Today’s business world is moving at a breakneck pace, changing and evolving through the advent of new technologies and the rise of new modes of communication, all of which come with their own new kinds of threats and risk factors, not to mention the shifting and unstable nature of the economy, a spreading sense of political unrest on a global scale, and so many other disordered elements, all of which have created a melting pot of trouble where corporate governanceand compliance are concerned. Given this broad scope of our changing world, it is easy to see why it has become exponentially more difficult for us to attempt to forecast what lies right around the corner, much less years ahead. Surrounded by all this chaotic uncertainty, it has become more important than ever that any organization hoping to survive this wave of change, begin developing and implementing strong risk management programs to help combat a world of unseen threats.
Every day, companies and their leaders are forced to dive headlong into this tumult of uncertainty that has become the business world, and in order to successfully navigate it unscathed, safeguards must be put in place to protect against any unnecessary risks. To effectively achieve this, these leaders need a strong team behind them which can monitor and manage all possible risk factors that may arise to prevent them from becoming a threat to the organization, and with the shifting ambiguity of the world market, this job is becoming more and more difficult from one day to the next.
While most risk management teams are comprised of employees who perform other duties within the organization as well, it still goes without saying that this team must be comprised of highly qualified and well trained individuals, well versed in the methods and techniques necessary to effective risk management strategies. However, what many companies fail to recognize when developing such a program and assigning duties to its team, is the scope necessary to identify and handle all possible threats in order to avoid being taken off guard. A truly successful risk management program does not simply function to handle threats as they become apparent, but must apply a foresight and knowledge of the root of these threats in order to predict the issues and set up cautionary measures to help manage these factors before they become a present danger to the company.
You would never go sky or scuba diving, or perform any other kind of risky activity, without first carefully checking your equipment to ensure that when the time comes it will function properly, as doing otherwise would be to risk your life. Correspondingly, you should never risk the health and well-being of your organization on a risk management program that is woefully incomplete and unable to do more than conduct last minute measures to avoid risks which are already threatening the organization. Given the high importance of risk management, particularly in today’s unpredictable business market, it is difficult to understand why any company would fail to invest the time and effort it takes develop such a program when the pay-off could mean saving the company vastly more.
Published by Conselium Executive Search, the global leader in compliance search.
