Risk Management

Recognising “Black Swans”: Why preparing for rare events is good risk management:   Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s 2007 best seller titled ‘The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable” argues we should never ignore the possibility or importance of rare, high-impact, unpredictable event he called ‘Black Swans.

Source: InConsult/Council Manager

The Board's Role In Risk Management - Lessons Learned From The Financial Crisis:   The recent financial crisis has tested companies and their boards in ways not seen in many decades and has had a profound impact on corporate governance and risk management.  This article examines the changing role of the board in light of the recent financial crisis.

Source: The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel

Can Your Company Handle an Onrush of Risk?   Can Your Company Handle an Onrush of Risk? It takes methodical planning, and business unit buy-in, to pull off a successful rapid response to serious risk. But experts say the effort is worth it.

Source: CFO.Com

Elevating Risk to Its Proper Place:   In looking at the meltdown of the global economy, it's clear that poorly planned and executed risk management was a major contributor. And while the spotlight has focused largely on the risk failures of big financial organizations, large corporations in every industry have their work cut out for them with regard to risk management.

Source: Business Week

Interim report: 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission:   In late January 2009 heatwave conditions developed across Victoria and on 7 February many all-time temperature records were set. In Melbourne the temperature reached 46.4°C. One hundred and seventy-three people died in the fires.  This Interim Report makes 51 recommendations and is the culmination of six months' work, including four weeks of community consultations; examination of more than 1,260 submissions and eight weeks of public hearings involving a total of 87 witnesses.

Source: 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission

Companies Plagued by Risk Management Gaps:   Almost two-thirds of companies in a recent survey by Ernst & Young say they do not plan to commit more resources to risk management over the next 12 to 24 months, despite the problems uncovered by the financial crisis.

Source: WebCPA

The Value of Enterprise Risk Management:   The objective of this study is to measure the extent to which specific firms have implemented ERM programs and, then, to assess the value implications of these programs. The study finds a positive relation between firm value and the use of ERM. The ERM premium of 16.5% is statistically and economically significant and is robust to a range of alternative specifications of both the ERM and value equations.

Source: Social Science Research Network

 Internal Audit

Internal Auditors Offer Guidance on Risk Management:   The Institute of Internal Auditors has issued two new practice advisories that remind internal auditors to take a broad, holistic view of risk management to assure there are no gaps or redundancies in the assessment.

Source: Compliance Week

Internal Auditing: The 24/7 Approach: Not satisfied with monitoring small data samples, more companies are seeking complete automation of the audit function.

Source: CFO.com

Internal Audit: The Continuous Conundrum: A generally accepted definition of "continuous auditing" remains elusive, and expert practitioners remain rare. Here are some tips from the trenches for getting a program going..

Source: CFO.com

 Governance & Compliance 

Executive remuneration in Australia:   Reforms are needed to improve the accountability of boards, remove conflicts of interest and enhance shareholder engagement on remuneration, according to this draft report.

Source: Productivity Commission

Fifteen Risk Factors for Poor Governance:  A self-diagnostic to identify risk factors for poor governance and reporting.

Source: Directorship

Rewriting the Textbook on Risk Oversight: With risk moving to the top of the agenda for directors and senior management—and a distinct increase in the level of commitment to taking a fresh approach to dealing with risk.

Source: Directorship/KPMG

 Financial Services

Risk management regime needs changes to prevent another Lehman:   Risk culture is the most important aspect of a risk management regime and the biggest flaw that needs to be corrected in the current system.

Source: Economic Times

The Financial Crisis and Lessons for Insurers:   Focusing on implications from the subprime mortgage crisis and approaches to address future crises, actuaries in the U.S. have expressed the need for enterprise-wide risk management approaches through business practices and regulatory enhancements.

Source: Society of Actuaries.

 Occ Health, Safety & Environment

National Model Occupational Health and Safety Legislation:    The Australian Government has identified occupational health and safety (OHS) as a priority area for reform. One of the key elements of the OHS reform agenda is harmonisation – moving towards one set of national OHS laws.

Source: WorkCover NSW

 Welcome

We recently welcomed a number of new clients to InConsult:

§         Randwick City Council

§         Tweed Shire Council

§        Sunnyhaven

If you have any risk management, governance, internal audit or business continuity matters you would like to discuss, contact InConsult on 02 9241 1344.

 Upcoming Events

9 November 2009: Implications in transitioning from AS/NZS 4360:2004 to AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009

Presented by the University of Technology Sydney and Standards Australia, this seminar provides a concise, timely opportunity to understand the implications of the new Risk Management Standard, as well as its challenges and implementation issues.  Presenters include Kevin Knight, Chair of the ISO 31000 Risk Management Standard working group...more

16 November 2009: Internal Audit in Local Government - Driving better services through better governance

The forum has been designed for both internal audit function and the general management in councils, having relevance for all those responsible for the implementation of internal audit, governance, risk and finance programs within the local government sector...more

 GuardianERM.net is ISO 31000 ready!

GuardianERM.net is a complete Governance, Risk, Compliance and Audit system (GRC+A) ready to help you implement the new ISO 31000 Risk Management Standard.  It is easy to use, web-based and has an impressive list of features and integrated functions that include:

§         Risk Management

§         Business Continuity

§         Audit

§         Self Assessment

§         Compliance

§         Incident/Issues Management

§        Occupational, Health & Safety

Why buy 7 different systems when GuardianERM.net can do more for less.  If you would like to find out more, click here or contact InConsult to arrange a demonstration or trial.

Business Continuity and Resilience

Exercising: the secret to successful business continuity plans:   After you have completed all the necessary activities associated with a developing business continuity plan, you may think you’re finished. In reality business continuity plans are useless until you exercise them.

Source: Continuity Central

Supply Chain Risk Management and Mitigation Techniques in Health and Personal Care:   Risk management and mitigation techniques have emerged as central elements of successful supply chain management strategies. From fluctuations in fuel costs to the uncertain politics and economies of countries from which raw materials and component products are sourced, disruptions and delays of supply chain flows threaten the profitability of every firm competing in today's global business environment.

Source: Industry Week

The nature of crises: exploring some persistent myths:   It is perhaps not surprising, given the lack of hard data; that most discussions about business continuity end up involving reference to various myths about the nature of crises. This article focuses on three of the most widespread and persistent of these.

Source: Continuity Central

Embedding business continuity management in the organization’s culture: A generally accepted definition of "continuous auditing" remains elusive, and expert practitioners remain rare. Here are some tips from the trenches for getting a program going.

Source: Continuity Central

 Government

Guide to risk assessment tools, techniques and data:   The UK Department for Communities and Local Government has published a new guide which aims to support the conduct of risk assessments by Local Resilience Forums in the context of civil contingency planning. It also provides a useful guide for business continuity managers when considering major external risks. 

Source: Dept for Communities and Local Government (UK) 

Enhanced Risk and Audit for NSW:  Recently, NSW Treasury issued the Internal Audit and Risk Management Policy for the NSW Public Sector. In summary the new policy arrangements require departments and statutory bodies to implement a set of ‘core requirements’ to provide greater assurance on internal audit and risk management.

Source: The Treasury NSW Government  

ANAO has released BCM Better Practice Guide:

The Australian National Audit Office has announced that their latest Better Practice Guide, Business Continuity Management: Building resilience in public sector entities has now been published.

Source: ANAO

A quiet revolution: City governments tackle global warming:   While Australia's federal and state leaders have been stuck discussing the introduction of the emissions trading scheme, some of our local governments have been trying to do something about the impact of human activity on global warming. But will climate change policies developed by city governments be worthwhile? Source: Australian Review of Public Affairs

 Financial Management

Boards and the Expanding Role of the CFO:    With more chief financial officers acting as strategists and risk managers, boards should work closely with them.

Source: BusinessWeek.com

 Jobs

SENIOR UNDERWRITER

GENERAL INSURANCE – PROPERTY

NORTH SYDNEY - Great working environment! Join this market leader - Experienced Senior Underwriter required to act as main referral point and with portfolio measurement skills. Contact Stephen Baddeley at InConsult on 02 9241 1344.