PwC and MetricStream Form Joint Business Relationship to Integrate GRC Solutions

NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- PwC US today announced the launch of a joint business relationship with MetricStream Inc., a market leader in enterprise-wide governance, risk and compliance (GRC) solutions.  The relationship with MetricStream enhances PwC's risk assurance capabilities in providing integrated solutions to improve companies' collective Enterprise and IT risk management and risk-based decisions.

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PwC's Risk Assurance Services practice numbers more than 2, 100 professionals who provide companies with significant technical expertise, as well as deep industry knowledge across all industries.  Skilled team members assist companies in developing risk and compliance programs, performing audits and creating internal controls processes around business performance issues, IT systems as well as strategy and contingency planning.

"With growing demand for greater transparency and efficiency, it is critical for companies to employ integrated GRC initiatives to ensure productivity and alignment with overall business processes," said Joe DeVita partner with PwC's Risk Assurance Services practice. "By teaming with MetricStream, a company that is highly-regarded by analysts and customers, we are adding the capabilities of a best-in-breed, off-the-shelf GRC solution provider with robust functionality to complement our risk assurance capabilities, providing added value for clients."

With its enterprise scalability and ability to support complex, global organizations, MetricStream's highly-configurable, platform-based GRC solutions help provide Risk Intelligence by integrating Internal Audit, Sarbanes-Oxley, Regulatory Compliance, Quality Management, Security, IT GRC  initiatives all the way through Operational and Enterprise Risk Management.  As part of this process, the system also aggregates risk and compliance information across the enterprise, spanning business processes, IT applications and security infrastructure, providing top-down visibility and insights to drive business decisions. The integrated system for GRC will also deliver appropriate content such as risks, controls, regulations, standards and policies, among many other libraries. Several global customers have large scale enterprise-wide deployments of MetricStream GRC solutions with tens of thousands of users.

"PwC delivers world class services to clients in streamlining operational processes and management reporting of risk to help companies improve business performance, and MetricStream provides the technology platform to ensure end-to-end, adaptable, and sustainable GRC solutions," said Keri Dawson, Vice President of ComplianceOnline Advisory Services at MetricStream. "This joint business relationship creates compelling value for clients by combining the industry knowledge and leading practices of PwC with MetricStream's market-leading GRC software solutions."

PwC received a 'Strong Positive' rating – the highest possible rating given – in Gartner's MarketScope for Global Enterprise Governance, Risk Management and Compliance Consulting Services report, which was published on March 16, 2011.

MetricStream was named a leader based on its current offering, strategy and market presence as part of Forrester Research's, Inc.'s The Forrester Wave™ : Enterprise Governance, Risk and Compliance Platforms, Q4 2011 report published on November 30, 2011.  In addition, Gartner has positioned MetricStream in the Leaders Quadrant of the 2011 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Governance, Risk and Compliance Platforms* report published on July 13, 2011. MetricStream also received a 'Positive' rating in Gartner's MarketScope for IT Governance, Risk and Compliance Management report, published on September 30, 2011.

About MetricStream

MetricStream is a market leader in Enterprise-wide Governance, Risk, Compliance (GRC) and Quality Management Solutions for global corporations. MetricStream solutions are used by leading corporations such as NASDAQ OMX, UBS, Constellation Energy, Pfizer, Philips, BAE Systems, SanDisk, Cummins and Sonic Automotive in diverse industries such as Financial Services, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Energy and Utilities, Food, Retail, Government and Manufacturing s to manage their risk management, quality processes, regulatory and industry-mandated compliance and corporate governance initiatives, as well as several  million compliance professionals worldwide via the www.ComplianceOnline.com portal. MetricStream is headquartered in Palo Alto, California and can be reached at www.metricstream.com.

About PwC's Risk Assurance practice

PwC understands that significant risk is rarely confined to discrete areas within an organization.  Rather, most significant risks have a wide-ranging impact across the organization. As a result, PwC's Risk Assurance practice has developed a holistic approach to risk that protects business, facilitates strategic decision making and enhances efficiency. This approach is complemented by the extensive risk and controls technical knowledge and sector-specific experience of its Risk Assurance professionals. The end result is a risk solution tailored to meet the unique needs of clients.

About Gartner's MarketScope and Magic Quadrant

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About the PwC Network

PwC firms help organizations and individuals create the value they're looking for. We're a network of firms in 158 countries with close to 169,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, tax and advisory services. Tell us what matters to you and find out more by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

© 2011 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the US member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.

SOURCE PwC US