PCA at RIMS 2019: what is worth to save

PCA has actively participated – with its President and CEO Roberto Armana, the Senior Consultant Risk Consulting Maurizio Castelli and the International Account Alessandro Fiori – at the RIMS Annual Conference 2019 in Boston to contribute to the international debate on the future of Risk Management, with over 10,000 risk managers coming from over 60 countries.

CHANGE IS COMING: HOW TO BE READY

What this global community has forged in four days of fast-paced speeches, panels, workshops and meetings, is that the accelerating technological change is forcing companies to become more digital. As a result, their risk profiles are being transformed to what will ultimately be digital risk profiles, meaning that most risks—especially those that would be considered emerging—will have digital characteristics or in some cases be completely digital. This raises the bar for risk leaders to gain knowledge and skills in technology that in the past may not have been necessary to be effective. The rate of this change will differ by both industry and company, but it will become the norm soon. The good news is that most risk managers have the time to concurrently advance their understanding and skills in this area and their careers.

In all this, the good news is that most Risk Managers are showing a relevant professional updating, from operational skills to cultural mindsets, which is fundamental to understanding the changes taking place and at the same time enhancing their professional role and value.

THE MAIN GAPS

One of the best practices appreciated by RIMS 2019 was also to simulate failure scenarios, the worst-case scenario, to identify what is not working. For example:

• Groupthink, during which no one can safely serve as the “devil’s advocate” and ask probing questions, especially common when the venture is initiated or championed by the CEO.
• Run of the mill due diligence, formulaic in nature, which therefore lacks the creativity and scope to consider critical questions relevant to the specific situation
• The lack of structured contingency or scenario planning exercises that would uncover risks through the simulation of business operations on the ground.
• Analytical processes that are based on gut instinct alone and eliminate or discount the insights identified through proven, systematized analytical methodologies.
• The lack of clearly articulated recommendations with supporting evidence and that include pros and cons as well as accountability for ongoing oversight.
• A risk management plan and process that fails to continually gather data, analyse information appropriately, and address concerns directly to senior management.
• Using only in-house risk management officials, who often only nominally carry the risk management title along with other job responsibilities or are limited with financial risk management skills alone. Complementing this team with external nonfinancial risk experts must be considered given the nature of these endeavours.
• Not specifically addressing security concerns, which are the predominant anxiety of company staff. U.S.-based corporate security representatives have expertise in domestic facility, perhaps even cyber issues, but are not likely to have expertise in how best to secure facilities, personnel, transportation and operations in Africa and Southeast Asia.

RIMS 2019 was a formidable opportunity to consolidate the international presence of PCA and thus further enrich the offer of high-level strategic services for large companies on a 360-degree security plan, well established in the current market reality but capable of understand the changes underway to transform the risks into business opportunities.

We remain at your disposal for further information and a prior assessment of your company’s risk: just contact us.

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Thanks for your attention!