MEGA GRC Expert Heads OCEG Panel on GRC Architecture Certification

Group begins work on education and certification programs

(BOSTON, Mass., June 26, 2013) (MEGA) Patrick Wells, director of Business Development at MEGA, will head a committee being formed by The Open Compliance & Ethics Group (OCEG) to develop a common body of knowledge (CBK) aligned to the OCEG GRC Capability Model.

This CBK will form the foundation for a training and certification program leading to a Certified GRC Enterprise Architect designation from GRC Certify, an affiliate organization of OCEG, the nonprofit organization that provides guidelines and standards for governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) processes.

The initiative is expected to assist companies in getting more value from their investments in GRC activities.

"The core of the next wave of effective GRC is developing an architecture allowing strategy, process, information, and technology to work together across the business and its operation," said Michael Rasmussen, founder of GRC 20/20 Research and OCEG Fellow. "There are different approaches to GRC. These new industry definitions and certifications will help companies develop and deploy more efficient programs."

Initial efforts for the program began this month with an OCEG survey to risk and compliance professionals, auditors, chief risk officers, compliance directors, enterprise architects, CIOs and CEOs. The survey results will help shape the direction of the program.

As soon as the survey results are analyzed, the group will add new members and immediately begin work to design an industrywide definition of GRC architecture and the corresponding CBK. Participation in the group is open to any practitioner within an organization who has GRC or enterprise architecture responsibilities and is an OCEG All Access member.

"GRC programs can do so much more than just help companies reduce risk and meet compliance obligations," explained Wells. "By combining business architecture with GRC, enterprises can align their risk, compliance, and audit programs with corporate strategy and gain critical business value."

The GRC architecture training and certification program, expected to be available in 2014, will be similar to those OCEG and GRC Certify currently provide in other education and certification areas, including GRC Professional Capability and Audit certifications, and GRC Policy Management training.

"Measuring and improving risk and compliance management so that they contribute to strategy and performance is a primary goal for modern companies. They are well beyond the early days of establishing compliance programs solely to meet legal requirements. That's where GRC architecture can be such an asset," noted Carole Switzer, OCEG co-founder and president.

MEGA has been recognized for many years by leading industry analyst firms for its software solutions in GRC and enterprise architecture (EA). MEGA was named:

• a leader by Gartner, Inc. in the "Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Architecture Tools", published Oct. 31, 2012
• a leader by Forrester Research, Inc., in "The Forrester Wave; EA Management Suites, Q2 2013"
• winner of the 2013 GRC Technology Innovator Award from GRC 20/20 Research
• in the "Chartis Research's RiskTech100 2012" report, published Oct. 31, 2012

According to industry experts, EA and GRC programs that tie all aspects of the company together have become a business asset for organizations. Last month, MEGA introduced new EA and GRC software solutions that are united on a single technology platform, creating seamless integration of these practices.

For more than 20 years, companies worldwide have relied on MEGA's software solutions to help them improve business performance. Customers include Aetna, Choice Hotels, Express Scripts, Nissan, Procter & Gamble, and Walgreens.