It is a fact a strategy, whether aimed at consolidation or growth, must be well thought-out with well-defined objectives and, more importantly, must be implemented. This requires several necessary ingredients for its design, maturation, and decision-making.

We strongly feel that, besides an excellent knowledge of the markets concerned, a genuine benchmark capacity, and strategic ideation methodologies, strategy today must be accompanied by the new conceptual powers we believe we embody. This calls for a novel capacity dedicated to factoring in corporate and business trends even as they crop up; today's study phase must cope with the onset of new trends. 

Lastly, we firmly believe that, for the markets we operate in, the field of possibilities and the views given by advisers can no longer be “uprooted”; our partners engaged in strategic support have adopted the winning stance, feet on the ground, and head in the clouds.

Organizing strategic support, the associated considerations, and their implementation call for this two-fold methodological rigor and know-how. Using these mechanisms, we propose our approach :

• Support to C-levels to respond to their questions, add to their market view, identify future stakes, define alternatives, and model scenarios;
• Definition of the strategic paths considered with well-defined objectives by deploying joint building methods such as design thinking to stimulate creativity, promote synergies, steer the project process, formally define strategic ambitions, and set decision objectives;
• And, of course, support in implementing acquisition/divestment/merger projects by identifying ambitions, connecting potential partners, defining leverage and synergies, managing due diligence, extracting value from scenarios, and rationalizing the final decision.

The Finance function must face several challenges, such as transforming processes in a context of ever-shrinking publishing deadlines and multiple accounting standards, adapting to the changes in regulations, learning and setting up sharing communities with the other functions of the company, seeking profitability without worsening the return-to-risk ratio, and optimizing the cost of capital. And, to boot, this must be done in an environment of low-interest rates and significantly smaller risk premiums. 

Financial communication is also paramount in this increasingly complex world.

Our tasks in the Finance function can have several aspects:

• In the accounting and finance fields, we can manage transformation and documentation projects and set up multiple-standard processes;
• Our offering in the management control field covers the implementation of a margin-approach profit and loss account, cost analysis and benchmarking, and the setting up of dashboards;
• In matters relating to ALM, we apply our experience and our models to optimize asset allocation to meet constraints, generate economic scenarios in a stochastic universe and define tables to monitor market risk appetite;
• Lastly, in the asset management field, we set up analysis and reporting tools as well as automation and robotization tools, particularly regarding the demands for insurance portfolio transparency.

Risk management is becoming a core component of corporate strategy. Without considering the risk aspect, we can no longer speak of performance or profitability. Understanding one's risks, assessing them, and implementing various levers to respond to threats are central to a company's ERM (enterprise risk management) mechanism. 

The risk manager must help ensure the security of the company's business and cope with internal and external changes (regulatory, technological, corporate). Some risk-taking is deliberate and is integrated into the company's business model. The Risk function then seeks measures to control it and uses the data to model it, make projections, add shock, define limits, etc. Other risks are generally incurred and are more difficult to quantify. Other more qualitative techniques are used to tackle them and determine priorities for the risk response measures. These are the various tools and approaches that can take the risk spectrum into account, as much in the running and the company's culture as in each significant decision-making challenge it has to face.  

Organizing the risk procedure must include a sound approach. Our Risk service incorporates this procedure, which is enriched with expertise specific to each risk category, in particular by:

• Defining the risk profile and identifying and assessing risks using quantifying methods and scenario analyses, including significant risk scenarios;
• Defining risk appetite and what it implies for each entity in the organization;
• Using the best risk modeling and business plan projection techniques based on different scenarios;
• Providing support in implementing the risk control mechanism, tooling (ERM, etc.) and measuring its effectiveness: equity allocation, limits system or hedging, control plan, business continuity and crisis management plan, insurance program, anti-fraud mechanism, data protection, and so on;
• awareness-raising, training of the risk units, and assistance in auditing the mechanisms implemented.

Many recent and forthcoming regulatory reforms (Solvency II, Fourth and Fifth AML/CTF Directive, Sapin II Act, GDPR, IDD, etc.) impact companies' organization and various processes.

Their implementation calls for expert knowledge to carry out a fine-grained analysis of the regulatory impacts on the companies' operations and working in project mode to steer the compliance efforts and involve all the stakeholders. 

With these various regulatory changes, the Compliance function has become necessary in companies. To adopt the regulatory changes, this function must have all available tools to carry out its tasks.

We call on our expertise in the various regulatory subjects to provide you with support, methods, and tools adapted to your requirements:

• Bringing your organizations and operations in line with regulatory reforms (AML/CTF, IDD, GDPR, Sapin II Act, etc.):
• Making a diagnosis and creating a road map for implementing the project;
• Operational implementation: project follow-up, production of deliverables, training, and change management.
• Organizing the compliance mechanism and setting up the Compliance function:
• Organizing the Compliance function and its governance;
• Setting up compliance reference system tools and non-compliance risk mapping.
• Outsourcing of the key function;
• Verifying the compliance of insurance firms subject to regulation under the Solvency II Directive;
• Outsourcing of the DPO (Data Protection Officer) function.

The risk of sanctions in the event of non-compliance with regulations is on the rise. Our Compliance services give you concrete solutions adapted to your business and the size of your organization.