A board-level problem: Why operational resilience has become a defining accountability issue in financial services and insurance

Financial institutions now face regulatory demands to demonstrate operational resilience as a board-level accountability issue, with regulators like DORA and FFIEC requiring proof of continuity during outages. The article identifies a critical vulnerability: when identity systems, cloud platforms, or network infrastructure fail, employees lose access and operations halt, creating regulatory exposure. The author proposes an “access-centric resilience” model where a separate, stable access layer ensures critical teams can continue working during dependency failures.