"Risk Managers Under the Spotlight"

CSB Insighter
from the Corporate Strategy Board
February 24, 2009

Risk Managers Under the Spotlight
The Times, 23 February 2009
One in eight risk managers describe themselves as "not influential at all" within their organization, and a third as only "quite influential", as seen in data collected by Whitehead Mann, a recruiter. The current climate has seen a great increase in corporate risk taking, so these findings will prove alarming to many. As the financial crisis continues, a much greater emphasis will be put on risk management, with those in the profession expecting to see up to a 50% pay rise over the next five years and a greater influence at board level. According to an article in CFO Magazine argues, although CFOs seem well placed to take on oversight of enterprise risk management, it is better to employ a specialist risk manager or chief risk officer (CRO), as it does not seem wise to have the same person (the CFO) in charge of minimizing risk and maximizing opportunity for the firm. That, at least, was the thinking of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight when it criticized the dual CFO and CRO roles that were used at Fannie Mae.