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Poole College of Management
Enterprise Risk Management Initiative

ERM Fundamentals

Nov 1, 2006

A Changing Risk Landscape – A Study of Corporate ERM in the U.S.

The 2006 survey by Towers Perrin and Monitor Group of 75 senior finance executives from large publicly traded US companies highlights a rising focus on risk management. Key findings include the identification of major risk categories such as operational, strategic, financial, and compliance risks, with a notable trend towards the adoption of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) for better communication and risk-return management.

Mar 24, 2006

Home Depot’s Approach to ERM

David Whatley, vice president for risk management at Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc., spoke on March 24th to 130 business professionals at the second of three Spring 2006 ERM Roundtables. Whatley described Home Depot’s approach to managing risks at the world’s largest home improvement retailer.

Sep 30, 2005

Evolution of ERM

Business professionals have varied personal definitions of enterprise risk management (ERM) based on their limited exposure to the new idea and their specific encounters with its effects given their roles within their companies. However, in order to better understand risk management, and especially ERM, risk itself must be better understood with greater uniformity than that with which it has been understood in the past. Misconceptions have kept business professionals from understanding risk as measurable in both negative and positive outcomes, as existent even without the occurrence of an event, and as affective of businesses in many areas, not just in the consideration of insurance.

Mar 11, 2005

ERM and Business Continuity

There is a huge debate over the roles and positioning of risk management and business continuity management within organizations. Some argue one function should be subordinate to the other. The key, however, is that the organization must determine the functional scopes of each function and communicate the appropriate relationship of the two tasks. Each organization needs to decide the appropriate mixture of these two functions.

Oct 1, 2004

The Orange Book: Management of Risk – Principles and Concepts

The original Orange Book was published by the British government in 2001 to promote more robust risk management practices in government sectors. Since 2001, organizations have begun to now have basic risk management processes in place. The risk management challenge is no longer in the initial identification and analysis of risk and the development of the risk management process. Rather, the challenge today is in the ongoing review and improvement of risk management. Thus, the British government issued this 2004 revision of The Orange Book to include more advanced guidance, such as the importance of “horizon scanning” (a systematic activity designed to identify indicators of changes in risk). This document also examines how the organization’s risk management activities relate to the wider environment in which it functions.

Sep 1, 2004

COSO’s “Enterprise Risk Management – Integrated Framework”

"This Enterprise Risk Management – Integrated Framework expands on internal control, providing a more robust and extensive focus on the broader subject of enterprise risk management. While it is not intended to and does not replace the internal control framework, but rather incorporates the internal control framework within it, companies may decide to look to this enterprise risk management framework both to satisfy their internal control needs and to move toward a fuller risk management process. Among the most critical challenges for managements is determining how much risk the entity is prepared to and does accept as it strives to create value. This report will better enable them to meet this challenge."

Dec 31, 2003

Using Technology to Support ERM: A Case Study

Companies face added complexity to overall risks threatening an enterprise. Management needs a risk management program that is complete and proactive toward risk. This article highlights steps that Zions Bancorporation took to develop an application to facilitate risk management.

May 1, 2003

Casualty Actuarial Society’s Overview of Enterprise Risk Management

"This document is intended primarily to further the risk management education of candidates for membership in the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS). Current members of the CAS as well as other risk management professional should also find this material of interest."

Apr 1, 2003

ERM Infrastructure and Risk Intelligent Systems

Enterprise risk management (ERM) is the key to resolving some of the demands for more corporate transparency from investors. ERM is a process that changes how an organization identifies risks and manages those risks continuously. It helps to develop the steps and allocate resources to mitigate the organization's risks and provides reasonable assurance about the organization's ability to achieve its objectives.

Oct 1, 2000

Business Risk Management in Government

While risk management is well-established in the private sector, no generic risk management approaches are available for government entities. Due to potential pitfalls that exist in government practices, it is not feasible to simply apply private-sector risk management guidance directly to the public sector. Government risk management should focus on systemic risk in order to prevent the blame-shifting that is often present in the government sector.