helps identify what’s true. “That’s how you verify the
information,” he says. “If it’s from one source, you’re
taking the risk of not having accurate information.
But different sources will confirm information or
tell you what pieces you’re missing.”
BOTTOM-UP RESPONSES
Mapping the risk landscape is just the first step, of
course. Knowing when and how to escalate a risk
up the organizational ladder comes next. National
Security Technologies in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
recently created an enterprise risk management
process to identify strategic risks emanating
from lower-level risk management processes,
says Thomas Andrews, PMI-RMP, PMP, project
and risk management division manager. (The
organization contracts with various U.S. federal
defense agencies to execute R&D projects.) Mr.
Andrews and a team of subject matter experts
developed the necessary procedures and tools to
establish and manage the process. An enterprise
risk register now tracks and scores risks that
require elevation to the enterprise level, helping
the risk management team (made up of a risk
manager and risk integrators from each business
unit) decide when to bring them to the attention
of senior management.
“We use traditional risk-handling strategies to
address our enterprise-level risks. They are: accept,
mitigate, avoid and/or transfer,” he says. High-scoring risks require that a formal risk response
plan be developed by the risk owner and submitted
for senior management review.
The risk management team holds risk review meetings with senior management every three months to
go over new and emerging risks. Funding instability is
a recurring risk. Although the political situation in the
U.S. is far more stable than in many other countries,
elections and partisan gridlock can be disruptive to
organizations reliant on federal funding for projects.
“Our business is dependent upon steady government funding. Each year, particularly in election Source: Global Risks Report 2016, World Economic Forum. Methodology: 742 people in organizations around the world were surveyed in late 2015.
The global risks of highest concern to executives vary by time horizon
and region. The risk they most commonly anticipate through mid-
2017 is involuntary migration—but looking ahead through the next
decade, water crises are the top concern.
GREATEST RISKS DURING 2016 AND FIRST HALF OF 2017:
52% involuntary migration
28% state collapse or crisis
26% interstate conflict
26% unemployment/underemployment
GREATEST RISKS DURING THE NEXT 10 YEARS:
TOP RISK BY COUNTRY:
40% water crises
37% failure of climate change adaptation
27% extreme weather events
25% food crises
CYBERATTACKS
Estonia, Japan,
Malaysia, U.S.
FAILURE OF
NATIONAL
GOVERNANCE
Brazil, Peru,
Bolivia
FISCAL
CRISIS
Russia
ASSET
BUBBLE
China,
Australia