Michael Saltzstein believes the ever-changing and ever-expanding needs of a business necessitate a thorough rethinking of the risk management process. A recent update to the COSO's enterprise risk management (ERM) framework offers new ideas on how companies can preserve their business's value, if not enhance it, by incorporating and examining risks from the strategy formulation stage.
This approach elevates ERM from an
operational- and compliance-focused information-gathering and reporting model
to a strategy-focused model that can add value to organizations. However,
implementing the change is a challenge in and of itself, as organizations,
particularly larger ones, are hesitant to redefine their existing ERM process
without a precise cost/benefit analysis that demonstrates added value.
As Michael Saltzstein indicates, it’s
important to address how risk management professionals can persuade
decision-makers to incorporate risk management insights identified through the
organization's ERM process into strategic planning.
Many would agree that adopting more
sophisticated ERM systems improves corporate governance. In addition, there is
a direct correlation between the maturity of the ERM system and the robustness
of the entity's oversight and management.
Maintaining the status quo—that is, not
connecting ERM with strategy and performance and not changing any business
processes accordingly—may result in a critical failure that proves too costly
for any company to bear, even in the most remote of scenarios. There are
numerous examples of strategic corporate crises brought on by emerging risks
that disrupted the organization's core business model. In other cases,
unexpected low-probability but catastrophic events—"black swans"—have
proven fatal to businesses when they do occur.
According to research conducted as part of
the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and North
Carolina State University's Enterprise Risk Management Initiative for the 2017
Global Risk Oversight Report, companies find integrating risk into a strategy
challenging. Fewer than 20% of organizations surveyed for the report in Europe,
the United Kingdom, and the United States believe their risk management
processes provide a distinct competitive advantage. In addition, only about
half of global respondents agreed with the statement, "Companies must
consider risk exposures when evaluating new strategic initiatives." The
research concludes a global disconnect between enterprise risk oversight and
strategy execution.
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