In enterprise fraud management implementation, the difference between success and failure hinges on many aspects and seemingly small details. In this post, we will discuss two critical factors: executive sponsorship and company-wide prioritization. Let's explore the importance of pairing the project with a fitting executive-level sponsor and the importance of an organization-wide understanding of the importance of your project.

Why Executive Sponsorship Matters

An engaged executive project sponsor provides strategic oversight and ensures the project's alignment with organizational goals. They act as a key decision-makers for major approvals and resource allocation. They also serve as a crucial link between the project team and senior leadership, offering guidance and support while being informed about project progress and outcomes.

In a much cleaner form - "an executive sponsor is a senior manager serving in a formal role given authority and responsibility for successful completion of a project deemed strategic to an organization’s success" [1]

From a RACI matrix perspective and depending on the phase of the project, the executive sponsor is 

- Accountable for approvals and strategic goals alignment

- Consulted on major decisions or material changes

- Informed about overall progress and final outcomes

"As per KPMG, 68% percent of companies do not always have an effective sponsor." [2]

The problem with sponsorship usually lies in the following situations:

• Sponsorship Overload: When the executive oversees multiple equally demanding initiatives, especially if they span across many teams within the organization.
• Sponsor's Role Disconnect: Occurs when there is an obvious gap or misalignment between the sponsor's role and expertise and the actual requirements of the initiative. This includes lack of clear vision or knowledge, poor communication, resistance to change, etc.
• Sponsor's Insufficient Authority and Support from Leadership: Happens when the sponsor lacks sufficient authority to make critical decisions and allocate resources effectively.

One example of an engaged and effective sponsor was when our project required additional storage capacity due to additional data that needed to be captured and stored. The meeting was stuck on responsibility and revolving around why this wasn't captured prior when the sponsor stepped in and asked how much the additional storage would cost. After being given the approximate figure from an IT representative, he noted that the 15-minute discussion involving everyone in the room was costlier than the price of the storage needed to move on. He asked the PM whether there was any budget buffer in the project, which the PM confirmed, so he immediately approved the necessary spending and closed the point.

Establishing Company-Wide Priority for Project

Many years ago, Bank X kicked off their multi-year enterprise fraud solution project. They were very strict about their timelines, though as the weeks went by, the project was dragging and starting to show delays. After another bi-weekly steering committee, the project plan clearly showed growing delays, and senior management started to question the estimates on the tasks, worrying about further delays incurred down the line. Bank X was running 24 other projects in parallel with ours. We were able to explain that the majority of the items were pending with teams within the organization. At the next steering committee, the General Manager stood up in front of all senior stakeholders and clearly stated that our (fraud) project was the number one project in the bank and that he expected all questions or pending items to be addressed first if they landed on someone's to-do list. He was a person of great influence within the organization, and everyone in the room understood the importance of this bold statement. From that meeting onwards, there were practically no delays from the employees of Bank X. This sponsor was a shining example of authority and leadership, and he wasn't even a "banker"; his previous experience was from retail.

KPMG's survey reported that in 2010, organizations completed up to 5 projects, 21 in 2012 and 30 in 2017. A 2016 survey from PM Solutions reports that small organizations work on an average of 40 projects per year, while large organizations handle up to 100 projects annually [3].

Running an enterprise fraud implementation project is, if not the biggest, one of the biggest projects happening within any organization. Fraud projects addressing various types of fraud often require lengthy discussions with various units - PMO, IT, Legal, Information Security, Fraud Business, Internal Audit, and others. Depending on the scope of the project, such engagement can last from a couple of months to multiple years. Managing such a wide group of people during various stages of the project and tracking the tasks that need to be completed usually requires a dedicated PM on both sides. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to have the overall priorities of various projects running simultaneously established and communicated. From my experience, almost all fraud projects were considered the highest priority projects, even if not communicated as such at the very beginning.

One of the most memorable experiences touching on both points discussed today revolves around the implementation of an enterprise fraud solution with one medium-sized bank in the GCC. Time was a critical component, and a go-live date had to be honored. During the KICK-OFF meeting, as we were going through the presentation, we came to the point where we stated that to achieve the tight timelines, the project had to be given priority, and this had to be communicated across the organization. Everyone was silently listening when we re-emphasized this point again. Suddenly, the CEO asked us whether we knew how many vendors were asking the same thing for their projects. The tensions grew, but we continued to explain why, in our case, we truly stood behind this statement and that it was of utmost importance if the timelines were to be achieved. After some exchanges between our team and the CEO, the tension subsided, and the CEO came up unexpectedly with a very bold proposal. He asked his team to allocate a substantial amount of money as a reward to be distributed among the project team only if the project was delivered on time. And if this wasn't bold enough, he explicitly stated that the whole project team, including the vendor's people on the project, should be included. It won't come as a surprise to tell you that the project was delivered ahead of schedule, and not only was the project delivered in the shortest time to date (given the scope), but it was also considered a highly successful project by the bank's senior management, achieving the desired objectives. I have to say that the team on the project worked hard but worked as one team, eliminating the usual customer-vendor disputes.

Conclusion

Organizations planning to implement a new fraud solution should ensure the project is headed by the right executive sponsor with a sufficient understanding of the domain and authority to make the necessary decisions. Whether you are a vendor or an employee of an organization implementing fraud solutions, make sure the project's importance within the organization is established and communicated across all levels.

Remember, successful fraud solution implementation is not just about the technology and array of capabilities provided to the business owner; executive support, leadership, and clearly established project priorities play important roles, too. By securing a good fit as executive sponsor and ensuring a company-wide understanding of the project's importance, you set the stage for an effective and successful implementation. 

REFERENCES:

• [1] businessexpertpress.com

• [2] pmi.org

• [3] pmsolutions.com