Energy Credit Best Practices – Chapter: Information Technology http://ccro.org © Copyright 2022, CCRO. All rights reserved. 7 “Digitalization” - The use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities. Refers to moving away from manual processes towards more automated and systematic processes. This chapter accommodates this clear trend, and even helps credit professionals to capture the greatest benefits from digitalization. Our emphasis here for the credit professional is to better understand what advancements should be taking place within a Credit Information Ecosystem as the credit functions inevitably migrate to a more digital environment. 1.4 Core Themes of this Chapter There are six themes in this chapter which are at the core of improving a company’s Credit Risk operations and ensuring an effective Credit Information Ecosystem. Our hope is that these principles will provide understanding to credit professionals of what should be expected from technology to improve the management of their credit portfolio in today’s increasing IT-centric environment. While the CCRO recognizes that every company is unique, we hold that these core principles and the related best practices discussed further below apply to all energy credit managers and their respective Credit Information Ecosystems. Following are the central themes found throughout this paper, which the CCRO believes an energy company must strive to establish in their credit operations Emphasis for the credit professional here is to understand what factors should be taking place within a Credit Information Ecosystem as the credit functions inevitably migrate to a digital environment. 1.4.1 Alignment IT strategies, including the overall IT strategy of the organization, should align with the Credit Group’s evolving needs in pursuit of more effective credit operations and execution of their fiduciary responsibilities. It is difficult to over-emphasize the importance of the orientation of the Credit Group’s operational objectives to the company’s enterprise-level IT strategy. A company’s Board of Directors should support the credit process vision articulated by the risk function, and the IT organization must in-turn support this vision. This configuration enables the credit function to meet its fiduciary responsibilities effectively and efficiently, thereby protecting the company from potential losses or unexpected liabilities.