It sometimes feels like the world is spinning faster, as we are bombarded with ever-more complex and intertwining threats. It is the risk professional’s job to manage and mitigate, while guiding senior management through – no easy task, for sure. But with the right tools and information, we can do this.
In the final stages of editing a magazine, you read through all the articles again, one by one.
You check for errors, make sure the layout works, and have one final look at everything before you send it out into the world.
Risk management has never been an easy endeavour, but it seems to be getting harder and harder – and this is a key theme running through this issue. But why is that?
Well, one huge driver is the growing number of complex risks that now need to be considered.
Take climate change as an example. Clearly, this is a critical threat to business operations, both in terms of the physical impact of the warming planet, but also the exploding amount of legislation, the impact on employees, and the pressure from both investors and customers.
Such multi-faceted risks are not easy to measure, let alone mitigate.
The next big driver making life hard for risk managers is the interconnected nature of all the risks facing a business.
The profession has long known that threats impact each other, but in an increasingly global and online world, the effects can be near instantaneous. This has been so clearly demonstrated by the effects on supply chains around the world rocked by the attacks in the Red Sea.
A third problem is the controls we have available to manage, mitigate, and transfer exposures.
Our State of the Industry survey reveals that only 13% of risk managers believe their organisation’s controls suite is fully effective at managing risk. Meanwhile, reports of growing insurance gaps mean that organisations need to find new ways to minimise the impacts of the risks they face.
“The world we now live in is one where risk managers have real power to make important changes – if they can seize the moment.”
Whether that’s through risk engineering, setting up captive solutions, or creating a risk culture where risk management is feeding into board decisionmaking – increasingly the burden of tackling threats is falling squarely on a business’s (and its risk managers’) shoulders.
The good news is that where there’s risk, there’s opportunity. The world we now live in is one where risk managers have real power to make important changes – if they can seize the moment.
This is particularly true when it comes to board influence. Never before has the c-suite been so aware of the importance of understanding risk. Now we need to show them the value of managing it well.
At StrategicRISK, our purpose is to arm you with the information and skills you need to capitalise on the opportunities ahead. Readers will have already spotted significant changes within the magazine over the past year.
We’ve made case studies the cornerstone of each issue, sharing real-world best practice examples of how companies have improved their risk profiles. We’ve also added our ‘Spotlight On’ section, meaning that each issue takes deep dives into the various risks facing specific sectors, regions, and risk types, as well as examining the key tools at your disposal.
Building on this, I’m delighted to announce that we have now launched our new website. It has been redesigned along the same principles that drive our magazine, while also getting a welcome facelift.
At the same time, I’ve been working to broaden our community, inviting risk managers from a diverse range of industries and regions to get involved, whether that’s through interviews, case studies, or analysis of key issues. I’m echoing that call here, so please do get in touch with me if you’d like to be involved.
The future of risk management is bright, and the new and improved StrategicRisk promises to fight the industry’s corner and support you on the journey every step of the way.Together, we can make the most of the opportunities that lie ahead.
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