Operational risk is moving up the boardroom agenda within financial institutions, driven by well-publicised threats to business operations and a rising tide of regulation. With robust mechanisms in place to manage market and credit risk, firms are increasingly considering an integrated approach that also encompasses operational risk. Executives within financial institutions recognise the need to invest, but are concerned that the cost and complexity of addressing IT risk outweigh the benefits. As a crucial enabler of the modern financial services sector, IT permeates the entire organisation, making it a major contributor to the risk profile