In my last article, I wrote about the need for an effective operating model in the handling and optimisation of data for Financial Services firms. But data is only one of several key trends amongst these firms that would benefit from a digital operating model. ESG has risen the ranks in importance, and the reporting of this has become imperative.  

The Investment Association Engine Program, which I Chair, is designed to identify the most relevant pain points and key themes amongst Asset and Investment Management clients. We do this by searching out FinTech businesses that are already working on solutions to these issues. By partnering with these businesses, we can help our clients overcome their challenges and improve their operations. 

While data has been an ever-present issue, ESG has risen to an equal standing of importance over the last couple of years. Different regulatory jurisdictions and expectations worldwide has left SME firms struggling to comply and implement in a new paradigm of environmental, sustainable and governance protocols. 

ESG risk is different to anything we have experienced before and does not fit into neat categories such as areas like operational risk. The depth and breadth of data and models required for firms to make informed strategic decisions varies widely based on the specific issue at hand (e.g., supply chain, reputation, climate change goals, etc.). Firms need to carefully consider their own position and objectives when determining how much analysis is needed. 

According to S&P Global, sustainable debt issuance reached a record level in 2021, and is only expected to increase further in the coming years. With this growth comes increased scrutiny and a heightened concern of so-called ‘greenwashing’, where companies falsely claim to be environmentally friendly. To combat this, participants need to manage that growth in a way that combats rising concerns about ‘greenwashing’. 

Investors, regulators and the public, in general, are keen to challenge large companies’ ESG goals and results. These challenges vary wildly, but the biggest seen on a regular basis range from human rights to social unrest and climate change. As organisations begin to decarbonise their operations, they face the initially overlooked challenge of creating a credible near-term plan that will enable them to reach their long-term sustainability goals.  

Investor pressure on climate change has historically focussed on the Energy sector. Now central banks are trying to incorporate climate risk as a stress testing feature for all Financial Services firms. 

Source: S&P Global 

Operating models hold the key to ESG transition and compliance. Having an operating model for how each of the firm’s functions intersect with ESG, requires new processes, new data, and new reporting techniques. This needs to be pulled across the enterprise, so firms have a process that is substantiated. 

Before firms worry about ESG scores from their market data providers, they would do well to look closely at their own operating model and framework. In this way, they can then pull in the data required from the marketplace and use it in anger. 

Leading Point is a FinTech business I am proud to be supporting. Their operating model system, modellr™ describes how financial services businesses work, from the products and services offered, to the key processes, people, data, and technology used to deliver value to their customers. This digital representation of how the business works is crucial to show what areas ESG will impact and how the firm can adapt in the most effective way.  

Rajen Madan, CEO at Leading Point: 

“In many ways, the transition to ESG is exposing the acute gap in firms of not being able to have meaningful dialogue with the plethora of data they already have, and need, to further add to for ESG”.  

modellr™ harvests a company’s existing data to create a living dashboard, whilst also digitising the change process and enabling quicker and smarter decision-making. Access to all the information, from internal and external sources, in real time is proving transformative for SME size businesses. 

Thushan Kumaraswamy, Chief Solutions Officer at Leading Point:  

“ESG is already one of the biggest drivers of transformation in financial services and is only going to get bigger. Firms need to identify the impact on their business, choose the right change option, execute the strategy, and measure the improvements. The mass of ESG frameworks adds to the confusion of what to report and how. Tools such as modellr™ bring clarity and purpose to the ESG imperative.” 

While most firms will look to sustainability officers for guidance on matters around ESG, Leading Point are providing these officers, and less qualified team members, with the tools to make informed decisions now, and in the future. We have established exactly what these firms need to succeed – a digital operating model. 

Words by John Macpherson — Board advisor at Leading Point and Chair of the Investment Association Engine