The WolfPAC User Conference 2022: In Case You Missed It
The WolfPAC User Conference (WPUC) was back this year on November 2nd and 3rd at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT. Once again, our users came together for an all-star cast of industry leaders and subject matter experts as we dived into a series of interactive sessions and panels focusing on risk management.
The WPUC kicked off with a fascinating speech by keynote speaker Michael Roberto, Trustee Professor of Management and Director of the Center for Program Innovation at Bryant University. Michael headed up a captivating discussion entitled Leaders as Problem Finders: How to Uncover Hidden Risks. Pointing to examples such as the JT610 Boeing 737 Max disaster and NASA’s Columbia mission disaster, he discussed we manage to let risk pass us by – whether that’s due to fear of speaking up, developing a false sense of security, or slowly adapting to increased levels of risk. Michael called on management to consider their roles as problem finders, not necessarily problem solvers.
“The problem isn’t that we have managers that are bad problem solvers. It’s that we have managers who don’t recognize that their chief responsibility is to be a problem finder. Risks do a great job hiding in organizations, and problem-finders solve that. The best managers go out and find the bad news. They’re actively searching for it.”
– Michael Roberto, Trustee Professor of Management, Bryant University
Key Takeaways from the WolfPAC User Conference:
Following Michael, the WPUC saw a diverse array of topics highlighting new developments within the WolfPAC platform itself, as well as coverage of hot issues such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, business continuity and incident response planning, and how we might expect crypto to impact financial institutions.
WolfPAC’s Puja Ghiya and Manuel Centeio touched on recent enhancements to WolfPAC, including enhancements to workflows, adoption of industry assessments, data interoperability, and coming smart enhancements. They also discussed WolfPAC’s new climate vulnerability assessment tool. This dovetailed into a presentation on Bringing ESG to Your Organization: What You Need to Know by Wolf & Company’s Jared Kelly.
“Younger generations have a greater focus on ESG, and as they take up the reins across the world and across organizations, we will see a change in how businesses focus on these matters.”
– Jared Kelly, Principal, Wolf & Company
WolfPAC users spent the morning of their second day breaking out into Data Security & Privacy (DSP) and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) sessions, discussing updates and enhancements to WolfPAC’s modules headed up by Wolf’s Cynthia Boehmer and Randy Marsicano, respectively. Following that, Wolf’s Tracy Hall and WolfPAC’s Puja Ghiya discussed how organizations can bolster both their business continuity (BCP) and incident response planning (IRP) in a discussion that focused on crisis management objectives, best practices, and key communications.
WolfPAC’s Lisa Spampinato took us on a foray into WolfPAC’s new information technology module, and was followed up by Wolf’s Scott Goodwin, who gave a highly educational overview of cryptocurrency, blockchain, tokens, and stablecoins. Scott also touched on where we stand in the crypto market today, and the potential risks and benefits of crypto for financial institutions, including confusion over regulatory policies.
“Unfortunately, we’re still very much in limbo, thanks in part to the alphabet soup of regulatory agencies that are involved, or think they should be involved. … The irony of all this is that crypto companies are desperate for any kind of regulatory certainty.”
– Scott Goodwin, Principal, Wolf & Company
This year’s WPUC made it clear that WolfPAC is constantly evolving to match the changes and evolutions facing the banking industry. New potential risks, whether they be in the form of crypto or climate, means financial institutions have to cover their bases. WolfPAC is constantly growing to match those needs.