Latest news with #GRC
Forbes
10 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Why Supply Chains Need A Governance, Risk And Compliance Mindset
Ramachander Rao Thallada is the Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Executive for Manulife, a modern financial institution. As the international industrial economy transitions from the age of Industry 4.0 to the more human-centered and morally driven vision of Industry 5.0, manufacturing priorities are being redefined at their core. No longer is the debate only about smart automation or data-based effectiveness. The new imperative encompasses resilience, ethics, sustainability, human-machine collaboration and most importantly, governance. Modern companies are investing heavily in digital capabilities, autonomous procurement systems, AI-based forecasting, robotic process automation and quality assurance driven through the Internet of Things (IoT). But with all this accelerated change, too many are too often missing a vital foundation: disciplined processes for governance, risk and compliance (GRC) that hold these technologies within secure, transparent and ethically responsible parameters. Learning From The Financial Industry Within the financial industry, GRC frameworks have been infused into all business layers for many years. From the process of onboarding vendors to the rollout of new technology, each step is controlled, traceable and linked to enterprise-level profiles of risk. These controls are intended not only to avoid fraud and noncompliance but also to ensure the ability of institutions to withstand shocks, be they economic, cyber, operational or any others. Manufacturing and supply chain operations, though, traditionally ran with a different mindset. Pushed by velocity, margin tension and dispersed operations, they tend to view good governance as a reactive activity—an auditing necessity rather than a proactive facilitator. Consequently, many organizations now find themselves open to disruptions that a highly integrated GRC model could either alleviate or obviate. Adopting the principles of GRC in the manufacturing process is timely and much needed. Indeed, several of the fundamental objectives of Industry 5.0 are unattainable without the help of a strong governance framework. Take the advent of AI-powered quality assurance systems. These are trained through machine learning to identify product anomalies in real time. However, if they're trained on partial data or unbalanced data and their decision-making process is opaque, they enable systemic errors that remain undetected until harm has been caused. If AI isn't subjected to proper model validation and made audit-ready—the essentials of a GRC approach—AI turns into a liability and not an asset. In the same way, blockchain technology is poised for supply chain transparency. Its decentralized ledger technology can create unalterable records of each point in the sourcing and delivery process. Its power is only as robust as the governance rules programmed into each node, though. If a single supplier in the chain is unethical, the whole chain is undermined, regardless of the technical sophistication of blockchain. This is why visionary manufacturing executives are beginning to explore the extension of GRC concepts from finance into their worlds. Such concepts—risk scoring, escalation processes, regulatory compliance mapping and ongoing monitoring—become ever more directly related to smart factories and global supply chains. Achieving The Promise Of Industry 5.0 To achieve the promise of Industry 5.0, businesses can't just deploy tools—they must instill principles as well. That involves designing principles into every layer of operation. It starts with procurement: Who signs off on vendors? How do you define ethical sourcing? Are fallback providers planned for high-risk parts? Those are questions that take more than spreadsheets and gut feeling—rule-based systems, risk dashboards and automated notifications are needed. People are governed, too. As humans and machines work increasingly in tandem, there have to be well-defined lines of responsibility. Who signs off on the end product when AI detects a discrepancy? Who takes the blame when a system makes a sourcing decision? GRC solutions provide the tools to ask and answer the questions systematically, preventing finger-pointing and confusion in high-risk settings. In addition, industry goals for sustainability—a focal point of Industry 5.0—are essentially impossible to achieve without governance. Auditable systems must verify carbon offsets, monitor the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of suppliers and confirm product life cycle compliance. Stakeholders no longer accept greenwashing. They demand proof, and this proof has to be produced through governed data flows. Interestingly enough, the financial industry has already shown the way. Its embrace of real-time compliance monitoring software, fraud detection AI and automated risk report systems provides the model for what's possible. Not only do these systems secure, but they also liberate. When the climate shifts, governed systems move quicker and with greater effectiveness than ad hoc systems. These same advantages hold for manufacturing. Businesses that integrate GRC into their digital core are more likely to adapt to changing tariffs, environmental policy, labor law and supply shocks. They become not only more robust but also more trusted across their partners, the government and customers. As Akash Kadam and Harshad Pitkar (download required)—mechanical engineers with a focus on manufacturing and supply chain— put it, 'Traditional supply chain models are linear in nature and siloed in operation, but always have been instrumental in meeting the demands of the marketplace. But ... globalization, customers changing requirements, and the increased speed at which technology is developing make traditional supply chains unable to respond to existing needs in an agile or resilient manner." Conclusion Ultimately, Industry 5.0 is all about advancing industrial systems to the next stage of maturity—a stage that unifies the creativity of humans and the precision of technology. But this union will fail if there's a lack of definite, enforceable standards. Governance is what turns intelligence into responsible intelligence. Now's the time for manufacturing to embrace what finance has known for years: Innovation thrives in structure, and the brightest systems are designed not only to operate but to be trusted. GRC doesn't inhibit progress—it's the future of responsible manufacturing. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Entrepreneur
2 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Zango AI Raises USD 4.8 Mn Round Led by Nexus Venture Partners
The funding will be used to scale teams in Bengaluru and London, and to further develop Zango's AI-native Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) product suite. You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Regulatory compliance startup Zango AI has raised USD 4.8 million in a seed funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from early backers South Park Commons, Richard Davies (CEO, Allica Bank), Alan Morgan (Senior Partner at McKinsey), Mark Ransford (Notion Capital), No Label Ventures, and Start Ventures. The funding will be used to scale teams in Bengaluru and London, and to further develop Zango's AI-native Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) product suite. The company also plans to expand into adjacent verticals such as insurance and asset management, building on its success in banking. Founded in 2024 by second-time entrepreneurs Ritesh Singhania and Shashank Agarwal, Zango AI offers a regulatory compliance platform that combines AI-powered agents with human expertise to automate critical compliance functions like horizon scanning, gap analysis, and controls testing. The company operates out of San Francisco, London, and Bengaluru and is already used by major financial institutions including Novobanco, Monzo, and Juni. Zango's cloud-native platform leverages regulatory-domain-specific large language models to build intelligent agents that continuously track regulatory changes, flag compliance gaps in real time, and ensure institutions remain audit-ready — eliminating the need for manual reviews and spreadsheets. "We don't sell a platform — we sell a solution," said Ritesh Singhania, Co-founder of Zango. "Our AI agents are paired with humans-in-the-loop to ensure 100% accuracy. Peace of mind doesn't come from a tool; it comes from a result. That's why we win against consultants — because they don't just sell software, and neither do we." Both founders bring deep domain experience: Singhania previously founded ClearGlass, a pension regulation platform, while Agarwal co-founded Third Watch, an AI fraud detection startup acquired by Razorpay. Anand Datta, Partner at Nexus Venture Partners, said, "The global regulatory landscape is ripe for disruption. Ritesh and Shashank bring a first-principles approach, uniquely marrying AI with compliance expertise. Zango is already augmenting compliance teams and boosting efficiency at global institutions."
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Business Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Zango raises $4.8 mn to scale AI-native compliance tools, expand teams
Regulatory compliance startup Zango has raised $4.8 million in a seed round led by Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from South Park Commons — the company's first backer, where Zango was incubated — along with Richard Davies, CEO of Allica Bank; Alan Morgan, Senior Partner, Financial Services, at McKinsey (EMEA) and Chairman, Adfisco; Mark Ransford of Notion Capital; No Label Ventures; and Start Ventures. The funds raised will be used to expand teams in London and Bengaluru, and to build out additional product modules for an AI-native Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) solution. Zango also plans to extend its services beyond banking into other financial services verticals, such as insurance and asset management. 'We don't sell a platform — we sell a solution,' said Ritesh Singhania, Co-founder of Zango. 'Our AI agents are paired with humans-in-the-loop to ensure 100 per cent accuracy. Peace of mind doesn't come from a tool; it comes from a result. That's why we win against consultants — because they don't just sell software, and neither do we.' Zango is actively used by established banks such as Novobanco, the fourth-largest bank in Portugal, and is gaining traction with leading neo banks in the EU and UK, including Monzo and Juni, said the company. Zango was co-founded by Ritesh Singhania and Shashank Agarwal, both second-time founders with deep experience in regulatory technology. Singhania previously founded ClearGlass, a pension compliance platform, and served as Head of Technology at Simplitium (acquired by NASDAQ). Agarwal co-founded Third Watch, an AI-powered fraud detection startup (acquired by Razorpay, valued at over $7.5 billion), and led trust and compliance engineering at PhonePe, which is gearing up for India's largest IPO. 'The global regulatory landscape is ripe for disruption,' said Anand Datta, Partner at Nexus Venture Partners. 'Ritesh and Shashank, with their first-hand, proven expertise, developed Zango's first-principles approach: uniquely marrying cutting-edge AI with human compliance expertise. Their AI-led solution is already augmenting compliance teams and increasing their efficiency at global financial institutions. We're incredibly excited to be part of their journey.'
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
EHRC warns SNP ministers over sex definition ruling
She warned that the current 'climate of uncertainty and widespread misinformation serves nobody'. READ MORE: In April, the UK's highest court ruled unanimously that a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) does not alter a person's sex for the purposes of the Equality Act. The judgment clarified that the terms 'man' and 'woman' in the legislation refer to biological sex, not acquired gender. That ruling meant every organisation in the country needed to review their equality policies. The EHRC issued interim guidance in May related to trans people's use of single-sex facilities. It also launched a consultation on changes to parts of its code of practice for services, public functions and associations, which closed yesterday. The updated code is due to be published later this year. While First Minister John Swinney initially welcomed the 'clarity' provided by the ruling, the Scottish Government has repeatedly said it is waiting for this further guidance before issuing new advice of its own to Scotland's public sector — including prisons, schools and the NHS. Dr Lesley Sawers said the law has been in effect since the ruling (Jamie Simpson/NQ)Dr Sawers said the Government should already be following the law: 'We appreciate there is an urgent need for clarity, as a climate of uncertainty and widespread misinformation serves nobody – particularly those with protected characteristics. 'But as we emphasised to the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care when we met with them on June 10, duty-bearers are responsible for their own compliance with the Equality Act. 'Our Code of Practice will help them to navigate this complex area of law, but it will not provide bespoke examples of every circumstance they might encounter. 'The law, as set out in the Supreme Court's clear judgment, has been in effect since it was handed down on April 16. 'Service providers and public bodies should in any event be following the law while they wait for our statutory guidance, as it will not cover every eventuality. 'We have urged relevant bodies to seek their own legal advice where necessary, to inform decisions about what changes they need to make now to their existing policies and practices. 'Public sector bodies have particular duties to assess how their policies and practices affect people with protected characteristics, and we reminded the Cabinet Secretaries that Scottish ministers have a responsibility to ensure their adherence to the Public Sector Equality Duty.' The intervention follows a row over claims the Scottish Government 'misrepresented' private conversations with the EHRC. Last month, senior civil servants told For Women Scotland (FWS) that the Commission had advised ministers to wait for the final Code of Practice before making changes and to 'not do anything in advance of that'. The comments earned a stinging rebuke from Baroness Kishwer Falkner, the Chair of the EHRC, who told FWS the Commission had made it 'clear' to civil servants that public bodies should not wait for updated guidance before acting on the judgment. The peer said she was 'very concerned that our conversations with officials appear to have been misrepresented'. When campaigners wrote to the Scottish Government's Permanent Secretary Joe Griffin calling for a full investigation, saying it was 'extremely concerning that statements made by a senior government official to a third party about EHRC advice have been directly contested by the regulatory body itself', he replied to say his team would 'revert in due course' with a fuller response. He later said the Government accepted the Supreme Court's judgment and 'acknowledges the EHRC statement that 'duty-bearers should not wait for our statutory Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations to be in place to review their policies to ensure they are complying with the law as now settled by the Supreme Court'.' However, FWS questioned the use of the word 'review', pointing out that the EHRC had told them duty-bearers 'should not wait for our guidance but should be seeking to update their policies and practices in the light of the new understanding of the law, taking their own specialist legal advice where necessary'. The Scottish Government told The Herald the Permanent Secretary 'was quoting from correspondence between the EHRC and the Scottish Government'. When The Herald then approached the EHRC, the regulator released the statement from Dr Sawers. Trina Budge from FWS welcomed the EHRC's interventionTrina Budge from FWS said: 'We, along with the equalities regulator it seems, are fast running out of patience with the Scottish Government's incompetence and refusal to comply with the law. 'Once again, it has been made abundantly clear, including to multiple Cabinet Secretaries, that they must take action now to update policies in line with the April 16 court ruling. 'Women fought hard for our rights to be respected and this extended period of bickering and dithering by the Government is more akin to a public toddler tantrum than a sign of responsible legislators. It is nothing short of shameful. 'They need to step up and sort it out sharpish before vulnerable women and girls suffer any more harm.' Scottish Conservative Shadow Minister for Equalities, Tess White said: 'This is effectively telling SNP ministers, no more excuses. 'The Supreme Court's verdict was delivered over two months ago yet John Swinney and his colleagues are still dragging their heels on telling public bodies in Scotland to comply with the law. 'It is time for them to do the right thing and show some common-sense, rather than thinking they can continue kicking this issue into the long grass. 'The latest intervention from the EHRC would not have been needed if SNP ministers had acted immediately in light of the ruling in April and they must now finally act upon what they are ordering them to do.' READ MORE: The row comes as Sir Keir Starmer said hospitals and government departments needed to implement the Supreme Court ruling 'as soon as possible'. The Prime Minister told reporters he 'accepted the ruling; welcomed the ruling, and everything else flows from that as far as I'm concerned'. He said: 'All guidance of whatever kind needs to be consistent with the ruling and we need to get to that position as soon as possible.' Maya Forstater, the chief executive of Sex Matters, said: 'This is an important intervention from the Prime Minister, given the huge number of public bodies failing to implement the Supreme Court judgment and operating outside the law. 'Political leadership is essential if women whose rights are being stolen are not to be forced to turn to the courts, where public bodies will end up losing, at great expense to taxpayers. 'It's no coincidence that the private sector has been faster to bring their policies in line with the judgment, recognising what is at stake for the bottom line. Meanwhile most NHS, university and civil service leaders are sitting on their hands. 'The law is clear and there is no need to wait for further guidance from the EHRC or anyone else. Unlike the small businesses and services for which the regulator's guidance is intended, public sector organisations have access to specialist legal advice, as well as extra statutory obligations under the public sector equality duty.' The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Swinney government accused of twisting EHRC advice
The comments earned a stinging rebuke from Baroness Kishwer Falkner, the Chair of the EHRC, who said the Commission had made it "clear" to civil servants that public bodies should not wait for updated guidance before acting on the judgment. The peer said she was "very concerned that our conversations with officials appear to have been misrepresented". FWS told The Herald they were stunned by the claims from officials: 'At what point does this stop being ignorant incompetence and tip into wilful malpractice?' Read more: In April, the UK's highest court ruled unanimously that a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) does not alter a person's sex for the purposes of the Equality Act. The judgment clarified that the terms 'man' and 'woman' in the legislation refer to biological sex, not acquired gender. The EHRC then issued interim guidance in May related to trans people's use of facilities including including changing rooms and toilets, and participation in sports. It also launched a consultation on changes to parts of its code of practice for services, public functions and associations, which is due to conclude on June 30. The watchdog is due to publish the updated code later this year. While First Minister John Swinney initially welcomed the 'clarity' provided by the ruling, the Scottish Government has repeatedly said it is waiting for this further guidance before issuing new guidance of its own to Scotland's public bodies. However, the EHRC has repeatedly said that the ruling applies now and that "those with duties under the Equality Act 2010 should be following the law and looking at what changes, if any, need to be made to their policies and practices". For Women Scotland following the court ruling (Image: PA) After the meeting with the Equalities Directorate, FWS wrote to the EHRC to question the claims made by officials. Baroness Falkner replied: "As you rightly point out, our public messaging has been that the law as set out by the Supreme Court is effective immediately. "We have been clear in our public messaging and in direct conversations with duty-bearers, including the Scottish Government, that they should not wait for our guidance but should be seeking to update their policies and practices in the light of the new understanding of the law, taking their own specialist legal advice where necessary." Earlier this week, FWS wrote to the Scottish Government's Permanent Secretary Joe Griffin calling for a full investigation, saying it was "extremely concerning that statements made by a senior government official to a third party about EHRC advice have been directly contested by the regulatory body itself". In a letter to the campaigners on Friday, seen by The Herald, Mr Griffin did not challenge FWS's account of the meeting, and said his team would "revert in due course" with a fuller response. He said the Government accepted the Supreme Court's judgment and "acknowledges the EHRC statement that duty-bearers should not wait for our statutory Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations to be in place to review their policies to ensure they are complying with the law as now settled by the Supreme Court". This, he added, "aligns with the approach the Scottish Government has taken since the judgment was issued in April". Read more: In Holyrood on Wednesday, Mr Griffin was pressed by SNP MSP Michelle Thomson to name any concrete action the Government had taken since the ruling. Mr Griffin said only that the "short life working group" had been established to prepare for implementation. He could not identify any specific changes made to guidance or policy. Asked whether the threat of legal action — including two formal pre-litigation notices issued by FWS and Sex Matters — had prompted a rethink, Mr Griffin insisted that his advice remained that it was appropriate to wait for final EHRC guidance. Susan Smith from FWS told The Herald: 'After the rambling performance of the Permanent Secretary at committee, it was clear that the Scottish Government has done nothing to comply with the Supreme Court ruling. 'To justify this, the civil service has materially misrepresented the advice given by the EHRC. There is no justification for Ministers or civil servants to ignore the law, and these highly paid public servants and politicians should not sit on their haunches while grassroots women's groups with little power or funding explain to them the basic principles of law and professional standards. Scotland deserves better. 'To say we are shocked is an understatement. At what point does this stop being ignorant incompetence and tip into wilful malpractice? 'The only recourse open to us is to return to court. But given the Scottish Government resoundingly ignored earlier Court of Session rulings and is now seemingly intent on not implementing the UK Supreme Court judgment it appears largely futile and a further waste of taxpayers' money. Has the Scottish Government really put itself beyond the law?' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The Scottish Government has been clear that we accept the Supreme Court judgment and that public bodies have a duty to comply with the law. "Work is proceeding at pace to implement the ruling across Government. We have established a Short Life Working Group to ensure support and consistency in this. "We expect public bodies to be analysing policies and procedures and this is what is happening. For example, Police Scotland this week issued interim guidance on searching, including searching of transgender people. "The Scottish Government has also updated the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018 guidance to reflect the judgment in relation to the definition of 'woman' under the Equality Act and this is now published online. "The recent changes to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's interim update demonstrate the complexity of this work and the need for extensive legal advice and consultation with stakeholders. We will continue to take this work forward at pace in a way which protects the rights of everyone in society. "The Permanent Secretary has responded to For Women Scotland."
