FERMA Seminar: Successful risk management key to firms' performance levels

The successful embedding of risk management procedures and practices has been found to have a direct correlation with corporate performance, according to the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA) 2012 Risk Management Benchmarking Survey.

The sixth edition of the survey was released today at the FERMA Seminar in Versailles, France.

Its findings revealed that companies with the most sophisticated risk management systems had experienced the strongest level of growth during the past five years, as measured by gross earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).

The survey received a record 809 responses from risk and insurance managers in 20 European countries, and found that:

• 28% of companies with advanced risk management practices reported an EBITDA growth rate of more than 10%, compared to 22% whose risk management was classed as mature, 15% for moderate and 16% for emerging
• Among companies with an EBITDA growth rate of more than 20%, three-quarters (74%) have mature or advanced risk management practices.

Speaking about the survey’s findings at today’s seminar, FERMA president Jorge Luzzi said: “We have long believed that good risk management contributes to sustainable corporate growth. Now we have clear evidence that there is a correlation. This is a particularly important finding in light of the pressures on corporate results during the past five years.”