Tara Heusé Kenyon, CEO and Paul Kenyon, CTO In the financial services space, it is difficult for management to give their undivided attention to what is happening in markets right now, what with worrying about what may or may not happen tomorrow. As such, financial institutions are more concerned than ever with credit risk modeling, stress testing, risk management, and strategic and capital planning. However, they (especially the smaller players) lack the personnel, expertise, or even the analytics-advantage to help them achieve their goals.
Citing Peter Drucker’s axiom, “What gets measured, gets managed,” the team at Kentara
® Analytics believes in measuring everything from a quantitative (non-subjective) standpoint, particularly when it comes to driving company performance by creating a solid link between strategy and risk management. This is where Kentara Analytics comes into the picture with its data-driven approach toward quantitative analytics for credit risk modeling, stress testing, risk management advisory, and strategic and capital planning. In essence, Kentara Analytics adopts a “triad” approach to quantitative risk analytics: “We take on the role of the facilitator, coach, or knowledge sharer for our clients, solely dependent on their needs,” states Tara Heusé Kenyon, the CEO of Kentara Analytics.
As facilitator, Kentara Analytics helps clients by performing their stress testing, credit risk modeling, risk management, and strategic and capital planning for them. This it does by offering Analytics as a Service (AaaS), determining risk-based pricing, and helping clients stay compliant to the regulations of CECL and IFRS 9. Further, the company also assists its clients in creating a data-driven organizational structure for risk analytics and management, and conducts workshops for driving strategic and capital planning.
We find that people who
are involved daily with
quantitative risk analysis are
steeped in reality and don’t
worry about missing out.
They find that their everyday
needs are met.
As coach, the company helps clients strategize their business plans themselves by having regular reviews of both KRIs and KPIs with the organization's C-suite while providing the planning materials, acting its part from the sidelines when the executives conduct workshops and planning sessions on their own. Lastly, as knowledge sharer, Kentara Analytics offers clients co-branded or white label information via an online learning management platform. It also includes personalized podcasts for risk managers in the clients’ organizations and provides institutional best practices to enhance their strategic and capital planning capabilities.
With a refined outlook in serving clients, the company has successfully, over the past year, narrowed its approach to meeting the latest risk requirements of clients, especially for smaller financial institutions. It has also seen an increased interest from East African banks to formulate effective ways to adhere to the IFRS 9 standards and conducts Master Classes with banks and credit unions of all sizes about CECL compliance. This adds to the uniqueness of Kentara Analytics in catering to clients and making them aware that more than the software, it is the human capital that helps drive business performance.
Intending to expand its outreach in the coming months, Kentara Analytics envisions an increase in project-based clients and is on its way to add six members to its team who will also be co-owners of the company. In doing so, it not only enhances the personal success of those who are a part of the company but collectively drives the company’s success. “Mostly, we aim to get our clients to relax, not to be so preoccupied with a future state that they miss out on what’s in store for today. People who don’t know how to measure their risks fuss over internal controls and accounting standards. But we find that people who are involved daily with quantitative risk analysis are steeped in reality and don’t worry about missing out. They find that their everyday needs are met,” concludes Tara.
