Certificate Overview: The Foundations Certificate sets the tone for the entire Masters Certificate program. It provides leaders with the essential foundation to establish and maintain a successful risk program to support business performance. The program crystallizes the value proposition for risk management with hindsight from lessons learned from the financial crisis and other events. It equips participants to tailor a risk management framework, establish clear oversight and governance and develop a roadmap for successful implementation.

Risk and Business Performance in a Changing Environment – Setting the Foundation

Study the relationship between risk and business performance and examine specific risk-drivers impacting your organization to lay the foundation for successful enterprise risk management.

Achieving Business Performance Goals By Managing Risk: A Manager’s Blueprint

• Categories of risks faced by organizations and the public sector
• Linking risk and business performance – the risk and reward equation
• Articulating risk appetite as an essential starting point

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM): Protecting & Enhancing Enterprise Value

• The value proposition for ERM
• Developing an enterprise risk framework to be applied to the entire organization, as well as to specific functions
• Building competitive advantage by optimizing your risk management capabilities

Lessons Learned From the Financial Crisis and Recent Events

•  Take-aways from the financial crisis and other recent events
• What risk occurrences could have been better managed?
• Focusing on the present and anticipating the future

Risk Frameworks & Models For Managers

• Why do you need to build a tailored framework to support your risk program?
• Generally accepted frameworks: COSO, ISO 31000 and others
• Guidelines to successful implementation

Setting Your Foundation: ERM Roles & Responsibilities

• Clarity of authority, responsibility and accountability for risk
• The role of the board of directors – risk oversight
• The role of executive management – managing enterprise risks, tone at the top support
• The role of risk officers, managers and all personnel

Translating Your Vision into a Workable Risk Strategy

• Adopting a guiding framework and common language
• Establishing clear oversight and governance
• Creating a road map for successful implementation

Establishing Risk Management Program Imperatives

• Positioning a program for success
• Messaging – awareness and communication strategies
• Leadership and reporting structures

Reality Check & Next Steps to a Risk Road Map

• What happens when plans change?
• Being agile – critical success factors
• Common challenges, roadblocks and pitfalls

Key Takeaways for Participants

Each participant will gain a complete foundation in risk management, and begin developing a risk framework and roadmap to recommend to their organization.