What changes will blockchain technology bring to third-party risk management?

　　 The advantage of technology in managing third-party risks has not lost the market to compliance professionals . When considering the growing scale of the company's third-party ecosystem 、 Complexity and geographical diversity , It's easy to see why .

　　 There are 60% Our organization is working with 1000 Cooperation with multiple third-party companies or organizations , The risk of third-party risk management and business development is very high and the process is very cumbersome .

　　 big data 、 Artificial intelligence 、 Process automation robot And machine learning are just some of the technologies used by the compliance team to meet the challenges . There is another highly praised and sensational sector in this field , That's blockchain .

　　 Bill Gates described blockchain as “ A masterpiece of Technology ”. Blockchain originated from Crypto, But its scope of application is far more than that .

　　Gartner Information company said “ Blockchain will transform most industries in five to ten years .”

　　 At this point, we can't help asking ： Is the compliance industry one of the industries that benefit ？ When blockchain involves third-party risk management , Whether reality will live up to the hype about it ？

　　 Blockchain is a tradable digital ledger , The data is copied and distributed in the whole computer system network of the blockchain .

　　 Each block in the blockchain contains many transactions , Every time a new deal is made , The record of this transaction will be added to the ledger of each participant .

　　 This makes the changes 、 It becomes very difficult to crack or cheat the system , Almost impossible , This is one of the attractive aspects of blockchain technology .

　　 Blockchain was originally used as a decentralized digital currency BTC Carry out the implementation of the public ledger supported by the exchange .

　　 However , because Crypto The birth of , Blockchain has left its own mark in many other industries in many different ways .

　　 that , How can the compliance department also benefit from it ？

　　 We have every reason to believe that blockchain can help solve some of the great challenges brought by third-party risk management .

　　 Its main advantages include data transparency and invariance 、 Be able to access data in real time , And enhanced security and automation of repetitive tasks , Finally, improve efficiency .

　　 With blockchain , The compliance team can easily access the latest background information of third parties .

　　 Just imagine , How much research time will this save , So faster 、 It's easier to put the right suppliers on the shortlist from the beginning ？

　　 Detailed and time-consuming risk assessment questionnaires will also become a thing of the past . Because these files can be hundreds of pages long , It will put great pressure on resources , The third party is difficult to complete , Organizations are difficult to manage and verify .

　　 Blockchain is not a one-time evaluation , Instead, it enables organizations to track compliance benchmarks on decentralized ledgers in real time .

　　 in fact , All the information needed to screen individuals or companies can be saved on the blockchain , Every time you create , Can be used multiple times .

　　 Data integrity is another huge advantage brought by blockchain . The data on the blockchain cannot be modified or tampered with by external parties or suppliers , This means that compliance professionals can fully trust the data on the chain .

　　 Data or digital ledgers can also be used as security 、 immutable 、 Audit trail with time stamp , Activities used to demonstrate compliance , And all these can be kept in the same place .

　　 Also noteworthy is the ability of blockchain to execute smart contracts , This provides greater transparency and efficiency for third-party relations . Traditional contracts rely on manual operations , It is easy to make some mistakes .

　　 But smart contracts rely only on unchangeable data , The terms and penalties agreed at the beginning are clear , All parties can use , And the contract of smart contract is automatically executed , Without the involvement of an intermediary . And because the versions of the contract are distributed on the network , Therefore, there is no risk of loss .

　　 For small suppliers who want to do business with enterprise companies , Blockchain may change the game rules of the industry .

　　 These companies usually spend thousands of dollars to meet the strict compliance requirements of large enterprises they cooperate with .

　　 Focus on NFT And investment companies in the blockchain game industry Polyient Robertson said , Sometimes costs and efforts mean they need to be forced to abandon more profitable contracts .

　　 For that , Blockchain can help balance the competitive environment , Let small players keep up with big players . The third party must complete a detailed questionnaire for each enterprise they cooperate with every year. This operation will become history , Instead, a powerful digital ledger .

　　 Every time the data changes or updates , For example, when obtaining a new security certification or introducing a new human resources policy , Will be updated in the ledger , So that everyone on the blockchain can see .

　　 Obvious , Blockchain has many uses , But that doesn't mean there's no problem using emerging technologies .

　　Gartner The consulting company sees the long-term potential of blockchain Technology , But there are still some mistakes to avoid when using blockchain , This also emphasizes that most blockchain products are still too immature for mass production .

　　 Although data security is considered to be one of the main advantages of blockchain , However, blockchain technology is not without risks .

　　 One of the most famous security issues is the so-called 51% attack , When one or more malicious nodes gain most control over blockchain nodes , This attack will happen . then , The node will have the right to prevent effective transactions and reverse transactions that have occurred on the blockchain .

　　 The speed and scalability of blockchain technology are also considered a problem .

　　 Basically , The more people join the network , The slower the network will be . In addition, there are skills that need to be considered .

　　 Robertson said , It is not necessary for every member of the compliance team to have an in-depth understanding of blockchain Technology , However, project managers and internal developers need to have a professional understanding of the blockchain chosen by their organization or any chain used .

　　 For large enterprises , The biggest challenge they face may be getting corporate support .

　　 For smaller organizations , The biggest obstacle to adopting blockchain technology is priority .

　　 If startups spend an average of... In the first year 83,000 Compliance costs in US $ , So how will it prioritize blockchain over other compliance costs ？

　　 Maybe blockchain is not a panacea that everyone believes or recognizes , However, the potential benefits of blockchain for third-party risk management are absolutely convincing .

　　 For suppliers and other third parties , What is more valuable than a single source of facts that is both up-to-date and accessible in real time ？ Not to mention that the unalterable records of all third-party compliance activities will be kept in the same place .

　　 We are unlikely to see large-scale adoption of blockchain in the short term .

　　 But according to Gartner Predictions from consulting firms and other experts , Blockchain will become the mainstream of the compliance industry in about five years . From now on to that day , We can devote ourselves to solving various problems and vulnerabilities in blockchain technology .

　　 As more and more enterprises begin to try to use blockchain Technology , Our understanding of the real potential of blockchain may also increase .

　　 Blockchain has undeniable advantages .

　　 The author 丨 Kevin Spiers

editor ： Zhang Jingdi