IERP® Monthly Newsletter Issue 30 December 2021 | Page 9

In light of the growing demand for accountability by various stakeholder groups, boards cannot afford to ignore this aspect of governance. They need to be seen to be proactive about increasing stakeholder confidence levels.

 

Boards need to know that the discussions about corporate governance standards and risk are ongoing, globally. They need to realise that the dynamics of the business environment have made this necessary because changes are happening faster; businesses can hardly keep up – yet they cannot afford to fall behind. Even risk-taking is evolving. Where it was viewed as a threat before, organisations may well see it as an opportunity to leverage on, to maintain competitiveness. This may substantially change the firm’s risk landscape and expose it to more or different kinds of risk that it may not be equipped to deal with.

 

Because of ERM’s holistic approach, boards are able to view their organisations’ risks from a big-picture perspective, which is imperative where long-term planning – and strategising – is concerned. What this indicates to stakeholders is that the necessary planning, and therefore oversight, is in place. The board, which essentially helms the enterprise, is doing all it can to make the right, correctly-informed decisions that will ensure the business is sustained in the best way possible. Putting all this into practice is challenging but the end result will be a more efficient, cost-conscious, cost-effective organisation that will hold its own, and add to its value, in an increasingly competitive, disrupted and uncertain environment.

8 The IERP® Monthly Newsletter December 2021