How to assess your risk strategy – a checklist

Thursday, October 14, 2010 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Risk, Thought Leadership | Tags: business, governance, recession, risk, strategy, tips, risk management, questionnaire, tools, questions

This set of expert questions, asked by Grant Thornton’s risk services team, is designed to trigger a full and in-depth boardroom discussion on the quality of your risk management processes.

Check your organisation’s level of risk maturity against the following categories:

* Leadership
Have you assessed your risk appetite in determining the business model?
Is the board active in risk management?
Do the right people have ownership of your risks?

* Risk strategy and policies
Do your risk processes add value to the business?
Has risk management been embedded in the business?
Are risk systems integrated with business processes?

* People
Are the right people involved in risk management?
Is there a common awareness of risk throughout the business?

* Processes
Are you confident that you have identified and are managing your main risks?
Do you utilise robust models to quantify and score risks? Is this consistently applied?
Do you regularly monitor the effectiveness of risk responses and the operation of key controls?
Do you make use of stress testing or scenario building to consider alternate futures?

* Risk handling
Is there a continual updating of risks by operational management?
Have you embedded risk into your decision-making processes?
Do you have standardised risk reporting throughout your business?

* Outcomes
How is risk management built into performance management processes?
How have risk management processes contributed to the achievement of your objectives?
How successful have your risk processes been in preparing you for the downturn?

Benchmark using our online tool
You can also benchmark your company’s risk maturity level using our quick online questionnaire (14 questions, taking 5-10 minutes to complete). Grant Thornton’s online Risk Maturity Assessment provides a useful tool for discussion around the current and planned risk processes, either internally or facilitated by one of our risk professionals.

Download your free risk management report
A new risk equation? Safeguarding the business model is now available for download. Written in collaboration with the Economist Intelligence Unit, it canvassed more than 450 senior managers to review their risk management practices. Key findings are here.

For further help with risk management, visit our Business Risk Services page.

You might also like:
* Risk management: learning from recession mistakes

* Perception vs reality of corporate corruption risk (infographic)

* FTSE 350 Corporate Governance Review – in December 2010, we will launch our ninth review highlighting trends in compliance with the UK Code of Corporate Governance and including principal risk reporting. Our report can be used by companies to benchmark performance and inform preparation of annual reports.