The risk profession is undergoing unprecedented change: Airmic CEO
The risk management profession is dealing with a risk landscape that is transforming at a greater degree and pace than it has ever before, according to panellists at the Airmic Conference 2017.
And the profession itself is changing too, in terms of its strategic influence and scope.
“We sensed that things were changing quite differently in the way our members perceive the future of their own roles,” said outgoing CEO John Hurrell at the conference.
Collaborating with the likes of AXA Corporate Solutions, Chubb, JLT and research firm Longitude, Airmic conducted a detailed survey and a series of qualitative interviews, which found the profile of risk management within most organisations is higher than it has ever been, and that the importance of risk is now widely recognised at board level.
The survey identified the top ten risks that are causing the businesses the greatest concern, with nearly all of them being non-traditional in nature.
Loss of reputation or brand value was the top concern for risk managers, and cyber-related risks ranked second and fourth.
“The degree and pace of transformation is far greater than we imagined. Risk professionals are dealing with a risk landscape that is moving faster than ever before and in many dimensions at the same time,” said Julia Graham, Airmic’s deputy CEO and technical director.
“These are not future developments – they are happening here and now. As a profession, we need to adapt, upskill in certain areas, and adopt a different way of thinking in order to rise to the challenge.”
Three quarters of risk managers surveyed also said they believed that the risk profession must undergo significant change.
While the increased demand has seen a mostly positive reaction, it has also shown several areas of challenges, notably a requirement for a broader range of skills and experiences.
Some 35 percent of respondents said that their use of analytics tools today is limited, for example, but within three years more than half of risk managers are expected to use data analytics extensively in their role.
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