Governance meets innovation: Protiviti’s strategy for secure, scalable growth in BFSI and beyond

In an era where digital acceleration is non-negotiable, the financial services industry in India stands at a critical intersection of innovation and accountability. Technologies like AI, blockchain, and cloud are no longer optional—they’re mission-critical. But with innovation comes complexity, and with complexity, risk. Enter Protiviti—a firm that’s redefining the contours of digital transformation by ensuring governance and resilience are designed into the DNA of innovation.

From AI-enabled underwriting and blockchain auditability to Responsible AI frameworks and zero-trust cybersecurity, Protiviti is helping BFSI and other highly regulated sectors reimagine risk not as a roadblock but as a strategic enabler. In an exclusive interview, Abhay Johorey, Managing Director, Protiviti Member Firm for India, shares how his company is helping organisations embed trust into transformation, prepare for the next wave of risk intelligence, and attract top talent in a redefined workplace. With sector-specific strategies, an eye on Asia-Pacific growth, and an uncompromising focus on ethical innovation, Protiviti is proving that the future doesn’t just belong to those who move fast, but to those who move wisely.

As organisations accelerate their digital transformation journeys, how is Protiviti helping clients balance innovation with risk management?

As India races ahead in its digital transformation journey in 2025, propelled by AI/ML, blockchain, quantum computing, and MACH (Microservices, APIs, Cloud, Headless) architectures, the financial services sector finds itself at a decisive inflection point. For banks, NBFCs, and insurers, the mandate is clear: innovate at scale and speed—but do so with accountability, resilience, and regulatory foresight.

Protiviti stands at the forefront of this transformation, not merely as an advisor but as a co-architect of trustworthy digital ecosystems. In an era where technology is abundant but trust is scarce, our approach is rooted in enabling organisations to drive bold innovation while embedding risk intelligence at every step. In today’s BFSI landscape, technology alone is no longer a differentiator. True competitive advantage lies in the orchestration of innovation with governance. The deployment of AI in underwriting, the migration of customer data to the cloud, or the use of IoT in insurance all bring immense opportunity—but also profound risks.

Without strong guardrails, these initiatives can expose firms to cyber threats, data sovereignty violations, and regulatory scrutiny. Innovation without governance is a gamble; governance without innovation is a graveyard. To bridge this gap, Protiviti helps organisations reframe risk, not as a constraint, but as a strategic lever. Our integrated approach aligns emerging technologies with an enterprise’s risk appetite, compliance obligations, and long-term strategic goals. In cloud transformation projects, for instance, we work with clients to proactively assess data localisation risks, cloud governance maturity, and third-party exposures, ensuring resilience is designed from day one.

As AI adoption scales across financial services, we bring deep expertise in Responsible AI governance. From ethical frameworks and model explainability to regulatory alignment with India’s DPDP Act and the EU AI Act, our solutions ensure that automated systems remain transparent, auditable, and trustworthy. Our AI risk models integrate regulatory logic into system design, bridging the gap between innovation and accountability. On the cybersecurity front, Protiviti helps clients evolve from reactive defence to proactive resilience. With capabilities in Zero Trust implementation, cyber risk quantification, and real-time threat modelling, we enable organisations to translate technical risks into board-level insights, informing precision-led cybersecurity investments. We support cloud journeys end-to-end, covering everything from DevSecOps integration and FinOps optimisation to configuration risk assurance.

As enterprises experiment with blockchain for smart contracts and digital assets, we assure consensus protocols, smart contract validation, and blockchain auditability, ensuring that experimentation does not come at the cost of security or regulatory misalignment. Yet, it’s not just about technology or tools. The deeper challenge lies in organisational culture. Many promising digital strategies stall due to resistance from mid-level management, driven by fear or unfamiliarity. That’s why we help clients foster a culture of digital accountability—through leadership bootcamps, internal “Innovate with Integrity” campaigns, and the development of a digital fluency index to track cultural readiness across the enterprise.

We also advocate for structural enablers like Digital Risk Councils—cross-functional groups that include CIOs, CROs, and innovation leaders—to assess every tech initiative through both opportunity and risk lenses. Complementing this, our Control-Embedded Agile Framework embeds compliance directly into the innovative lifecycle. This includes “Risk-in-Sprint” checkpoints, “Innovation Sandboxes” for controlled experimentation, and RegTech tools for automated compliance oversight. Forward-looking organisations are also embracing dual-track governance models—one stream accelerating innovation in sandbox environments, the other ensuring real-time regulatory alignment. The traditional three-lines-of-defense model is transforming too: risk and compliance teams now co-create with agile squads, and internal audit performs pre-mortem reviews before major launches.

Ultimately, success in digital transformation is being measured by new KPIs: the percentage of business units piloting AI, reductions in unplanned audit issues, regulatory response times, and cultural adoption metrics. Protiviti supports clients in not just meeting these benchmarks but surpassing them by aligning technological ambition with regulatory responsibility. As India’s regulatory frameworks around privacy, AI, cybersecurity, and digital finance continue to evolve, Protiviti remains a trusted interpreter, stabiliser, and enabler. We empower BFSI organisations to innovate rapidly, without losing sight of security, compliance, or long-term resilience.

Because the future won’t belong to those who move fastest, it will belong to those who move wisely.

Which emerging technologies do you believe will have the most impact on risk consulting and internal audit in the next 3–5 years, and how is Protiviti preparing for this shift?

The future of risk consulting and internal audit is being fundamentally rewritten—not through incremental change, but through radical reinvention. In 2025, a powerful wave of emerging technologies is dismantling legacy frameworks and establishing a new digital paradigm. At the forefront of this transformation is Protiviti, leveraging a forward-looking, intelligence-driven approach to reimagine risk strategy as a source of strategic advantage. Generative AI and large language models are accelerating the audit lifecycle—automating documentation, analysing unstructured data, and identifying compliance risks with unprecedented speed and precision. Critically, this innovation is underpinned by explainability and alignment with evolving regulatory standards, ensuring that automation enhances, rather than undermines, trust.

Predictive analytics are shifting audit methodologies from retrospective reviews to proactive foresight. By enabling real-time risk sensing and dynamic audit planning, they empower organisations to act before risks materialise—not just react after the fact. Meanwhile, the increasing adoption of blockchain technologies is driving demand for smart contract assurance and decentralised ledger audits. Protiviti is responding with tailored assurance solutions that validate transaction integrity and ESG disclosures across complex, multi-party ecosystems.

Autonomous process automation is ushering in a new era of continuous auditing, where control testing and exception handling are self-correcting and always on. This is complemented by continuous control monitoring (CCM), powered by IoT and advanced analytics, delivering round-the-clock compliance oversight. Beyond tools, Protiviti is investing in the future through AI innovation labs, strategic technology partnerships, and aggressive upskilling in algorithmic risk reasoning. These investments are transforming the firm from a traditional audit provider into an architect of intelligent, anticipatory risk ecosystems.

This evolution reflects a broader market shift: clients now expect more than compliance—they demand strategic insight, predictive control, and digital leadership. Protiviti is meeting this moment not by iterating on old models, but by building new ones—engineered for agility, intelligence, and trust.

The message is clear: inaction is not neutral. Firms that fail to modernise risk and audit practices risk irrelevance. The next era of risk management isn’t documented in checklists encoded in algorithms. And Protiviti is already writing about that future.

In a rapidly evolving consulting landscape, how is Protiviti attracting and retaining top talent, especially with hybrid and remote work models becoming the norm?

Protiviti India is attracting and retaining top talent by reimagining work in this purpose-driven era. With flexibility now a baseline expectation, Protiviti offers a dynamic work model—combining smart collaboration hubs with seamless virtual delivery, if not necessarily hybrid—to empower consultants with choice and autonomy. What sets Protiviti apart is its focus on purposeful work, giving professionals the opportunity to contribute to high-impact areas like digital governance, ESG, and emerging tech risk. Talent development is personalised and tech-enabled, with AI-driven learning paths, real-time skills mapping, and agile career mobility across practices and geographies. The firm integrates DEI deeply into its culture and leadership pipeline, while advanced engagement analytics ensure continuous feedback and real-time employee insights. By blending flexibility, impact, and continuous growth, Protiviti is not just competing for talent—it’s creating a compelling environment where top professionals choose to stay and lead the future.

Different industries face unique compliance and risk challenges. How does Protiviti tailor its solutions to meet sector-specific needs, particularly in highly regulated domains like BFSI or healthcare? What is Protiviti’s growth strategy in the Indian or Asia-Pacific market over the next few years, and what role does innovation play in driving this expansion?

As of 2025, Protiviti’s growth strategy in the Indian and broader Asia-Pacific market is centred on scaling responsibly, deepening sectoral expertise, and embedding innovation at the core of every client engagement. Recognising the region’s rapid economic digitisation, regulatory evolution, and geopolitical complexity, Protiviti is positioning itself not just as a consulting partner but as a co-architect of resilient, future-ready enterprises. In India, the firm is expanding its presence in Tier 1 and emerging Tier 2 cities to access diverse talent pools and serve clients closer to their transformation hubs. Sectorally, Protiviti is doubling down on high-growth areas such as financial services, digital lending, health tech, climate and sustainability risk, manufacturing 4.0, and public sector digitisation, where demand for integrated governance, risk, and technology solutions is surging. In Asia-Pacific, the focus is on cross-border delivery models and regional innovation hubs that support complex, multi-jurisdictional clients. Protiviti’s growth is underpinned by a “quality-first” mindset—ensuring that scale never comes at the cost of integrity, talent depth, or client trust. Through this balanced approach, the firm is not just expanding its footprint across India but shaping the region’s consulting agenda with intelligence, agility, and purpose.