Advisory Services

With the collective expertise, experience and knowledge base Crest Advisory Africa consists of, we can review any process and evaluate the robustness thereof within the bigger business and enterprise architecture.

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)

Crest Advisory Africa is the industry leaders in Enterprise Risk Management (ERM), whether it is for the total ERM environment, and Project environment, functional or operational environments (verticals and horizontals). The ERM Risk Universe is an essential tool in ensuring the achieving of objectives. This is linked to the Risk Maturity Model (RMM) as well as the establishment of Risk-Based Taxonomies (RBT).

The Crest Advisory Africa associates are seasoned professionals with an integrated perspective to the enterprise, building ERM frameworks, processes, communication strategies, implementation strategies, Combined Assurance Models based on Risk Management principles. They are all members of IRMSA and some are bestowed the honour of being Fellow Members of the Institute, the highest membership within the institute globally.

We provide the forward-looking or visionary view for the enterprise based on our experience, various risk-based taxonomies, qualitative risk assessments of very diverse environments, our technologies and our collective knowledge management within this discipline. We remove the uncertainty in reaching your enterprise’s objectives, whether mining, education, higher education, security, Non-Profit Organisations (NPO’s), etc.

The Risk Assessment process we use is the acclaimed Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) principles and concepts. Through the use of these tools and capabilities, we evaluate each element in the ERM Life Cycle, whether COSO or ISO-based.

To ensure that the visionary service to our clients is always current, we are consistently growing our resource pool and widening our experience as described in the paragraph below.

Below is one of the Risk Maturity Models based on a Tertiary Education environment.

We are also the implementation partner of various ERM software companies and is thus product agnostic.

We provide the following consulting services

• Develop, Review and Implementation of Compliance Management Systems
• Develop, Review and Implementation of Risk Registers (Board, Exco, Divisional, and Operational Risks)
• Develop, Review and Implementation of Business Continuity Management Systems (BCMS)
• Develop, Review and Implementation of Security Operations Management Systems
• Develop, Review and Implementation of Crisis Management Systems and Committee Functionality
• Develop, Review and Implementation of Risk Bearing Capacity (RBC) Modelling
• Conduct Risk Assessments (Bowtie, Checklists, HIRA, HAZOP) within various industries
• Process Flow Analysis and operationality analysis
• Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHR)
• Secret Shopper programs and Market Research
• Development of Business Cases
• Strategy Development for several companies

Forensic Investigations

Crest Advisory Africa has over 150 years of collective experience within the Forensic Investigative environment. Our Subject Matter Experts have been trained by the highest training authorities globally, such as the FBI, Scotland Yard and Dutch State Police and have been lead forensic investigators appointed on the most difficult cases on the continent.

Fraud and corruption are very real risks for businesses in Africa. The vulnerability inherent in this electronic age, the reputational damage, direct costs, and the downtime that can be associated with the risk of fraud and corruption, makes selecting the right team to investigate, gather the facts and support a company’s management team and the responsible parties involved critically important. Moreover, anti-corruption training and ensuring compliance across all levels of a company is becoming a vital business imperative and the only sure way to prevent exposure and combat this type of threat.

The Crest Advisory Africa Forensics Department has specialist expertise and practical experience in complex, large scale investigations for multi-national corporations and has conducted anti-bribery and compliance audits and training across Africa.

Forensic Investigations

Mergers and Acquisitions are an important part of the growth strategy of companies. With this strategy comes risk and the integrated risks which a company on offer is posing is not always visible. Due diligence processes are followed, but Risk Assessments, Risk Treatment and Business Impact Analysis (BIA) are not conducted.

These are the foundations of understanding the risks one will accommodate. This includes risks based on:

• People Aspects
• Stakeholders, both internally and externally
• Legal and Regulatory environments
• Technology and Systems
• And many more.

With the proper risk assessment methodology and the correct expertise, the risks in Mergers and Acquisitions can be identified, treated and minimized, before the actual Merger.

Mergers and Acquisitions Assessments

The key anti-bribery compliance support/forensics services that the team provides include:

• Preparation and implementation of anti-bribery policies and procedures
• Anti-bribery risk assessments/registers
• Regulatory/statutory anti-bribery compliance advice (PCCA/ FICA/ POCA/ FCPA/ UKBA/ PDA)
• Anti-bribery compliance investigations
• Independent, Anti-Corruption Hotline Management
• Fraud investigations
• Corruption investigations
• Theft investigations
• Money laundering
• Live investigations into the competition regulatory environment
• The recovery of stolen money/assets and misappropriated/mismanaged public funds
• Forensic interviews and interrogations
• Expert witness testimony
• Surveillance/counter surveillance (detection/prevention/electronic sweeps/searches)
• Vendor and employee screening
• Asset tracing
• Liaison with law enforcement agencies
• Due diligence
• Training

Business Continuity Management (BCM)

Risk Management, based on the ISO 31000:2009 and COSO Frameworks, reference the importance of Business Continuity (BC). Crest Advisory Africa has internal experts in the field and has been providing training for some of the leading Corporate Governance Institutes in Africa regarding this specialist field.

Crest Advisory Africa has also been awarded as a member and partner of the Institute of Business Continuity Management (IBCM) and is thus further enhancing our deliverables with BCM Maturity Modeling and Training in terms of ISO 22301 and ISO 22313.

Services in this Discipline

Training and Development

• Introduction to Business Continuity
• Foundation to BCM
• Internationally Certified Lead BCM Implementer
• Internationally Certified Lead BCM Auditor
• Incident and Corporate Crisis Management Development Program

Management Consulting

• BCM Maturity Assessments
• BCM, BIA Analysis
• Disaster Recovery Plans (DRP)
• BCM Policies, procedures and structures for implementation

Technology

• We have strategic partners with the best practices and global leading technology for implementation within this disciplines environment

Disaster Recovery & Benefits

The benefits that you will gain upon the successful completion of the Disaster Recovery certification include the following:

• Strengthen your capability to conduct a DR project
• Acquire the necessary expertise to help an organization in implementing Disaster Recovery practices
• Help an organization meet its business objectives regarding Disaster Recovery
• Gain an internationally recognized certification
• Secure data and hardware
• Increase your reliability
• Minimize risk

Organisational Design (OD)

Organizational design is a step-by-step methodology that identifies dysfunctional aspects of an organization and realigns them to fit current business objectives and develops strategies to implement the new changes.

Aspects

• Strategy
• Vision, Mission and Objectives
• Workflow management,
• Procedures aligned with objectives,
• Optimization of structures to support the strategy
• and systems/tools and technology

Organisational Design (OD)
Strategy	Scheme’s Mission, Vision, Values, Strategic Goals. Business / Mandate and delivery model Defining value-add and competitive advantage SWOT and PESTEL Analysis Strategy Delivery Scorecard / Evaluation Model Implementation / Execution Interdependences
Performance Management	We assess how well an organisation is progressing towards its vision and ensure it is being embraced at all levels. Development and implementation of Project Management (PM) methodologies and systems. Training managers in goals setting and providing performance feedback. Cascading of strategy into employee and objectives.
Balanced Scorecard	To help align business activities to the vision, mission and objectives of organization business. Development and implementation of corporate and divisional Balance Score Cards (BSC). Training of managers in the use of BSC. Development of business strategy and strategy maps.
Change Management	To facilitate change and process improvement within a business by focusing on human relationships, effective communication and improved training mechanisms. Development of Change Strategy. Stakeholder Management. Training of employees on how to deal with change.
Diversity Management	Benchmark the diverse culture within an organization Facilitate Diversity workshops to change and enhance the diverse environment Promote stakeholder engagement Provide system based team analysis Provide strategy in enhancing the working environment, respecting all differences.
Employee Satisfaction Surveys	Using our global strategic partner experience, we ensure that clients know what needs to be done. This includes asking employees how satisfied they are about their role within the business and to what extent they feel the business is achieving its objectives. We also focus on improvement recommendations made by employees.
Human Resources Development	To help employees develop their personal and organisational skills through employee training and career development. Job Design, Job Evaluations, Job descriptions, job grading and competency profiles will be the central products of this service (Hay, Peromnes, Patterson) Resources modelling (staff productivity and FTE calculation) We are equipped to advise on payroll management and labour law, globally. Skills audits. Identified current and future required skills for gap analysis purposes. Recommend to strategy to address needs. Conducting of corporate and employee competence frameworks. Job and competence profiling.
Knowledge Management	This process of capturing, developing, sharing, and effectively using organisational knowledge will be realized through Strategy, platforms and reporting to improve the management of knowledge
Compliance	We can provide the lead project with expert advice on improving Safety, Health, Environmental and Quality (SHEQ), Carbon Footprint Audits, Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL), Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT), We also consult on ISO 31000: 2009, 9001: 2008 and 14000: 2008. Protection of Personal Information (POPI)
Portfolio Management	Strategic-level process for coordinating successful delivery across an organisation’s entire set of programmes and projects. Strategic alignment Project environment Project Management Office (PMO)
Business Strategy	Crest Advisory Africa will provide both the design and implementation of improved business strategy to a wide range of businesses. We will not be limited to a specific sector.
Business Process	Crest Advisory Africa will simulate business processes to ensure they are effective. Trial periods are a crucial part of our work to ensure success and future recommendations.
Business Intelligence (BI)	Strategy Data management services