For healthcare organizations, the events and crises of 2020 paint a picture of a daunting and difficult business and risk environment for the upcoming year. COVID-19, including the resurge and distribution of vaccines, is front and center on the agenda and continues to compound risk around workforce management, capacity management, and supply chain management. Capturing the momentum of responding to COVID-19 creates an opportunity to reimagine healthcare by modernizing the back office, changing care delivery models, analyzing threats and opportunities from existing and new entrants, digitally transforming the business and focusing on the patient as the consumer.
Drawing on insights from our latest survey work and interactions with audit and compliance committees and CFOs, we highlight the five areas that audit and compliance committee chairs have ranked as top priorities to keep in mind as they consider and execute on their 2021 agendas. These priorities, which go beyond the core responsibilities of financial reporting, oversight of the internal and external auditors and the compliance function, are: (1) cyber security risk; (2) regulatory change; (3) harnessing ERM to better manage and anticipate risk; (4) internal controls; and, (5) third-party risk.
