SleepSafe is a bank with branches all throughout Canada. The bank has always focused on traditional banking, but with the appointment of a new CEO, Sarah Smith, the company is moving in a different direction. Smith has always been a forward-thinking person who pays close attention to how society is changing. She has noticed that customers use online and mobile banking more frequently while traveling but are also more concerned than ever about their privacy and data security. Smith has also noticed how much paper and labor are wasted processing transactions, even in the modern digital world.

In response to these trends, Smith decided to modernize SleepSafe and hired a new management team with a similar mindset. Smith and the new management team held multiple strategy sessions and settled on a course of action. Their focus was on digitalization within the bank, both for internal processes and customer services. The most time and effort was to be expended on the Digitalization and Technology department, with special emphasis on infrastructure and data security systems.

During the past year, SleepSafe has invested a large amount of money and time in developing its digital banking environment and data security systems. Smith also seeks external partnerships in order to strengthen their position on the technology level. These have been big changes for a historically conservative bank. Sarah is convinced that this is the future of the company and that providing her customers with a fully-digital banking product can improve their lives, allowing them the flexibility to do mobile banking on a reliable network and sleep soundly, knowing that their financial information is protected by an excellent security system.

The results are promising, and the investments seem to have paid off. Online and mobile banking have been 99.98% reliable over the past year, and the number of banking contracts has grown by 68%. Also, customers report being very satisfied with the new environment, which is reflected in a higher retention rate.

Essay Questions

The IIRC's Integrated Reporting Framework uses the following terms in relation to the value-creation process: inputs, outputs, and outcomes.

Explain the differences between inputs, outputs, and outcomes.

How would you define the input, output, and outcome for the digitalization and technology matter of SleepSafe?