Closing the gap: what’s missing in modern resilience planning

Finextra and software escrow firm Escode will host an online webinar that examines gaps in financial resilience, with a focus on third-party risk, hidden supply-chain dependencies, differing regulatory approaches and stressed exit strategies. The session will be moderated by Finextra contributor Jane Cooper and will feature a panel of industry experts. Registration is open.

Speakers will discuss how the shift to cloud services and greater reliance on third-party software has changed operational risk. The webinar will look at failure points that do not always appear as direct financial losses and at controls that should cover software vendors, subcontractors and shared infrastructure providers.

The panel will review regulatory approaches to digital supply chains. Some frameworks require firms to secure their supply chains and to show how they manage concentration risk. Other regulators have issued guidance aimed at suppliers. Several jurisdictions do not require explicit assessment of concentration risk, creating uneven expectations for firms that operate in multiple markets.

Operational measures under review will include stressed exit strategies-formal plans for moving away from a critical supplier under pressure-and software escrow arrangements that preserve access to essential code or data. The discussion will cover when these measures are appropriate, how to test them and how they fit into business continuity and recovery plans.

With artificial intelligence used in front- and back-office functions and quantum computing approaching practical use, the panel will consider how firms should monitor third-party risk on an ongoing basis, map hidden dependencies and update resilience plans regularly. The session will examine methods for cataloguing supplier relationships, mapping dependency chains and running stress tests that include supplier failure scenarios.

Speakers will review the roles of procurement, legal and operations teams in building and testing resilience. The webinar will look at contract clauses, audit rights and technical safeguards that support the ability to recover or replace services, and at governance steps that help boards and senior managers oversee concentrations of third-party suppliers.

The event will cover practical steps firms can take to embed resilience into technology design and supplier management and will identify where regulatory guidance or rulemaking is creating new obligations for firms and suppliers.