Nowadays, within the problems that a company can have, reputational problems represent one of the most serious and generate the most concern. In this context, finding ways to prevent the reputational crisis from arriving and consequently its subsequent impact, is something that worries more and more companies and organizations. For this reason, we are going to talk about risk audit and the role it plays in caring for the digital reputation of companies.

Reputational risk analysis today

Risk auditing has become a discipline of great importance for the protection of the reputation of companies and organizations. This is because risk analysis is one of the keys to mitigating it early.

What it is about is carrying out a complete audit of the potential sources of reputational risk, contemplating both internal and external sources. For this, what is done is to analyze the current work of the organization and its environment and the way in which any of these aspects can lead to a reputational crisis taking place.

Part of the risk audit has to do with assessing, in addition, the dangerousness of the risks. When these have already been identified, it is necessary to know how dangerous they are, in the sense of the type of impact they can have. One of the most appropriate ways to do this is by quantifying the losses that can occur in companies and organizations linked to each of these reputational risks. Thus, it is possible to have a determination of the expected losses for each risk.

What are the risks in the field of digital reputation?

Given this, it is very important to understand what we are talking about when we talk about risks in the field of digital reputation. Generally, we define reputational risk as the potential for a loss of reputation to occur in a company or organization, due to internal or external factors. In other words, reputational risk is the real possibility that a company has of suffering reputational damage and the consequences that this may end up having on its support and operation.

Thus, we find ourselves with two large types of reputational risks that must be audited. On the one hand, pure reputational risk is what occurs when there are problems of transparency, trust on the part of users, and misconduct by the company, among other things. And, on the other, we have the operational reputational risk, which is linked to the way the company operates and which can also lead to reputational problems.

Benefits of risk auditing with external advisors

There are different ways of approaching risk auditing, one of the most common being internal auditing, carried out by those who are part of the organization. However, as time passes, it is increasingly common to resort to risk audit services. One of the reasons for this is that it is a way of reaching out to people who are outside the bubble of the company, being able to make a more complete and impartial analysis of the risks that the organization can assume.

Secondly, going to an external risk audit is a way of having the service of specialized professionals in the field, who can put their knowledge and experience into practice in order to guide, advise and help companies.

At 202 Digital Reputation, we carry out a complete reputational management service, including risk auditing. We develop a 360° management that addresses everything from surveillance to shielding, solving, and maintaining problems related to reputation.