Risk managers should adapt to new environment

Airmic chairman Nicola Harvey opened the UK risk management gathering in Bournemouth on Tuesday with a note of caution.

She told delegates that companies face a tricky operating environment of natural disasters, a host of new regulations and an unfriendly media, and urged risk managers to up their game. “If we want to be relevant, we have to adapt to the new business environment,” she said.

She complained about the state of risk management in many companies, saying: “I still see the need for risk management to be better embedded.”

On a more positive note, she drew attention to the good work Airmic is doing to improve risk managers’ lot, including the popular Airmic Academy free breakfast brie? ngs. Harvey noted that these workshops increasingly focus on enterprise risk management issues rather than insurance topics – a sign of a maturing profession.

She was followed on stage by Airmic chief executive John Hurrell, who outlined his organisation’s technical agenda. One of the most interesting documents published by Airmic this year is a joint research paper with Cass Business School, which seeks to identify the implications of major crises on large companies.

Events that bring down successful companies are normally the result of boards failing to see (or choosing to ignore) underlying risks, according to the research. As Airmic technical director Paul Hopkin said: “In simple terms, directors are too o en asleep at the wheel and blind to the risks they face.”

Given these problems, risk managers must promote both themselves and their profession within their organisation. Let’s hope Airmic continues to support them in doing so