Access Bank gets ISO BCMS Certification

From Ngozi Onyeakusi, Lagos

Access Bank Plc has been awarded the International Organization for Standardization, ISO, 22301:2012 certificate for ‘Societal Security – Business Continuity Management Systems.’

The award was presented to the bank by the British Standard Institute, BSI, after about three months of rigorous business impact analysis across all the departments of the bank.

Speaking during the presentation of the certificate in Lagos, Group Deputy Managing Director of Access Bank, Mr. Obinna Nwosu, said the certification is based on international best practices deployed by the bank to manage business continuity.

According to him, the ISO 22301:2012 specifies requirements to plan, establish, implement, operate, monitor, review, maintain and continually improve a documented management system to prepare for, respond to and recover from disruptive events when they arise.

He said, “The ISO 22301 standardization certification will help improve the bank’s business by ensuring planned, effective Business Continuity Management at all levels, including: Organization-wide identification and understanding of critical business processes and the impact of disruption, timely and orderly responses to incidents/business disruptions.

“Access Bank deserves the certification which is coming on the heels of the bank’s recognition earlier in the year, as the best Nigerian company in corporate citizenship in the first ever competitive index on corporate social responsibility in Nigeria by the CSR-in-Action. “We also won the Best Bank in CSR at the recently held Business Day award as well as being rated B by Fitch and A+ by Agusto & Co.”

Nwosu commended staff of the bank’s operational Risk Management, Information Technology, among others, for their commitment to the project and concerted effort in achieving the feat, adding that the Board and Management of the bank is committed to business continuity across the Bank.

Speaking in the same vein, Mrs. Ojinika Olaghere, Executive Director, Operations and IT, Access Bank, assured all its stakeholders that that the bank will sustain the certification.

She explained that the award is not only for the bank, but for Nigeria, saying, “this is just the beginning of more things to come for the bank.”

Speaking at the event, Mr. Mike Purves, Acting Deputy High Commissioner and Director, United Kingdom Trade and Investment, expressed satisfaction that the British Standard Institute is helping to improve standard in Nigeria.

He further stated that the award is not just significant to the bank, but to Nigeria, as it will help boost Nigeria’s reputation in the global financial landscape by showing to the whole world, especially international investors, that the country is prepared to test itself and do business in line with international best practices.

In her own view, Mrs. Adedoyin Odunfa, Managing Director, Digital Jewels, commended the bank for its willingness to display responsible performance in all its businesses activities, instead of aggressive performance.

She explained that the ISO 22301 is suitable for use in businesses of all sizes across all sectors, as it will help protect the organization against the threats specific to its business.

She said, “These could include natural disaster, information technology failure, staff illness, terrorist threat or a disruption in supply chain. ISO 22301 will provide you with a framework for assessing critical suppliers and their associated risks, assessing current business practices and planning contingency measures.

“When incidents happen, the organization will be prepared and able to respond effectively. It will also be able to reduce downtime having identified alternative arrangements. With ISO 22301, organizations will not only significantly help reduce the risks to their businesses, but will also help will help achieve operational resilience.”