Page 15 - IRMSA Risk Report 2020

IRMSA’ S C ONTRIBUTION T O A CHIE VING “ SPRING OF HOPE ”
GILLIAN LE C ORDEUR

A strong message to the leadership of our country, is to influence the way decisions are
made – risk management should be involved before a decision is made. It is too late
to bring in risk management once an issue has revealed itself due to bad planning and
implementation. Our risk professionals understand this as it is the core value that we work
towards, but it is now important for the right conversations to be had to ensure that the
big picture is affected. How do we build towards a risk intelligent environment?

A FUTURIST ’ S PERSPEC TIVE
GR AEME C ODRINGT ON

In South Africa, we have a multitude of examples from recent years of just how quickly
seemingly stable organisations can be damaged and even collapse – sometimes by their
own decision making, sometimes by external forces beyond their control, and often by
both at the same time.

The question for risk officers is whether any of this was preventable, and what the role of
the risk function is in a world that is increasingly unstable, unpredictable, fast-paced and
disruptive. The answer lies in a fundamental rethinking of risk and strategy in the 2020s.

A Y E A R O F E T H I C A L A N D E F F E C T I V E L E A D E R S H I P
P A R M I N AT E S A N
We are all aware of the huge risks and challenges that our country, and thus our
organisations, face. Poor leadership got us into this situation; good leadership is
the only way out of it. As directors, we have the opportunity—and privilege—of
providing that leadership within our organisations and thus contributing to the
necessary change in our corporate culture.
King centre everything, embodied
in its first, foundational principle: The governing body should lead Ethically and
Effectively.

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