Agile Effects on Risk Management in the Financial Industry

Abstract

The study investigates the ways in which agile practices are combined with traditional risk management frameworks within financial services institutions to achieve digital transformation, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder management. Three research questions drive the study: the ways in which financial institutions are adopting agile practices without undermining compliance, the challenges they face in adopting agile practices, and the mechanisms that enable alignment between agile values and risk governance. Grounded in stakeholder theory and agile transformation models, this study used open questionnaires to gather qualitative data from financial services professionals. Thematic analysis revealed a trend towards hybrid governance solutions that insource compliance functions into agile teams and use agile tools to facilitate traceability and auditability. The main obstacles are resistance from legacy systems and hierarchical organizational power structures. However, change management efforts, such as leadership buy-in and agile departmental training, are being carried out by organizations. Research is focusing on the potentiality and possibility of including compliance in agile processes if all stakeholders work together. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on agile transformation for regulated industries inasmuch as pragmatic practices such as compliance retrospectives and regulation-based alignment in agile ceremonies are seen to be practiced. The implications of the findings are significant for practitioners and policymakers who seek to reinvent government without a loss of accountability. Essentially, this research provides evidence to support the creation of more adaptive and ethical financial institutions that promote positive social change through regulatory integrity-driven innovation