2011-06-14
By staff reporter
Marsh has produced a major report to assist public sector organisations improve their risk management policies and processes. The report, Preparing the Local Public Sector for Risk Governance: First Steps towards an ISO 31000 Framework, is based on the outputs of a roundtable organised by Marsh in April 2011 on Europe-wide public risk governance.
Following an overview of ISO 31000 – the new ISO standard which provides guidelines for risk management – the report reviews in detail the standard’s 11 principles, explains its framework for the implementation and continuous improvement of a risk management process, and discusses a range of risks faced by public sector organisations and options for their management or mitigation.
The report concludes with a 10-point checklist developed by participants at the roundtable for the successful implementation of a risk management model in the public sector. The checklist includes:
•Building a risk register, which involves assessing what is already being done in terms of risk management, and identifying the risks that the risk manager has both direct and indirect responsibility for;
•Simultaneously setting an organisational risk management framework - methods, processes, roles definition, and responsibilities - and a basic operational framework that could be applied to any type of risk;
•Developing business resiliency planning and being prepared for the possibility of a disaster by identifying and assessing the disaster risk, and analysing possible scenarios.
Philippe Auzimour, head of Marsh’s public sector practice for EMEA, said: “Public sector managers are increasingly faced with a multiplicity of risks, requiring a robust response built around prevention, risk control and strengthened resiliency.
“Our report highlights the massive benefits which the public sector can secure through adoption of a framework for public risk governance based on ISO 31000. We are particularly grateful to the managers who attended our workshop and whose insights and experiences are included in the report.”
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