Risk

In the zoo of risk, there are many kinds of animals to see in the normal course of managing a business day-to-day. There are also creatures we do not want to see — disruptive risks that we know we will inevitably cross paths with no matter what we do. If we have learned anything in recent years, it is that...

National risk assessments (NRA) are the apparatuses used by nations to assess their exposure to threats such as financial fraud and money laundering. The World Bank has just released a report on the state of NRAs suggesting others need to learn from the practices of eight “advanced countries.” Anonymous authors plus their confidently on-the-record editor — an insider with vast...

Good GRC requires data. But just how current and reliable is it? Most businesses are producing something less than “fresh bread,” argue Paresh Chiney and Charles Soha of StoneTurn. From this perspective, they present their recipe for enhancing compliance and risk management.

A whistleblower alleges corrupt treatment by your company and demands payment or else they’re heading for the authorities. You aren’t aware of any wrongdoing and will need to investigate, but regardless, the clock is already ticking. Kevin Griffith, co-chair of the Whistleblowing, Compliance and Investigations Practice Group at Littler, offers a quick response plan.

Intense focus on the environmental prong of ESG is being driven by a constellation of private actors. Institutional investors, in particular, are making their voices heard through the 2022 proxy season by urging companies to demonstrate meaningful progress on climate and environmental sustainability. And in fact, many companies are already doing so in an effort to distinguish themselves in the...

Standardized rule-making on climate disclosures has lagged in the U.S. But no more. Observers like Karen Alonardo of NAVEX Global expect the SEC’s proposed rule to be adopted later this year. Alonardo shares insight into the proposal here, highlighting what companies must do to prepare for heightened disclosure requirements. For years, investors have sought information related to environmental emissions and...

Sanctions against Russian oligarchs and key businesses are unprecedented across at least two key dimensions: (1) The scale: Russia is a major economic power, so its financial tentacles are widespread; and (2) The speed: prior sanctions against countries like Iran or Cuba were enacted over months and years; Russian sanctions took hold in a matter of weeks. To help companies...

For many industries and companies, 2022 was expected to be a time for recovery and renewal. While the war in Ukraine further stresses an already strained economy, few observers currently envision a recession. Nonetheless, as companies pursue today’s market opportunities, Protiviti’s Jim DeLoach explains how they must also evaluate their contingency plans for dealing with varying degrees of potential economic...

According to a recent global survey, company leaders and directors predict a disruptive decade lies ahead. That is why organizational resiliency is the game successful companies play to win. Those that manage to adapt and remain agile, while maintaining culture and core principles, will hold an edge on competition over the next 10 years. Protiviti and NC State University’s ERM...

You can't improve all the ESG compliance all the time. So how should boards triage and decide which issues deserve their attention? Helle Bank Jorgensen outlines four approaches — via compliance, strategy, ethics and data collection — that can help leadership decide what lies within their scope.  As Oliver Hardy often quipped onstage or onscreen to his partner Stan Laurel:...

A focus on ESG can seem tempting and, increasingly, mandatory for boards of directors. Those companies that make statements and commitments, however, should be prepared to carry through or face steep consequences. Scrutiny from regulators and stakeholders will continue to gain steam.

Increasing financial inclusion can advance numerous UN Sustainable Development Goals and improve equity worldwide. But doing so is risky for banks, and customers with no financial history may face high interest rates regardless. Though AI can be biased, Anand Pandey argues that the benefits of using predictive machine learning to determine credit risk outweigh the dangers.  Banking regulators have set...