Risk Assessment

Aug 1, 2011

Avoiding Confirmation Bias in Decision Making

Executives today are becoming even more aware of the biases within their own mind that can prevent them from making the correct decisions. One of these major biases is confirmation bias, which is the phenomenon in which people throw away any evidence as irrelevant if it contradicts their initial notion of the situation. Increased awareness of the decision making process can help executives better evaluate situations when coming to a major decision. Confirmation bias is likely to be present in any risk identification and risk assessment task as new information comes to light that might contradict our preconceived notions about a risk event. This thought paper explores twelve questions to think through before jumping into the deep end and making a major decision with an unfounded assumption as its base.

Jan 3, 2011

Increasing Complexity Creates Challenges for Risk Management

Managing complexity is quickly becoming one of the greatest challenges for large organizations today. A white paper published by KPMG presents findings related to a study of the causes and impact of complexity affecting large companies. The pace of change and global interconnections in business have resulted in increasing complexity, creating significant risk management challenges for companies. Increased risks to manage emerged as one of the greatest challenges created by complexity, according to the study.

Dec 21, 2010

Case Study Illustrations of Launching ERM

The AICPA's Business, Industry & Government Team commissioned faculty in the ERM Initiative to develop case study illustrations of how organizations have successfully launched ERM. Case Studies on ERM Implementations: Practical Illustrations for Launching Effective Enterprise Risk Oversight takes readers directly into the experience of a company as it is starting ERM and details each step of initiating and implementing enterprise-wide risk oversight. The central case study highlights several practical illustrations for jump-starting ERM. The guide also includes two shorter case studies to further enhance your understanding of ERM implementation.

Jul 1, 2010

How Did BP’s Risk Management Lead to Failure?

The news has been flooded with updates on the environmental impact of the BP oil spill on the gulf coast and the economic impact on businesses in the surrounding areas. Many are wondering: How could something like this happen? Why has it taken so long to fix? What was BP management thinking? The answers to these questions are centered on one element the financial world has been buzzing about since the financial crisis: risk management. This article points out the critical components of risk management that were absent at BP and compares them to the basic principles any company should employ to successfully manage risks.

Jun 11, 2010

Current State of the Internal Audit Profession and Risk Oversight

Discover PwC's 6th annual internal audit profession report, revealing insights from over 2,000 auditors across 50+ territories.

Jun 1, 2009

Internal Audit’s Role in Managing Reputation Risk

Reputational risks and corporate missteps are having more significant impacts on bottom lines and stakeholder perceptions of companies than ever before. Therefore, companies are recognizing the importance of reputational risk and placing a greater emphasis on reputational risk management. Internal audit departments can play a significant role in helping companies manage reputational risks through their advisory and monitoring efforts.

May 1, 2009

Seven Question Guide to Assessing Your Enterprise Risk Management Practices

Risk professionals should consider seven questions in evaluating risk management tools, improving risk management practices, and assessing the state of ERM in an organization. Professionals should ask these seven questions: (1) if the risk management process really assesses risk; (2) if the risk assessment is context-driven; (3) if the risk management process address root causes of failure; (4) what business performance says about risk; (5) what the organization's risks say about its controls; (6) what the organization's controls say about its risks; and (7) if the professionals and their organizations are up for the task of risk management.

Mar 1, 2009

Ten Practical Lessons for Risk Management

Recent events have uncovered significant deficiencies in the way risks are managed at financial institutions and many other companies. Research into these deficiencies shows ten practical lessons companies can apply to address current weaknesses and strengthen risk management systems. By wielding appropriate authority, gaining support from senior management, and thoroughly examining the models and incentive systems used, risk managers can greatly improve companies' risk management systems.

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.