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My view is that it doesn’t really matter as long as everyone involved accepts that risk is not only about the downside.  As most modern definitions of risk refer either specifically (ISO 31000) or by inference to risk being about managing the uncertainty around our objectives, it follows that risk management is about achieving and hopefully exceeding our obje

A chemical plant explosion in Japan on Sunday shows the consequences of poor risk management in a really personal way. The Nippon Shokubai Co. produces a chemical that is a critical link in the supply chain for one-fifth of all the world's diapers. A diaper shortage is expected.

One, where was the risk management program to prevent the explosion? As is always with these things, in the next 6 weeks, evidence of an employee warning their management about conditions that could result in an explosion

In order to monitor systemic risks as near to real-time as possible regulators have introduced the requirement for market participants to report all OTC derivatives trading activity to swap data repositories (SDR).The aim is to boost transparency and surveillance capability. The idea is strikingly elegant, yet fraught with complexity when it comes to application by market participants.

The reporting is mandated through Dodd-Frank and EMIR. SDRs need to be registered with the respective authoritie

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) by mandate has added Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) and Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) like financial reporting attestation compliance to the list of required activities for credit unions. Why has the NCUA put SOX, or financial reporting attestation, and ERM in the same ruling?

The NCUA has recognized that all regulatory compliance guidelines have required a risk assessment component, so it is only natural to require an Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) prog

BrightTALK is turning cloudy this October. We are dedicating a month’s worth of technology summits to the most turbulent IT topic of the decade - cloud computing.

It is difficult to deny the impact cloud computing has had on the IT landscape, with 60% of C-level executives reporting the cloud as their top priority and the market set to grow from $40.7 billion to over $241 billion by 2020.

As the cloud is not blowing over anytime soon, we have put together four individual summits covering cloud inf

Collateral: banks, broker-dealers, funds and clearinghouses all need it more than ever. Collateralisation of bilateral as well as cleared OTC trades is essential to ensure a functioning and stable financial market that is able to absorb potential shocks of Lehman-esque dimensions. Upcoming regulations like Basel III, Dodd-Frank and EMIR and margin requirements for non-centrally-cleared derivatives will enlarge the required collateral pool considerably.

Isn’t there plenty of collateral available a

Webinar: Debriefing a diagnostic of an organisation’s risk management practices using ISO 31000Rx

Presenter: Dr Dean Myburgh

Time: 9 am Sydney/Brisbane (EST) on 5 October 2012

To register for the webinar: http://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/8271/56441

Following the first two Webinars presented by Dr Dean Myburgh on OD/Diagnostic approaches to risk management implementation and using ISO31000Rx, there is now an opportunity to experience ISO 31000Rx first- hand.  Registrants for this Webinar are inv

Despite the current economic turmoil, we have recently witnessed a frenetic race for ultra low latency, privileging speed over costs. But now the reality of these decisions is catching up and trading institutions are finding that the fastest is not always the strongest – much like the hare and the tortoise.

Being lean and controlling costs is a new priority for banks, focusing on their core business. We are seeing major changes in strategy, with organisations moving away from the extremely risky

Melanie Mailly-Demont, a speaker at the marcus evans CFO Summit XXV Fall 2012, on how CFOs can add more value to their organization.

Interview with: Melanie Mailly-Demont, Chief Financial Officer, Infilco Degremont

Las Vegas, NV, September 18, 2012 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) should not be afraid to ask questions to the experts in the field, advises Melanie Mailly-Demont, Chief Financial Officer, Infilco Degremont. “It is part of the CFO’s role to bring a fresh perspe

After almost two years since the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) was put on the statute books, the first swap-related articles finally take effect on 12^th October this year. Now everyone can be assured they are trading, clearing and reporting under a common set of rules, right?

Not so. While DFA requires market participants to report OTC trades to Swap Data Repositories (SDR) and introduces conduct business rules, other jurisdictions have not yet finalised their respective regulations. A regulatory conundru

Our partners at marcus evans conducted an interview with Mr. Nick Galletti, Director - Risk Management at ConEd recently and kindly gave us a preferential permission to publish it on our website.

Looking back over my most popular blogs, there was a lot of interest in "5 Steps for Better Risk Assessments" back in March this year. Due to this interest I have created a complimentary 25 minute on-demand video webinar on this same subject complete with detailed "how to" examples and visuals that are not possible in a blog format.

Click here to watch this On Demand Webinar or read the full invitation below:

On-Demand Complimentary Webinar Invitation:

Risk managers are charged with ensuring transp

In November 2009 I contemplated  "Should Board Audit and Risk Committees be Separate?"  and today I question "Should a Board have a risk committee at all?"

In 2009 I concluded:

• Management's responsibility is to identify, manage and report on risk with a predefined risk appetite which has been established in consultation with the oversight body, most commonly a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board.

• The Board has an "assurer role" to provide stakeholders with assurance that management has done the

Errors in financial models that banks use on a daily basis could lead to tremendous financial and non-financial losses. It is crucial for banks to understand how they could minimize and manage model risk effectively. In addition, the OCC and the Federal Reserve have recently released new guidelines on model risk management, which will significantly modify their existing model risk management practices.

Antton Barandiaran answered a series of questions written by GFMI before the forthcoming Model

“[…] The financial crisis that began in 2007 had its origins precisely in over-complex regulation.”

These are the wise words of Niall Ferguson, Professor of History at Harvard, speaking at this year’s BBC Reith Lectures. He goes on to cite Dodd-Frank as a near-perfect example of excessive complexity in legislation.

Those of you who had the pleasure of sifting through the proposed rules, discussion papers, and guidance will agree that the inherent complexity is immense. The recent Dodd-Frank progre

The Wheatley Review of Libor has been published and is carried on the HM treasury website. There are several points worth noting in this initial discussion paper, some of which have been summarised here.

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