Framework of a Vendor Management Program

Let’s discuss building out the framework of a vendor risk management program (or what’s sometimes referred to as third-party risk management program) from the ground up. You’ve joined an organization that lacks any sort of discipline around third-party risk – been there, done that! You have a Herculean task on your hands, so where do you start?

11 Steps to Implement a Vendor Risk Management Program

1. Review the relevant guidance from your prudential regulator and the FFIEC. This should always be your starting point. Reviews should happen periodically as in this industry the guidance is frequently evolving, along with other regulatory guidance that may impact your vendor risk management framework or plans.
2. Enlist the help of senior management and your board of directors. You’ll need them actively involved in establishing a budget, setting hiring goals, reviewing your processes and escalating issues with third parties. Remember, OCC Bulletin 2013-29 requires active senior management and board involvement.
3. Take the time necessary to thoroughly document your approach to third-party risk management. Make sure it closely aligns with the regulatory guidance. Involve subject matter experts such as your business continuity planning manager, your compliance officer and your information technology team as well as have it reviewed and approved by counsel and the board.
4. Work with accounts payable to get a list of vendors. Once you have that list, hone it down to ones that need to be actively managed. These are called your actively managed vendors. If you need assistance determining which vendors may not need to be actively managed, you can take a look at Venminder’s blog post on Vendor Exclusionary Policies here.
5. Double check your vendor list. Make sure to reconfirm your vendor list with the lines of business. Have them sign off on its accuracy (believe me – that is one big milestone).
6. Begin mapping out the process steps for each of the third-party risk management lifecycle stages. Focus very heavily on ensuring that your approach is truly risk based – failing to do so can be a huge waste of time or create inconsistent practices.
7. Develop budget and staffing plans. Be sure to account not only for the talent needed, but properly credentialed staff and a software solution to help manage it all. Think CISSPs for business continuity, disaster recovery and SOC reviews and CPAs or commercial credit analysts for financial reviews. If you can't staff them on your team, please be sure you have access to outside resources, either around your organization or from an independent expert.
8. Work with your internal audit and compliance teams. If you haven’t already asked audit and compliance to help evaluate what you’re creating, now is a good time to do so. This will help ensure your vendor management program framework is up to examination standards, something you won’t regret confirming!
9. Refine your program documents. This is important in order to be certain that the work product matches the design. A mistake that I very painfully and freely confess to having made.
10. Build rigor and discipline around the vendor risk management process. Educate the lines of business and keep senior management and the board updated as time goes on.
11. Finally, in addition to mapping out the process steps with the lifecycle, ensure you’re actually following it. Make sure to update everything regularly, based on risk and/or changes in third-party relationships. Doing so is not just a regulatory requirement, it’s also a sound business practice.

Implement these 11 steps and you’re setting yourself and your organization up for a very well-developed vendor management framework and organized third party risk management program.

You've learned the proper vendor risk management program framework, but what about your governance documentation? Governance documents such as a policy, program and procedures are all foundational elements to your vendor risk management strategy.

For more help with your third-party risk management program framework, download our comprehensive eBook.