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Effective Risk Management Plan Requires Vigilance
Managing your organization’s risk exposure is a business imperative that requires vigilant monitoring. To make sure you get this done, you need a strong enterprise risk management framework.
By William J. Hayes, managing editor, Pennsylvania CPA Journal
For CFOs and controllers, managing their organization’s risk exposure is a business imperative that requires vigilant monitoring. Making sure this gets done requires a strong enterprise risk management framework. At PICPA’s CFOs and Controllers Conference, Lance T. Morell, director of risk management for Parx Casino & Racetracks in Bensalem, Pa., will discuss developing a strategic approach toward enterprise risk management, identifying and mitigating risk exposures, measuring and evaluating your organization’s performance, and much more. We recently chatted with Morell to get a preview of the session.
How important would you say a comprehensive enterprise risk management program is to businesses in the current economic environment?
Very important. This is one area where how you approach risk has a direct impact on things such as insurance premiums or adverse court cases.
What are one or two of the most important steps to take when developing a strategic approach toward an enterprise risk management framework?
First, build a strong team willing to look at new ideas. Then, institute a good communication system and learn from your mistakes.
Once a company has decided on an approach to enterprise risk management, how vital are the next steps, namely monitoring, measuring, and evaluating performance? What are a couple of ways to do these things?
Monitoring, measuring, and evaluating are the only way to look at the strength of your program. Shining light on your program allows you to reevaluate what is important – and it helps to not be in litigation when discussing any shortcomings. Make sure that you conduct monthly inspections and discuss the findings at a safety meeting. If you have an auditing team, have your policies audited. Ask your insurance company for a site evaluation – not just when you are going out for renewal, but after you institute a new program or training initiative. There are local, county, state, and federal organizations that are willing to do a survey, and many of them are free, especially when the goal is patron safety.
For more information on enterprise risk management, join Lance Morell for his presentation at the March 19, 2020, PICPA CFOs and Controllers Conference.
