimony
- Regulatory: enhancing regulatory powers, new regulated company start-up
- Staffing: providing transitional and supplemental staffing of critical control roles
- Personnel : handling complex immigration issues
Using Advisory Services
Clients come to IMAG when planning and implementing solutions which require deep industry experience. Many ask a basic question: “Can we do this better?” Here are examples of their questions:
The Question
Can we do this better?
Click to expand each example
Are there ways to plan, implement or improve our governance program? Can we determine whether a Culture of Compliance exists and whether it is translating into acceptable behaviors?
Are the risks in our new business, product and delivery platforms being translated into changes to our governance, risk and compliance programs? Can key risk controls become more innovative and effective to give us an earlier warning of issues? Can we better utilize and segment our data? Can we better understand the risks inherent in our customer base, market segment and delivery platforms?
Are the risks in our new business, product and delivery platforms being translated into changes to our Regulatory and Financial Crimes risk programs? Can we make our key risk controls more innovative and effective to give us an earlier warning of issues? Can we better utilize alert and SAR data? Can we augment our KYC to evaluate customers participating in the world of digital assets?
Are we overstaffed in relation to our risk? Can we break down our silo structure so that our governance, risk and compliance programs work together? Can we simplify our process and decision making? Can we get better information to the right people? Are we using the correct type of third-party program outsourcing? Can we demonstrate that our program meets heightened expectations from the regulators?
Can we remediate issues faster and resolve issues before they become audit or examination findings? Is there a better way to utilize our PMO so that it becomes more of a facilitator of solutions?
Is there a better way to manage and use our data? Are we effectively utilizing data analytics and AI? Can data analytics uncover “hidden risks”?
Do we need a system upgrade or can we use what we have? Does our present technology platform need to be changed given our new business strategy? Are we spending the right amount on technology? Are there new tools in the market that we should consider? How exposed are we to cyber-attack?
Can we broaden our current powers and products offered? What risks are entailed and how can they be covered effectively through new and existing controls?
Can we improve our training? Can we use better ways to retain and attract talent in a virtual environment? Can we can reduce our running cost but keep production levels constant?
Can you help us fill a senior level critical skill gap on short notice or during a personnel transition?
The answer?
Yes, you CAN do it better! Leverage our industry experience!
Recent Engagements by Team Members
Governance Program
Senior advisors to a major, global SaaS company: identify key risks and controls; establish a Compliance Department and Compliance Committee with a focus upon trade sanctions and global privacy; draft key policies; coordinate roles and responsibilities among Legal, Risk and Compliance Departments;
Enhancement and Remediation
Multiple Financial Crimes engagements regarding the enhancement of existing programs, including oversight for the planning, design, implementation and remediation of all phases of the AML and sanctions risk; remediation planning and oversight of complex regulatory orders;
Delivery Platforms
Reviewing multiple digital delivery platforms for one of the largest global money transmitters in order to ensure conformance with KYC requirements;
Data Analytics
Reviewing the feasibility of adapting fraud technologies to encompass a wider area of Financial Crimes risk through the use of data analytics;
Risk Management
Advising a significant FinTech converting to a crypto asset custodian bank in establishing its risk management infrastructure and framework to meet enhanced regulatory requirements; Conducting a compliance risk assessment for digital assets to ensure applicability of banking laws and regulations and has provided guidance to the client in establishing more robust compliance management system; Conducting an enterprise-wide risk assessment for all functional areas of a trust bank to identify risks and evaluate embedded control environments;
Technology Assessments
Reviewing multiple technology platforms to determine enhancements and selection;
Sanctions
Overseeing and advising, from multi-global locations, the roll-out of the economic sanctions program of one of the largest global banks;
Controls
Managing the planning, execution and oversight of issue validation for consent order remediation;
Securities
Created multiple Broker-Dealers for foreign bank branches; expanded existing powers from brokerage to dealing powers
Internal Investigations
Conducting a detailed internal review in Europe of whistleblowing allegations for a major global client under the direction of outside counsel
On-site Advisory/Transition Management
Acting as on-site senior advisor to the financial crimes and project management area of a major European foreign bank branch during its remediation of regulatory actions; acting as interim Global Head of Compliance for a major global financial institution during a management transition;
Process Mapping
Utilizing three-dimensional process mapping across multiple geographical locations of a major financial institution, communicating across all levels of staff to completely map their regulatory compliance and AML compliance processes, identifying control issues, operational risk, and identify opportunities to maximize the overall controls in a highly scrutinized regulatory environment;
