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Asia-Pacific Regional Group
The IRM is the leading global professional body for Risk Management.
We drive excellence in managing risk to ensure organisations are ready for the opportunities and threats of the future. We do this by providing internationally recognised qualifications and training, publishing research, guidance and thought leadership and setting professional standards.
The IRM APAC Regional Interest Group (RIG) is a network of Risk and Business practitioners that stretches across the Asia Pacific and Oceania region, spanning across India, the countries of South East Asia, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
We are active contributors to thought leadership in risk management in the context of the APAC region, and to the IRM globally. This includes liaising with IRM Special Interest Groups and other partner organisations across the region.
Due to our geographic span, most of our work is virtual. We arrange online thought leadership events for our members, enabling them to stay abreast of global best practices, to build strong relationships and to network and share experiences, stories and good practices.
To achieve our thought leadership activities, we carry out the following:
- Hold web meetings and webinars on topics of interest
- Publish an APAC newsletter
- Speak at APAC events (IRM and non-IRM)
- Run an IRM APAC LinkedIn Group
- Help assist with training
We are very excited about harnessing the potential of risk management now and into the future.
Join Group to receive information about future meetings
Global Ambassador/group contact details
Saman Bandara (Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos)
Abhishek Paul (India)
Jason Qian (China)
Attending meetings
If you live or work in the APAC region and would like to attend a group meeting please join the Group mailing list.
Not an IRM member?
To join an IRM group, you need to log in or register.News and announcements
IRM appoints global ambassador for Australia and APAC
EY Vietnam Partner made Institute of Risk Management ambassador
Taking enterprise risk management seriously
Institute of Risk Management furthers foray into Asia with new appointment
IRM continues Asia expansion with India ambassador’s appointment
Institute of Risk Management expands international footprint, including to Asia
Risk tips and techniques
We hope the links provided below to “tips and techniques” are of interest.
How to stay ahead of Emerging Risks, by the team at Satarla
Support your decision-making with Decision Trees, by Gareth Byatt
Have you tried using Pro and PreMortems? by Gareth Byatt
Our APAC Ambassador based in New Delhi, Abhishek Paul CMIRM, writes about Business Continuity Management in the finance sector.
Sustainability and disaster risk in APAC
The APAC region has a major role to play in sustainability. It also has to deal with disasters of various types. In this section we look at just a few aspects and elements of both areas (and some of the interrelationships between them).
Delivering the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in APAC
There are just 10 years to go to deliver on the targets of the UN SDGs around the world. The UN has called for a “decade of action”, and Risk Management can be a valuable aide to all organisations to play their part in delivering on the goals of the SDGs – in APAC and elsewhere around the world.
The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Asia and the Pacific SDG Progress Report 2019 highlights key areas of focus. Risk management can play an important role in helping to achieve the SDG targets.
Access the report here.
As the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) reported in October 2019, the Asia-Pacific region became majority urban in 2019 for the first time in human history. With more than 2.3 billion people in the region now living in cities, the need for a sustainable urban future has never been greater. By 2050, an additional 1.2 billion new urban residents will also have profound implications for the region’s economy, society and environment.
Access further information here.
Climate risk and response in Asia: Research preview – by McKinsey
COVID-19 is highlighting the importance of risk and resilience, and as the world focuses on recovery, it is important to not lose sight of climate risk. The earth’s climate is changing after more than 10,000 years of relative stability, and Asia is on the front line. Climate science tells us that, absent adaptation and mitigation, the climate hazards the region faces in the future, from heat waves to flooding, are likely to be more severe, more intense, or both. The impacts in Asia in some cases could be more severe than in many other parts of the world. As Asia seeks to grow its economy - and remain a key source of growth for the world - climate is thus a critical challenge that the region will need to manage.
A paper on plastic
This paper about plastic, and how risk management can help us to be more sustainable with it, is from our APAC Ambassador, Gareth (for more examples of sustainability and risk papers, contact Gareth).
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in Asia-Pacific
The Asia-Pacific region continues to face a daunting spectrum of natural hazards. Indeed, many countries could be reaching a tipping point beyond which disaster risk, fuelled by climate change, exceeds their capacity to respond.
UN ESCAP
UN ESCAP has published a 2019 report on Disaster Risk Management, which you can access here.
The ADPC
The Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) is an autonomous international organization that works to build the resilience of people and institutions to disasters and climate change impacts in Asia and the Pacific. Established in 1986, it provides comprehensive technical services to countries in the region across social and physical sciences to support sustainable solutions for risk reduction and climate resilience. ADPC supports countries and communities in Asia and the Pacific in building their DRR systems, institutional mechanisms and capacities to become resilient to numerous hazards, such as floods, landslides, earthquake, cyclones, droughts, etc.
An update from the Switzerland RIG - October 2020
The Chair of the IRM Switzerland Regional Group, Pascal Busch, recently caught up with Gareth Byatt to discuss thoughts and viewpoints on the Switzerland RIG.
Gareth: You recently became the Institute of Risk Management Switzerland RIG chairman. Why did you engage in that role?
Pascal: I have been a member of the IRM for a little while and I enjoy the expert exchange and networking combined with interesting presentations around risk. When, in March this year, the opportunity arose to actively contribute, I was all in to support and actively contribute to bringing risk professionals together. So do our other Switzerland regional group committee members. The Switzerland committee consists of six members from different industry backgrounds. They are very experienced risk managers who in addition are well connected in the Switzerland community and beyond. This is a great mix that will help us to identify interesting topics and to reach out to speakers, as one of us surely personally knows an expert in a particular topic. I am very happy to work with this team.
Gareth: What are you going to do or change in the Switzerland regional group?
Pascal: Our primary aim is to keep supporting information and knowledge exchange and networking amongst risk managers and to invite speakers on interesting topics. This has been the concept for a while, so there is not really a change in the concept. Nevertheless, we see room for improvement in the set up. So does the community. We ran a survey amongst the IRM members in Switzerland about their satisfaction and what could be improved. The results helped us to identify three categories to focus on: topics, format and geography. For example, for the geographical aspect, so far the IRM events mostly took place in Zurich. Switzerland may be small compared to Australia or other parts of APAC, but to get from Geneva to Zurich it is still a few hours train ride. Hence, for the IRM community in Geneva, it’s a challenge for them to attend. So why not start to alternate the events between the bigger cities in order to make it more attractive for a larger audience?
That is also in line with the opportunities we see when it comes to enriching the format. As the primary aim is to foster networking amongst risk managers, we think about additional formats such as local risk lunches and other smaller events, where at least the local community can gather and discuss a particular risk topic in an informal atmosphere. I am confident that we can reach more people than with only the speech events. But we also look into other formats like new media as a way to provide insights and connect.
With regards to topics we want to increase diversity. Although cyber risk nowadays is a major topic, the survey had shown that the focus of the IRM events in Switzerland may have been a bit too much on cyber in the recent past. We want to make sure we offer a broader spectrum of topics that are of interest to everyone.
Gareth: Are gatherings the right approach during the pandemic?
Pascal: Good point. The pandemic is a challenge when you aim to bring people together. It definitely slowed us down in our planning and we find ourselves in a bit of a waiting position. We surely don’t want to bring anyone in danger and hence stick to the guidelines for events and gatherings provided by the Swiss government. In the short term we need to be flexible enough to respond to that accordingly.
We may at least provide speeches and discussions on interesting topics via web conferencing. Our first event actually was a panel discussion on employee mental health risks as an effect of the pandemic. Thanks to the great speakers, who addressed the topic from different angles, we received very positive feedback on the event. So even if the physical events take off again, we may still consider continuing with an online format as well. Another benefit is that anyone around the world can attend and virtually be part of the Switzerland community. By the way, the recording is available on YouTube.
Gareth: You are a provider of a risk management software and risk managers are your customers. Isn’t that a conflict of interest with your role as chairman of the Switzerland Regional Group?
Pascal: I am well aware of that and I really care to distinguish between these roles. I see my role as a chairman as a great opportunity to service the Swiss risk community. When I am in the IRM regional group I consider myself part of the community. Full stop. Luckily, I have been in risk management for several years and I have lived through all the good and bad aspects of the risk manager’s role myself. During all these years I always tried to improve the way of working as well as bouncing off ideas and sharing experiences with others. Even today, every time I travel, I try to get to know and connect with local risk professionals. That is from pure curiosity to get to know people and share experiences. This is one of the amazing aspects of the IRM and its events. You meet interesting people, hear their views, learn from them and even make friends.
Gareth: Thanks for your time, Pascal. It was great to meet you in person in Sydney last year. I look forward to us continuing to share knowledge across the Switzerland and APAC Groups.
An update from the Infrastructure Risk SIG - October 2020
The IRM Infrastructure Risk SIG has recently published its latest Newsletter, which you can access here. They also hold frequent webinars, details of which are on the SIG web page.
Our APAC Ambassador Gareth Byatt, interviewed the SIG Chair Wes Cadby CFIRM, about the team’s plans for the rest of 2020.
Gareth: Wes, thanks for making the time for a quick chat about what’s happening with the Infrastructure Risk SIG. Of course, face to face meetings are not taking place at the moment, however, do we have plans for online events?
Wes: Thanks Gareth. Yes, we have made the decision as a SIG to not plan for any physical events for the remainder of 2020. With the current climate as it is, we felt this was the sensible approach to take. We are however looking to increase our usual number of webinars, with one being planned for September, and a further one being planned in December to close out what has been a very strange year!
Gareth: There are clearly a lot of challenges being faced by infrastructure projects at the moment. How do you see things shaping up for the rest of the year?
Wes: Absolutely, there have been significant challenges across every aspect of society, and infrastructure and construction has been no different. I believe the global infrastructure and construction industry has really come to the fore during this pandemic, from building hospitals in record time, through to changing business focus to work on life saving PPE and medical equipment. However, the construction and infrastructure industry has been hit hard, many sites have closed, and the knock-on effect through the supply chain has been damaging, to the point of small business being forced to close. A booming construction industry is a good sign of a booming economy, and although the economic damage of the pandemic will last for many years to come, I believe the construction industry will boom again. I think the remainder of 2020 will be a time where the construction industry settles down and assesses the damage, but with major projects like HS2 carrying on at speed, I think 2021 will be a year of heavy investment in our sector.
Gareth: What plans and activities does the SIG have for the remainder of 2020 for people working in the infrastructure sector?
Wes: We will be focusing on reviving our presence with our members after months of lockdown for the remainder of 2020, but for 2021 we will be looking to increase the number of events and webinars we hold, as we have done year on year. Further to this, we have a small working group established to try and develop the foundations of a dedicated construction / Infrastructure risk management qualification. We are always looking for more input into this workstream, so please do get in touch if you are keen to be involved.
Thanks for your time, Wes
An update from the Innovation SIG - October 2020
The Co-Chair of the Innovation SIG Sarah Gordon gave Gareth Byatt an update on what the group will be working on over the next 12 months:
• Digital disruption: How are advances in digital technology enabling and forcing changes in the world of risk management? Be they exciting developments in FinTech through to new areas of ethics never before faced by risk managers, this theme will explore and highlight key areas for discussion.
• Risk management and Responsibility. Increasingly companies are being called on to prove that they are acting in a responsible manner. This may be through the building of focus on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) areas of risk, or through the culture nurtured by an organisation. This theme will explore how risk management can be that tool for responsibility.
• Horizon scanning for a risk manager’s skillsets. The world is changing fast. What does this mean for those skillsets that a risk manager requires? Take part in our soon to be launched survey to discuss more.
The Innovation SIG is free for all IRM Members to join, please visit the SIG's page for more details.
Our next meeting will be held on the 4th November from 17.30-19.00 UK time (online). Any contributions from those unable to join the meeting send to the co-chairs in advance are very welcome.
The APAC RIG Newsletter
We publish a newsletter on a regular basis. Past editions are available below:
IRM Training in the APAC region
We are always keen to help people in the APAC region with training in risk management.
We have partnered with ITI Edvest to promote and deliver risk management training in India.
To enquire about training options, please visit the IRM’s Training section, or contact any of the APAC Group.