Jim DeLoach

Recently, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) released its updated enterprise risk management (ERM) framework for public exposure and comment. Why is it important for directors to heed and apply these updates to their work? What follows is a summary of five important insights for directors to implement in the boardroom from the revised framework.

1. Identifying risks to the execution of the strategy is not enough. Many organizations focus on identifying risks that might affect the execution of the chosen strategy. The process of identifying these risks is an inherently good exercise. However, COSO asserts that “risks to the strategy” are only one dimension of strategic risk. There are two additional dimensions to applying ERM in strategy setting that can significantly affect an enterprise’s risk profile.

• The “possibility of strategy not aligning” with an organization’s mission, vision, and core values, which define what the organization is trying to achieve and how it intends to conduct business. Directors should ensure that the company doesn’t put into play a misaligned strategy that increases the possibility that the organization may run askew of its mission and vision, even if that strategy is successfully executed.
• The “implications from the strategy.” COSO states: “When management develops a strategy and works through alternatives with the board, they make decisions on the tradeoffs inherent in the strategy. Each alternative strategy has its own risk profile—these are the implications from the strategy.” When overseeing the strategy-setting process, directors need to consider how the strategy works in tandem with the organization’s risk appetite, and how it will drive behavior across the organization in setting objectives, allocating resources, and making key decisions.

In summary, the updated COSO framework asserts that all three dimensions need to be considered as part of the strategy-setting process. Failure to address all three could result in unintended consequences that lead to missed opportunities or loss of enterprise value.

2. Recognizing and acting on market opportunities and emerging risks on a timely basis is a differentiating skill. COSO asserts that an organization can be viable in the long term only if it is able to anticipate and respond to change—not only to survive, but also to evolve. Enterprise resilience, or the ability to function as an early mover, is an indispensable characteristic in an uncertain business environment. Therefore, corporate strategies must accommodate uncertainty while staying true to the organization’s mission. Organizations need to exhibit traits that drive an effective response to change, including agile decision-making, the ability to respond in a cohesive manner, the adaptive capacity to reorganize, and high levels of trust and collaboration among stakeholders.

3. Strengthening risk governance and culture sets the right tone. Effective risk governance sets the tone for the organization and reinforces the importance of, and establishes oversight responsibilities for, ERM. In this context, culture pertains to ethical values and responsible business behaviors, particularly those reflected in decision-making. COSO asserts that several principles drive the risk governance and culture needed to lay a strong foundation for effective ERM:

• fostering effective board risk oversight;
• recognizing the risk profile introduced by the operating model;
• encouraging risk awareness;
• demonstrating commitment to integrity and ethics;
• establishing accountability for ERM; and
• attracting, developing, and retaining talented individuals.

Whether an organization considers itself risk averse, risk neutral, or risk aggressive, COSO suggests that it should encourage a risk-aware culture. A culture in alignment with COSO’s revised principles is characterized by strong leadership, a participative management style, accountability for actions and results, embedding risk in decision-making processes, and open and positive risk dialogues.

4. Advancing the risk appetite dialogue adds value to the strategy-setting process. The institution’s risk appetite statement is considered during the strategy-setting process, communicated by management, embraced by the board, and integrated across the organization. Risk appetite is shaped by the enterprise’s mission, vision, and core values, and considers its risk profile, risk capacity, risk capability, and maturity, culture, and business context.

To be useful, risk appetite must be driven down from the board and executives into the organization. To that end, COSO defines the “acceptable variation in performance” (sometimes referred to as risk tolerance) as the range of acceptable outcomes related to achieving a specific business objective. While risk appetite is broad, acceptable variation in performance is tactical and operational. Acceptable variation in performance relates risk appetite to specific business objectives and provides measures that can identify when risks to the achievement of those objectives emerge. Operating within acceptable parameters of variation in performance provides management with greater confidence that the entity remains within its risk appetite; in turn, this provides a higher degree of comfort that the entity will achieve its business objectives in a manner consistent with its mission, vision, and core values.

5. Monitoring what really matters is essential to effective ERM. The organization monitors risk management performance and how well the components of ERM function over time, in view of any substantial changes in the external or internal environment. If not considered on a timely basis, change can either create significant performance gaps vis-à-vis competitors or can invalidate the critical assumptions underlying the strategy. Monitoring of substantial changes is built into business processes in the ordinary course of running the business and conducted on a real-time basis. As ERM is integrated across the organization, the embedding of continuous evaluations can systematically assist leadership with identifying process improvements.

Following are some suggested questions that boards may consider, based on the risks inherent in the entity’s operations:

• Is the board satisfied that the organization is adaptive to change, and that management is considering the effects of volatility, complexity, and uncertainty in the marketplace when evaluating alternative strategies and executing the current strategy?
• Should management consider the principles supporting effective implementation of ERM, as set forth by COSO, to ascertain whether improvements are needed to the enterprise’s risk management capabilities?

Jim DeLoach is managing director with Protiviti, a global consulting firm.