RIMS adds its backing to ISO 31000 update

Risk management industry body RIMS has endorsed the new ISO 31000 standard for risk management. 

RIMS said it encouraged countries around the world to adopt the ISO 31000 risk management standard, which came out in February.

Through its membership in ANSI’s US Technical Advisory Group, RIMS highlighted that its members collaborated and gave feedback to the ISO to help shape the risk management standard.

National-level standards bodies are considering whether to adopt ISO 31000 as their national risk management standard.

RIMS said it supports US adoption of ISO 31000’s 2018 update as a US risk management standard.

The risk management society commended simplified language “avoiding jargon to aid user understanding”.

It also praised ISO 31000 for emphasising the need to customise guidance to suit an organisation’s risk management framework.

The new standard benefitted from stressing the importance of integrating risk management into governance and decision-making processes, RIMS noted.

RIMS also commended it for incorporating risk management into broader objectives at strategic, operational, programme and project levels, “to create as well as protect value”.

“The revised ISO: 31000:2018 reflects the evolution of risk management over the past decade from a separate, at times, departmentalised, activity to an integrated management competency,” said Carol Fox, RIMS vice president of strategic initiatives.

“The international standard emphasises risk management’s ability to positively impact day-to-day activities, as well as strategic decision-making throughout the organisation’s value chain,” said Fox.

She suggested the new ISO standard and the COSO enterprise risk management (ERM) framework “complement each other”.

Fox added: “We encourage organisations to use both of these important guidance documents, along with the RIMS Risk Maturity Model, to advance their risk management competencies.”