Siddharth Das Gupta

• Senior leadership role in the Global Supplier Services (falling under the Chief Administrator Office), leading the Quality Assurance team. The team serves as an independent detective control to ensure ongoing adherence to applicable policy, standards and regulations.
• The role essentially sits under the 1LOD, and responsible for specific control management functions as well.
• The primary goal that has been successfully achieved led to ensuring there is a safe and robust program to manage third party risks (from Proc to Pay), and negligible control gaps and regulatory breaches.
• Responsible for design, execution and ongoing enhancement of the QA program. Coverage Includes:
• Third Party Oversight for Standards, Exception and Spend Validation
• Inter Affiliate Services for Regulatory Subject Expert and Standards
• Accounts payable Operations for Invoice Compliance, Manual and Emergency Payments, Duplicate Checks, Invoice Rejections and LOB led Special Billing
• Sourcing and Procurement Operations for Contract Authorization, Financial Viability Assessment and Contingent hiring
• Location Outsourcing Governance for regulated geographies for both internal and external outsourcing.
• Supervised and managed a team of seven experienced and senior testers and control managers. Responsible for creating the team ground up after taking over.
• In a very short period, streamlined and stabilized all the baseline activities in a crucial phase which had previously been impacted by churn and instabilities. The delivery is now managed seamlessly.
• Successfully supported the regulatory examination for the Third Party Oversight Program by the OCC and FRB regulators
• Enabled the successful ongoing execution of the Global Outsourcing Risk Stripe forum for monitoring Third Party Risk impacting JPMC globally.
• Performed QC and validation of risk issues and events impacting Outsourcing, Vendor Payments and Procurement Risk
• Overseen the creation of a Supplier Diversity and Inclusion Process Risks and Controls.
• Ongoing liaising with 2 and 3LOD. Responding to second line challenge and audit enquiries.

• Deputy Head for the Controls function supporting, the Corporate Institutional Business (Markets) of the Natwest Group.
• Designed and drove the risk and control agenda for the Front Office, Middle Office and Finance business. Directly managed a team of 5 senior resources, and indirectly responsible for the delivery of the overall team of ~ 20 seasoned risk and control professionals
• Performed ongoing gap analysis with the group Operational Risk Policy, ensured substantial adherence
• Enabled key lines of business such as Client Onboarding, FX Operations, Middle Office Operations, Securities, Collateral Operations and Settlement and Reconciliation to determine and design their qualitative and quantitative risk appetites and key risk indicators
• Review and challenge issue and action plan remediation by the business, including exceptions to policy
• Ensure appropriate protocols on operational risk event identification and recording are followed
• Supplemented RCSAs through inputs on risk triggers and horizon risk assessments
• Automated reporting dashboards and facilitated consistent reporting outcomes for senior management
• Revamped and redesigned the Market Operation Risk Committee, and terms of reference thereof - Brought the focus back on material risk management and risk decisioning.
• Owned the end to end assessment and testing of ~1200 SOX and Non SOX Key Controls
• Brought focus on enabling control automation, and elimination of manual interventions through process and control adequacy.

In the current profile engaged in performing Second Line oversight, advisory, assurance, challenge and consultation on the multiple functions forming part of RBS's Global Shared Services Operations arm in India, including Finance Hub, Supply Chain, Workplace Services, Security and Resilience, Risk Infrastructure and Human Resources. Additionally, I serve as a helpdesk for my team which comprise of risk SMEs, on risk policy framework and interpretation.

Key Result Highlights - Policy Implementation and Oversight:

• Managed the entire gamut of risk oversight and assurance for all Functional teams
• Played critical role in embedding Operational Risk policy pillars in the India services division
• Annually drafted and proposed the bespoke appetite metrics for all top of the house risks
• Embedded new methodology for process risk assessment across multiple functions
• Drove adherence to appropriate control identification and design in line with SOX framework across functions
• Provided consultative support and oversight on efficient and effective process design
• First line process control testing supplemented and enhanced through sample based independent testing
• Overseen risk data migration to new database from IBM
• Overseen and enabled creation of risk governance forums across functions
• Aligned the functional governance forums with higher enterprise forums
• Extensive training to stakeholders on risk management and framework.

Key Result Highlights - Risk Policy Assurance, Insights and Risk Culture:

• Ensured optimal ongoing policy compliance through risk based proportionate assurance, reviews and deep dives of of banking functions and operations, including operations of the corporate investment banking division
• Appropriate intervention has crucially reduced noncompliance of critical policy vectors to below 10%
• Produced insights and opinions on applicable risk landscape and top risk trends semi annually
• Regularly used external database and intelligence (ORX, Risk.net, IRM, Oliver Wyman, McKinsey) to supplement internal data sources for formulating risk views and opinions
• Risk culture journey monitored through metric dashboard developed with Controls. Tracked and driven risk culture enhancements through trainings and awareness – as on date all functions demonstrate a mix of proactive and systematic culture, and are on track to be generative in foreseeable future

Key Result Highlights - Special Risk Projects:

• Oversaw and advised on improvisation of entity financial control testing for IFC (per Indian Companies Act 2013 requirements)
• Successfully carried out scenario analysis for Covid-19 pandemic related vulnerabilities and threats
• Engaging in scenario analysis for non financial risk exposures from Climate Change threat per PRA directive
• Successfully overseen strategic change and related risks on account of merger and demerger of India service entities per EU Ring Fencing Regulations.
• Partnered with policy design team in design and roll out of risk management enablers like the Risk Directory (Taxonomy) and Causal Catalogue
• Partnering with policy design team to create and embed an integrated risk management framework for bringing consistent and unified approach to managing and reporting on credit and treasury risk, along with operational risk

Part of the Process and Operational Risk Management team which is responsible for monitoring and controlling the deviations from the firm's standard practices governing Operational and IT processes. Was entrusted with the Supplier/Third Party Risk Pillar and additionally engaged in the operational risk evaluation and control activities pertaining to other processes or sub processes within American Express. The role involved the coordination/performance of risk assessments, evaluations, analysis, designing and implementation of controls, reporting and ensuring all round compliance with contracts/SLAs and any applicable regulation or statutes (Sanctions, FCPA, ABA etc).

Key result highlights -

• Key role in establishing the Ops Risk Centre of Expertise (COE)
• Designed the roles and responsibility model for the COE
• Designed the Leadership Reporting formats and Standard Stationery for the COE communications
• Designed Key Risk and Performance Indicators for the functional areas responsible
• Undertook the training and onboarding of peers and supervisors
• Established and stabilized the baseline activities
• Introduced Third Party Risk analytics to enhance oversight proposition. This was eventually leveraged by other teams including business teams.
• Oversaw and managed the ongoing Third Party Security process; including review of SAS 70/SSAE 16 reports
• Tracked and ensured c ompliance with Supplier Policy requirements – through the supplier life cycle
• Tracked and ensured adherence to US regulatory directives on supplier management

• Engaged as a Management Trainee in the Transaction Advisory Services division. Actively engaged in the bid process management of Power Finance Corporation (a Mini Ratna Company) which had been mandated as the nodal agency by the Ministry of Power for development of Ultra Mega Power Projects in different parts of India. This engagement was January to February 2007.
• Thereafter was engaged in several assignments (both as an articled assistant and independently as Team Leader) ranging between Statutory financial, SOX and Tax Audits. Possess fair degree of experience and expertise in handling all the areas of the Financial Statements and Audit opinion formulation. An illustrative list of my past engagement portfolio is given below-
  
• Statutory Financial Audit (India Yamaha Private Limited, McKinsey & Co., Fortis Health Care Limited, Acme Tele Power Limited, Itron India Private Limited, Federal Mogul Goetze India Limited, McKinsey Knowledge Centre Private Limited, EDAG India Private Limited, International Travel House Limited, Invista India Private Limited, Sudhir Gensets Limited)
• Tax Audit (Yamaha, Itron, McKinsey, Hitachi Group)
• Sarbanes Oxley Act ( Sec 404 ) Compliance ( Federal Mogul Goetze India Limited)
• Inventory Audit ( India Yamaha Private Limited, Acme Tele Power Limited, Itron India Private Limited, Federal Mogul Goetze India Limited, Sudhir Gensets Limited, YKK India Private Limited)