Avoid over-sophisticated risk systems

Tomorrow’s Company welcome for Airmic risk role

The chief executive of Tomorrow’s Company, a progressive business think tank, praised Airmic’s work in “reframing how we understand risk” at a recent seminar in London. “Risk for me was always a bug bear ... no one could see the wood for the trees,” said Tony Mainwaring, a former businessman.

The event started with a keynote speech by Airmic’s chief executive John Hurrell about the ‘Roads to Ruin’ research published last year. Against a backdrop of high-profile risk management failures across the global economy, he discussed how risk and related issues must be at the core of business strategy, and can be the difference between business success and failure. Board risk blindness, lack of board experience, and lack of non-executive director control must be addressed in order to help businesses succeed, he said.

There then followed a panel discussion featuring Richard Sykes, governance risk and compliance leader, PwC; James Duckworth, director, Control Risks; Julia Graham, chief risk officer, DLA Piper; and Charles Tilley, chief executive, CIMA.

Speakers expressed support for the main findings of ‘Roads to Ruin’, and especially the existence of a risk glass ceiling identified in the report.

Tilley concluded the event with a speech, asserting that organisations must avoid oversophisticated risk systems that prevent the board from identifying and dealing with the most crucial risks, and instead structure risk around the business model.

A video of the event can be seen here