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Poole College of Management
Enterprise Risk Management Initiative

Briefs and Insights

Mar 1, 2009

Key Areas of Concern in Corporate Governance

Strong corporate governance is essential for boards as they are positioned to lead the way in implementing measures that contribute to economic growth and sustainability. There are four areas of corporate governance the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) has identified as being the most important and of immediate concern: risk oversight, corporate strategy, executive compensation, and transparency. Within each area of concern, the NACD provides recommendations from their Key Agreed Principles to Strengthen Corporate Governance for U.S. Publicly Traded Companies document as well as addresses future challenges boards will face in improving governance practices in each area.

Feb 1, 2009

Internal Auditors Partnership with Management

Internal auditors in the past have been used to examine how well management is performing and how well the company is operating. Now there is a need for internal auditors to work in conjunction with management to oversee risks. CHAN Healthcare Auditors realized this change in internal audit and has developed an audit process and tool that allows for a more effective approach to risk management. Even though the approach is mainly geared towards the healthcare industry, it can be used in numerous industries to determine companywide and departmental vulnerabilities.

Jan 1, 2009

Limitations of Traditional Risk Models in Forecasting Risk

The current economic crisis has upset many common assumptions about the global financial system and shaken investor confidence. While there are unique aspects to this crisis, it is important to understand that severe economic crises in general are not rare events. Traditional methods of modeling risk often fail to reflect the frequency of declines and when these declines will occur. It is important for investors to rely on more than the output from traditional risk models in assessing the potential risk associated with investments.

Dec 1, 2008

Understanding and Articulating Risk Appetite

Risk appetite, when properly understood and articulated, can be a powerful tool for managing risk and enhancing overall business performance by better aligning decision-making and risk. Many organizations have a need for increased clarity regarding their risk appetite and this article provides insights on formulating and defining risk appetites.

Dec 1, 2008

Aligning Risk Management and Executive Compensation

Boards of directors are charged with corporate governance tasks that include setting executive compensation and developing the corporation's strategic agenda in light of its risk tolerance. Using short-term performance metrics, like stock price or earnings per share, to determine executive compensation may encourage executives to make decisions that are not aligned with the corporation's strategic plan or overall risk appetite.

Oct 22, 2008

Role of Risk Managers and Continuity Planning

Risk management executives have come to the realization that a cohesive corporate risk management strategy is needed in their companies. They are becoming more involved with business continuity planning and helping with preparedness, mitigation, and recovery for operations.

Sep 1, 2008

Managing Risks for Comparative Advantage: Five Steps to Better Risk Management

This articles highlights a five-step process to help companies make changes to better their approach to risk management in response to the developments occurring in the corporate approach to risk management: 1. Identify and understand your major risks; 2. Decide which risks are natural; 3. Determine your capacity and appetite for risk; 4. Embed risk in all decisions and processes; and 5. Align governance and organization around risk.

Jun 1, 2008

Board-Level Risk Committees

Traditionally, senior risk executives have managed risk at the operational level of organizations. Boards have had general oversight responsibilities for risk, with audit or finance committees taking on more specific risk responsibilities. Now, with the heavy workloads of audit and finance committees and a trend towards implementing enterprise risk management (ERM) processes, many organizations are finding it beneficial to form separate board-level risk management committees. The risk content of an organization is often still addressed at the board level across many committees, while risk process is the focus of the separate risk committee.

May 1, 2008

ERM: The Importance of Senior Management Buy-In and Leadership

The Midwest Audit Committee Network met to discuss effective ways for boards and audit committees to oversee enterprise-wide risk management. The network is a group of audit committee chairs drawn from leading Midwest companies of varying size. This article captures the overall tone of the comments and outlines the conclusions drawn by the committee. While specific quotes are highlighted to emphasize a point, the speaker’s identity is kept confidential.

Sep 1, 2007

ERM in Higher Education

This document provides guidance for the embrace of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) in Higher Education. While this is not a step-by-step guide on how to implement ERM at any specific institution, it does provide a good overview of the ERM process, where to begin, and best resources available for structuring and implementing an ERM framework. The document also summarizes examples of ERM at several institutions of higher learning.