A Risk Management Standard irm
Introduction This Risk Management Standard is the result of work by a team drawn from the major risk management organisations in the UK, including the Institute of Risk management (IRM). In addition, the team sought the views and opinions of a wide range of other professional bodies with interests in risk management, during an extensive period of consultation. Risk management is a rapidly developing discipline and there are many and varied views and descriptions of what risk management involves, how it should be conducted and what it is for. Some form of standard is needed to ensure that there is an agreed: · terminology related to the words used · process by which risk management can be carried out · organisation structure for risk management · objective for risk management Importantly, the standard recognises that risk has both an upside and a downside. Risk management is not just something for corporations or public organisations, but for any activity whether short or long term. The benefits and opportunities should be viewed not just in the context of the activity itself but in relation to the many and varied stakeholders who can be affected. There are many ways of achieving the objectives of risk management and it would be impossible to try to set them all out in a single document. Therefore it was never intended to produce a prescriptive standard which would have led to a box ticking approach nor to establish a certifiable process. By meeting the various component parts of this standard, albeit in different ways, organisations will be in a position to report that they are in compliance. The standard represents best practice against which organisations can measure themselves. The standard has wherever possible used the terminology for risk set out by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in its recent document ISO/IEC Guide 73 Risk Management - Vocabulary - Guidelines for use in standards. In view of the rapid developments in this area the authors would appreciate feedback from organisations as they put the standard into use (addresses to be found on the back cover of this Guide). It is intended that regular modifications will be made to the standard in the light of best practice. A Risk Management Standard @ IRM: 2002 1
1. Risk Risk can be defined as the combination of the probability of an event and its consequences (ISO/IEC Guide 73). In all types of undertaking, there is the potential for events and consequences that constitute opportunities for benefit (upside) or threats to success (downside). Risk Management is increasingly recognised as being concerned with both positive and 2. Risk Management Risk management is a central part of any organisation's strategic management. It is the process whereby organisations methodically address the risks attaching to their activities with the goal of achieving sustained benefit within each activity and across the portfolio of all activities. The focus of good risk management is the identification and treatment of these risks. Its objective