Looking for a better way to report risk information to management?
The ERM Initiative is pleased to provide this new case study, “Management Dashboards: Visualizing Enterprise Risks”, that illustrates a number of different ways organizations are embedding risk insights into management’s dashboard reports. The report was prepared by graduate students in the Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University based on input they received from 19 companies covering 9 industries including healthcare, financial services, pharmaceuticals, utilities, and wholesale/retail trades.
Risk Dashboards
Many ERM leaders have implemented risk dashboards to organize key risk information for effective decision-making. Risk dashboards help to better communicate risk information often using a number of visualization techniques to provide a quick glance overview of key risks trends and that allow management to sort and categorize data from multiple sources.
Key Elements of an Effective Dashboard
The research team sought to establish the key features that distinguish an effective management dashboard. Through research and observations made across study participants, the students identified dashboard best practices and key features used in dashboards.
The study notes that the successful development and implementation of a management dashboard hinges on five value adds to the organization:
- Decide on the right key performance and risk indicators,
- Include data that is easily understood,
- Follow a call-to-action approach,
- Develop a design for gained insight about risks, and
- Encourage users to take action to address risk conditions.
Examples of Management Risk Dashboards
The purpose of this case study, “Management Dashboards: Visualizing Enterprise Risks”, is to capture and share ERM dashboard practices such that ERM practitioners will be able to benchmark to improve their organization’s dashboard processes. Examples detailed in the study show a range of uses of dashboards from a “call to action” to risk sensing, to risk connections. The use of technology in dashboard reporting and the challenges of providing meaningful information are also explored in this study.
Original Article Source: “Management Dashboards: Visualizing Enterprise Risks”, Bryan Adams, Elizabeth Drobnak, Jonah Hatley, Joshua Holley, Sachin Iyengar, NC State University ERM Initiative, November 2021
