Risk Management

In many ways, life is far less risky than in the past, yet great prominence is given by society to risk and its consequences. Despite technological advances and growing life expectancy we perceive the world as increasingly uncertain and unpredictable.

The sense of uncertainty is all pervasive: it's there every time we open a newspaper, turn on the television or surf the web - we are inundated with images of risk. Yet we cannot avoid risk, nor should we. Just imagine a world without it: in the absence of risk there would be no innovation, no reward and no responsibility. Risk is a positive force for growth and success, turning uncertainty and discovery to an organisation's advantage.

Risk management, meaning on the one hand the avoidance of shocks and uncertainty in the areas where we have no control, and on the other the successful implementation of change where we can control the outcome, is coming of age as a profession. Organisations which manage risk effectively and efficiently are more likely to achieve their goals and to achieve this at a lower overall cost. Risk management is therefore good management.

IRM believes risk management should be multi-faceted discipline: often referred to as enterprise, integrated, holistic or practical risk management.

The broad range of topics that a risk management professional must be able to address can be represented as a wheel, with each reflecting one branch of the topic.