Corporate Finance and Risk Management

Terrorist attacks of 2001, and some well publicised corporate and risk management failures in 2002 have placed risk management at the forefront of topics in leadership and management today-and for good reason. Cutting across all functional areas, they provide practical and useful frameworks and levers that make significant contributions to organizational performance.

Regulatory authorities in Canada and the US are currently working on new requirements for the Board and officers to sign off on their organizations’ risk management practices. This has greatly increased the profile of risk management and its related activities for organisations, especially those that have until now resisted the emerging concept of integrated or enterprise risk management.

The Conference Board of Canada has been conducting extensive and groundbreaking research and networking programs in enterprise risk management for over 5 years. In recent years, there has been a convergence of views around the concept that effectively managing enterprise risk-by this we mean both risks and opportunities-is perhaps the most practical way for top leaders to exercise authority, direction, and control.

Organisations typically serve the interests of widely dispersed stakeholders – investors, customers, governments, community members, employees, suppliers, citizens. In so doing, organisations need to be aware of and address the perspectives of those stakeholders relative to risk. Yet, day-to-day control is often entrusted to a small group of managers who may have little direct interaction with stakeholders. Furthermore, some of these managers are risk averse, others are risk takers. Organisations that don't actively understand and manage this increasingly important aspect of business may therefore be putting themselves and their stakeholders at risk.

This knowledge area promotes a better understanding of the financial context of your decision and management strategies relating to financial function management and risk management.