The GPRC Summit 2023 in Riyadh, organised by Ejtemaat Events and hosted by Corporater, a global software company providing integrated governance, performance, risk and compliance (GPRC) solutions, brought together GRC experts, CEOs, executives and key decision makers from various industries to discuss technologies, insights and key trends shaping the future of enterprise management.

Inaugurating the summit, Dr Sultan Saud Alsajjan, General Manager, Governance and Compliance, Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing, KSA, said, "Any governance and risk management process consists of three key elements - legislation, execution and control, which include internal audit and compliance - but the key elements of an effective GRC are the systematisation of the above processes. Systematising these three processes so that they function as a unit to achieve the strategic objectives of GRC by adopting local and international best practices to meet the needs of all stakeholders is the key to business excellence."

"On the other hand, creating a link between execution and control and not stopping risk identification is critical. Our risk assessments are used to reflect our operating model and improve policies and procedures, which has had a positive impact on our performance and enabled us to move 90% of our customer interactions to e-services," he added.

Presentations and panel sessions at the event addressed the current drivers and trends impacting the GRC market, which is expected to reach 134.86 billion USD by 2030, with the enterprise software segment of the GRC market to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. Discussions at the event highlighted the need for organisations to focus on agility, resilience, integrity, accountability, and engagement in risk management.

The event also witnessed the announcement of Corporater's new office opening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, presented by H.E. Thomas Lid Ball, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Yemen, Royal Norwegian Embassy, KSA.

As the world's largest gathering on Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) integrated with Performance and Strategy, the summit featured keynote speeches, panel discussions and roundtable discussions offering insights around the theme of "GPRC - The Future of Effective Enterprise Management for Government and Business Organisations'. At the summit, world-renowned GRC and strategy experts and C-level executives shared their insights on the latest trends in enterprise business management, GRC-related challenges and solutions that enable organisations to achieve stronger performance and alignment in mission-critical priorities.

"When we look at the state of GRC in 2023, one of the questions we need to ask is what our future looks like, both here in Saudi Arabia and in the global context, and what role government and corporate decisions play in today's organisational risk and compliance. For example, in the financial sector alone, there are over 257 regulatory changes every day, coming from 1217 regulators around the world - that's a lot of legal and regulatory changes to be aware of and deal with. But organisations need to look even further and keep up with global geopolitical and economic risks and changes in technologies and standards. So effective GRC is the capability to reliably achieve organisational goals through governance that deals with uncertainties and manages the risks from the impact of uncertainties. Meanwhile, the compliance part is the act of integrity, which is not just about compliance with laws and regulations, but alignment with the values and ethics of your organisation and your culture," said Michael Rasmussen, GRC Analyst and Pundit | GRC 20/20 Research, Inc, in his keynote address.

The next GPRC Summit will be held in Dubai on 25th January 2023. The event is supported by the UAE Cyber Security Council and UAE Banks Federation.